Data Lead

Where we are

We're an insurance company mid-way through a real architectural shift. Our data lives in MS SQL Server.

Where it's going: PostgreSQL, S3, and a Lakehouse. The direction is set. We need someone to own the execution.

The role

This is a player-coach position. You'll be hands-on with architecture and migration work while also building and mentoring the team around you.

The first six months are about foundations. You'll learn the existing MS SQL environment well enough to design a migration to PostgreSQL that doesn't break anything.

You'll stand up a Lakehouse on S3 and start pulling in data from SQL, NoSQL, and external APIs.

You'll define how our internal systems must produce and store data contracts, quality standards, the works. And you'll go through our QlikSense setup and fix what's slow, confusing, or just wrong.

The second half is about momentum. You'll take ML models that are sitting in notebooks and get them into production claims automation, churn prediction, fraud detection.

You'll lead the technical side of integrating AI tools from external partners. And you'll hire, because right now the team needs to grow.

What we need

5+ years in data engineering or architecture, with real project or team leadership behind you. You need to know MS SQL Server and PostgreSQL well, not just the syntax, but the migration pitfalls.

You should have worked with S3, Lakehouse patterns like Iceberg or Delta Lake, and at least one of dbt, Spark, or Airflow. 

Data governance experience that goes beyond whiteboards: lineage, catalogs, quality frameworks in messy corporate environments.

And you need to be someone who can actually develop people, not just manage them.

Languages: Azerbaijani (fluent), English (B2+), Russian (C1+).

Why this is worth your time

The architecture decisions are made. The budget exists. The business already understands that data matters. What's missing is the person who comes in and gets it done.