Lead Data Governance Engineer - Canonical

About the Role

Canonical is seeking a Lead Data Governance Engineer to define and execute data governance policies, processes, and standards. You will ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks (GDPR, DPA, ISO) and develop Python-based tooling to automate data mesh operations, including data labeling and quality metrics.

As part of the Commercial Systems unit, you will work with open-source tools like Trino and Ranger to democratize data access and maintain high security standards across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Define, monitor, and execute data governance policies.
• Design, implement, and maintain tooling for automated data mesh operations.
• Deploy and operate services developed by the team.
• Coach, mentor, and provide career development feedback to team members.
• Develop and evangelize engineering and organizational best practices.

Requirements

• Exceptional academic track record (high school and university).
• Undergraduate degree in a technical subject or equivalent experience.
• Proven track record of exceeding expectations.
• Experience with data quality, governance, and security processes.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL.
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent presentation skills.
• Result-oriented mindset with a drive to meet commitments.
• Ability to travel internationally twice a year for up to two weeks.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Performance engineering and security experience.
• Familiarity with Airbyte, Ranger, Superset, Temporal, or Trino.

Benefits

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly in-person team sprints.
• Annual personal learning and development budget of $2,000 USD.
• Performance-driven annual bonus or commission.
• Annual compensation reviews.
• Comprehensive leave policies (holiday, maternity, paternity).
• Employee Assistance Program and travel perks (Priority Pass, upgrades).