Data Engineer
Photon
Data Engineer
Photon
Builds custom software and AI for big companies
Role Overview
We are looking for a Database Lead with strong GCP, database, and ETL experience to support a cloud-native data platform. The role involves database design, data modeling, schema evolution, data migrations, ETL pipelines, and data streaming across MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Google Cloud databases (Spanner, Cloud SQL, AlloyDB).
The candidate will act as a technical lead, collaborating with onshore architects and leading offshore DB/ETL resources as additional team members are onboarded.
Key Responsibilities
Lead data modeling, schema design, and database architecture across MySQL, PostgreSQL, Spanner, Cloud SQL, and AlloyDB.
Own data migrations (one-time migrations, incremental/delta loads, and ongoing data synchronization).
Design and manage config-driven ETL / ELT pipelines, with table-level configuration files and minimal transformations.
Support on-demand onboarding of new tables and manage schema changes / evolution.
Design and support data streams for batch and near-real-time ingestion.
Work across teams on event-driven architectures, ensuring reliable data publishing and downstream consumption.
Enable CI/CD deployments for database changes, ETL jobs, dataflows, and configurations.
Monitor and troubleshoot ETL pipelines, data syncs, and streaming jobs; support reprocessing and recovery.
Prepare and maintain playbooks, runbooks, and operational documentation.
Lead and mentor offshore DB/ETL engineers, review designs, guide implementation, and ensure delivery quality.
Mandatory Skills & Experience
5–8 years of experience in database and data engineering roles.
Proven expertise in data modeling, schema design, and data migrations.
Strong hands-on experience with MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Experience with Google Cloud databases: Spanner, Cloud SQL, AlloyDB.
Experience with ETL / ELT pipelines, data integration, and data streaming.
Strong understanding of schema evolution, delta processing, and data synchronization.
Advanced SQL skills.
Experience working on GCP, including services like Pub/Sub, Dataflow, BigQuery, and Cloud Storage.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines for data and database deployments.
Ability to technically lead offshore teams and work with onshore stakeholders.
Nice to Have
Exposure to other databases / technologies such as AS/400, MongoDB, Cassandra, and GraphQL.
Experience in enterprise data modernization or legacy-to-cloud programs.
Professional Cloud Certifications (Google / Microsoft / AWS), including:
Google Professional Data Engineer
Google Cloud Architect
Google Cloud Engineer
Photon designs, builds, and runs custom software for large companies, combining an in-house creative agency with its own engineering teams. Its flagship client work includes rebuilding Samsung's US online store as a set of smaller linked services and creating Olive Garden's mobile app, which lets diners join the waitlist from their phones instead of waiting at the door. Clients hire Photon's teams to plan and code their apps, websites, and AI tools and to keep them running afterward, paying for the engineers and designers assigned to each project. Photon is privately held and based in London, with its US arm in Dallas and engineering centers in Chennai and Bengaluru.
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