Principal Data Engineer

At Prezzee, we're more than just a digital gifting platform – we're building human connections through unforgettable gifting moments. With over 1,000 brand partners globally, we're transforming how people give and receive gifts. From our beginnings as a small Australian startup to becoming a global leader, we thrive on innovation, collaboration, and a deep commitment to making a real impact.
The Role
Prezzee is embarking on a major transformation of our data platform, and we're looking for a Principal Data Engineer to define and lead our next-generation architecture.
This is a strategic and foundational hire. You will design, build, and scale our Databricks platform, establish robust data governance, and bring engineering excellence to a space that is rapidly maturing. This is not just a hands-on technical role—it's a critical leadership position that influences how we ingest, transform, and leverage data across the company.
What You'll Be Doing
Architect and Build Our Foundational Data Platform
You will have the autonomy to design our new data platform on Databricks from the ground up, making the critical decisions that will set us up for future success.
Own the Core Architecture: Design and implement a robust Medallion architecture (Bronze/Silver/Gold) on Databricks, leveraging Delta Lake for reliability and performance.
Establish Data Ingestion Frameworks: Create reusable, scalable patterns for ingesting data from a variety of sources, including transactional databases (Postgres), third-party APIs (e.g., Salesforce, Zendesk), and event streams.
Define Data Modelling Standards: Lead the evaluation and implementation of our core data modelling paradigm (e.g., Kimball dimensional modelling), ensuring our curated data sets are intuitive for analytics and reporting in Looker.
Implement Governance and Security: Use Unity Catalog to establish a comprehensive data governance framework, including fine-grained access controls, data lineage tracking, and a business-friendly data catalogue.
Manage Platform Performance: Develop strategies for monitoring and optimising Databricks cluster usage and cloud spend to ensure the platform is both powerful and cost-effective.
Instil a Culture of Engineering Excellence
You will be the driving force in maturing our data practices from ad-hoc processes to a professional, software-engineering-led discipline.
Implement CI/CD for Data: Build and champion automated CI/CD pipelines (e.g., using GitHub Actions) to test and deploy all data assets, including dbt models, Databricks jobs, and infrastructure changes.
Champion Git-Based Workflows: Embed a Git-first culture for all data transformation code, establishing clear processes for branching, code reviews, and version control.
Build a Data Quality Firewall: Implement automated data quality testing at every stage of our pipelines using tools like dbt test or Great Expectations, ensuring data is accurate, fresh, and reliable before it reaches our users.
Introduce Observability: Set up comprehensive monitoring, logging, and alerting for all data pipelines to proactively detect, diagnose, and resolve issues.
Act as a Strategic Partner to the Business
You will operate beyond pure technology, acting as the critical link between the data platform's capabilities and Prezzee's strategic goals.
Translate Business Needs into Technical Solutions: Work directly with leadership in Product, Finance, and Marketing to understand their challenges and design data solutions that drive real business outcomes.
Guide Analytical Best Practice: Advise analysts and business users on how to effectively query and leverage the new platform, helping them move from simple reporting to deeper, more impactful analysis.
Become the Technical Authority: Serve as the go-to expert on data architecture and possibilities, running workshops and design sessions to align technical direction with business strategy.
Lead, Mentor, and Grow Our Technical Capability
As the senior technical expert, you will be instrumental in elevating the skills of the entire data team and laying the groundwork for future growth.
Mentor and Upskill Analysts: Actively mentor data analysts through pair programming, constructive code reviews, and technical guidance, helping them develop stronger Python, SQL, and data modelling skills.
Establish a Community of Practice: Foster a 'data guild' or similar forum to share knowledge, discuss new technologies, and collaboratively solve challenging problems.
Shape the Future Team: Partner with the Head of Data to define the career progression framework for data engineering and play a lead role in interviewing and hiring new team members.
What We're Looking For
Core Skills & Experience:
Deep experience designing and scaling complex data platforms—ideally across multiple organisations or stages of scale.
Hands-on experience with AWS, Databricks, Terraform, and managing modern data stacks.
Mastery of data architecture and modelling frameworks, and strong knowledge of data governance and platform performance.
Strong background in CI/CD for data pipelines, Git-based workflow, and automated data quality assurance.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
Proven leadership, with a track record of mentoring and building high-performing data teams.
Bonus Tools:
Familiarity with Redshift, Postgres, DynamoDB, Looker, and Workday Prism Analytics.
Why Join Us?
Join us at Prezzee, where we don't just work – we innovate, collaborate, and shape the future of digital giving. As part of our dynamic team, you'll contribute to a global company's growth while enjoying a flexible, supportive, and inclusive work environment. We offer:
Prezzeeversary Leave – Extra day of annual leave for each year you're with us.
BirthYay Leave – Celebrate you with a paid day off during your birthday month.
Novated Car Leasing – A tax-smart way to bundle and pay for your car and running costs.
ClassPass Membership – Fully covered monthly credits for fitness, wellness, and beauty.
Office Allowance – One-time