Hybrid Data Lead – f/m/d

at plancraft

• Job title: Data Lead – f/m/d
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Tech skills: AWS, Azure, BigQuery, Cloud, Google Cloud Platform, TypeScript
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Hamburg, Germany

About the role

• Data Lead driving data strategy and leading a team for AI-first software company. Responsible for building a trusted data framework and enabling self-service analytics across the company.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a strong Data Engineering team ( ± 3 FTE), combining thoughtful people leadership with clear technical direction.
• Own the data vision, strategy, and roadmap at plancraft, aligning it closely with Engineering leadership and company priorities.
• Build and evolve a company-wide single source of truth, ensuring data is reliable, well-modeled, and trusted across all teams.
• Enable true self-service analytics across Product, Marketing, Finance, and Operations by setting standards, tooling, and clear ownership.
• Lead data architecture and tooling decisions, balancing long-term scalability with short-term business needs in alignment with VP Engineering.
• Partner closely with stakeholders to prioritize data initiatives, manage expectations, and translate business questions into scalable data solutions.
• Continuously improve data quality, pipeline stability, and observability, reducing friction and increasing confidence in data-driven decisions.
• Step in hands-on where it matters most, unblocking the team, solving complex problems, and setting a high bar for technical excellence.

Requirements

• Must-haves Senior-level data expertise, with several years of hands-on experience building and operating production-grade data systems in complex environments.
• Strong Data Engineering background, including modern data warehouses, data modeling, and transformation workflows (e.g. DBT or similar).
• Experience owning data systems end to end, from ingestion and modeling to business-facing insights and analytics use cases.
• Proven ability to lead and develop people while remaining technically credible and hands-on when needed.
• Ability to guide and influence technical and non-technical stakeholders through clear framing, trade-offs, and decision-oriented communication.
• Solid understanding of data quality, pipeline stability, and maintainability, with a pragmatic approach to improving them over time.
• Practical experience with cloud-based data stacks, such as BigQuery or comparable warehouses, data pipeline tools (e.g. Fivetran / Airbyte), and platforms like GCP, AWS, or Azure.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability, with the ability to make decisions and stand behind them.
• Nice-to-haves Experience with GCP infrastructure, e.g. using tools like Terragrunt Exposure to DataOps practices, such as CI/CD workflows with GitHub Actions Hands-on experience with Firestore or other operational data stores Deeper experience building and operating Fivetran-based data pipelines Familiarity with TypeScript in data-adjacent or platform contexts Experience working with data from Product, Marketing, Sales, and Finance systems (e.g. HubSpot, Intercom, Personio, Mixpanel, Google Analytics, Survicate) Professional working proficiency in German

Benefits

• Team Spirit : We’re driven by passion, commitment, and a shared mission. Team spirit matters to us — and we make it visible: with three major team events per year, two casual monthly formats at our Hamburg HQ, and a strong recognition culture where we regularly celebrate both the big and small wins together.
• Ownership : You’re encouraged to take ownership from day one. In a flat hierarchy and high-trust environment, you’re empowered to make meaningful decisions and drive real impact.
• Learning & Growth : We invest in your personal and professional development through a strong feedback culture, a personal learning budget, and targeted enablement formats. Our goal is to help you unlock your full potential.
• AI Enablement : Our internal tools and workflows are AI-enabled by design. We support every team and individual in applying AI at the next level in their daily work, including getting your own ChatGPT+ license, of course.
• Tech & Tooling : You’ll receive a MacBook, premium over-ear headphones, and everything else you need — from hardware to tools — to be effective in your daily doing.
• Flexibility : Whether remote, hybrid, or on-site — you work where you’re at your best. Our Hamburg office at Rödingsmarkt (with a rooftop terrace) is always open, and you decide each week how often you come in. Some roles even allow for fully remote setups. And if you need a change of scenery, working abroad is always an option.
• Recharge : To ensure the needed rest, we offer 30 vacation days per year (based on a 5-day week) and Dec 24th off. We also subsidize your Urban Sports Club membership and organize internal sport meetups.
• Mobility : You can lease a "JobRad" (Bike) and get a subsidized "Deutschlandticket" or "BahnCard" for public transport to be supported in your commute.
• International Environment : We’re becoming more international every month, with team members already in Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Austria — which is why English is our internal company language.