Data Engineering Manager at Samsung Food, Remote, £Contractor Rate

About Samsung Food

Samsung Food is a food platform that helps millions of users worldwide find and save recipes, connect with like-minded foodie communities, and save time and money on planning, cooking, and shopping. You’ll find Samsung Food across various devices, including mobile apps, web, voice, Samsung Family-Hub fridges, and more.

We’re a remote-first, globally distributed team of 100+ people based across the US, UK, Europe, Africa, Korea, Georgia, and beyond. We’ve been fully distributed since 2016 and pioneered many of the practices that are now standard in remote workplaces. Interested in learning more? Visit Samsung Food Careers.

Job Purpose

We are seeking a Data Engineering Manager who combines strong technical leadership with hands-on development expertise. Reporting to the Foundation Tribe's Engineering Manager, this role balances people management and technical direction with active software development.

As the Data Engineering Manager, you will lead and grow our data engineering team while maintaining significant involvement in technical implementation. You will oversee the development of our data infrastructure, working closely with Analytics, Machine Learning, Product Development, and Food Graph teams to deliver high-quality data solutions. The role requires excellence in both leadership and technical execution, with approximately 35-50% of time devoted to management and leadership responsibilities, and 50-65% focused on hands-on development work.

What you’ll do:

In this role, you’ll be involved in:

Technical Leadership & People Management 

The role requires building and nurturing a high-performing data engineering team through:

• Conducting impactful one-on-one meetings that focus on professional growth and team alignment
• Participating in comprehensive performance review processes and providing continuous constructive feedback
• Creating individualized development plans that align team member aspirations with organizational needs
• Fostering a collaborative learning environment through mentorship and knowledge sharing

Technical Direction

You will guide the technical vision of the team by:

• Establishing and maintaining high engineering standards through code reviews and architectural guidance
• Leading technical design reviews that ensure solution quality and alignment with business objectives
• Developing coding standards and best practices that promote technical excellence
• Creating a culture that balances innovation with operational reliability

Stakeholder Management

Success in this role requires effective leadership across the organization through:

• Aligning team objectives with broader organizational goals
• Managing cross-team relationships to ensure effective delivery
• Partnering with Legal and IS consultants on data safety and compliance
• Communicating team progress and challenges to senior leadership
• Planning team capacity and resource allocation to meet stakeholder needs

Hands-on Development 

As an active contributor to the team's technical output, you will:

• Develop and maintain production-grade data pipelines using Python and modern data engineering tools
• Create and optimize Airflow DAGs that ensure reliable data orchestration
• Build and enhance dbt models for efficient data transformation
• Implement robust data quality monitoring systems
• Design and implement scalable data warehouse structures
• Create integrations with analytics platforms including Redash, Kubit, and Roadway

Required Qualifications

Your background should demonstrate excellence in both leadership and technical execution, including:

• 2+ years of people management experience, with a proven track record in performance management and team development
• 4+ years of data engineering experience
• Demonstrated ability to mentor and grow technical teams while maintaining technical credibility
• Strong software development skills with extensive Python experience
• Strong knowledge of ClickHouse or comparable columnar databases is essential.
• Practical experience building production-grade data pipelines using Airflow
• Hands-on expertise with dbt models and transformations
• Experience with Docker and container orchestration
• Deep understanding of data warehouse architecture and implementation
• Proficiency in SQL query optimization and database performance tuning
• Understanding of various data architecture patterns (e.g., Lambda/Kappa)

Technical Stack Expertise

Success in this role requires proficiency in:

• Primary Development: Python, SQL, Scala (optional)
• Data Warehouse: Clickhouse
• Data Storages: MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL
• Cloud Technologies: Google Cloud (Storage, PubSub, DataFlow)
• Data Pipeline Development: Apache Airflow
• Data Transformation: dbt
• Analytics Tools: Redash, Kubit, or similar

What We Offer

• 100% remote and flexible work schedule (full-time contractor role, 40 hours per week)
• A distributed team environment with opportunities for collaboration across time zones
• The chance to contribute to building the #1 food platform, integrated with Samsung.