Lead Data Engineer

Racing Victoria (RV) is at the forefront of Australian thoroughbred racing, delivering innovative data solutions that power the industry. As our Lead Data Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our data strategy, and overseeing the acquisition, transformation, and delivery of business-critical data.

About the Opportunity

Reporting to the Head of Architecture & Engineering and working closely with the Head of Data & Insights, you will lead a small team of engineers while collaborating with stakeholders across Racing Victoria and Racing.com Media, and external partners such as AWS. This is a hands-on leadership role, blending strategic vision, technical execution, and team development to drive best-in-class data engineering practices.

You’ll be part of a vibrant and diverse technology team of 40+ skilled professionals working across Engineering, QA, Product, UX, Agile Delivery, and DevSecOps. Our team:

• Powers racing.com’s television and digital platforms with real-time data pipelines
• Builds cutting-edge applications for racing integrity and equine welfare
• Ensures the seamless and timely delivery of data that fuels the sport and business of thoroughbred racing

If you're passionate about leading high-impact initiatives in a fast-moving industry, we'd love to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities

As Lead Engineer, you will:

• Own the technology roadmap for our Data Platform, driving innovation and best practices
• Design and deliver high-performance data pipelines for real-time and batch processing
• Lead a talented group of data engineers, fostering a culture of learning and excellence
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and external partners to deliver impactful solutions
• Champion data security, governance, and DevOps practices to ensure scalable, reliable data infrastructure

About you

We are looking for a dynamic, forward-thinking data engineer with the skills and experience to deliver on the role’s responsibilities, including:

• 5-10 years of experience in data engineering, with a proven track record of leading data engineers
• Strong expertise in the AWS ecosystem (incl. Redshift, S3, Glue, Athena, DMS, Lambda)
• Strong coding skills in Python and Spark
• Experience designing and optimising batch and real-time data pipelines (e.g. Airflow, Kinesis, SSIS), ETL jobs and replication (e.g. DMS, Shareplex)
• Knowledge of SQL & NoSQL database design, data warehousing, and data lake concepts
• Understanding of DevOps practices, infrastructure as code (e.g. Terraform), and API development (REST, GraphQL)
• Experience with business intelligence, analytics and data visualisation platforms (e.g. GA4, Tableau)
• A strategic mindset with a passion for continuous learning, problem-solving, and innovation
• Working knowledge of machine learning and AI (Sagemaker beneficial)
• Awareness of data platforms such as Databricks and Snowflake

What we offer

• Hybrid & flexible work, with an emphasis on face-to-face collaboration
• Exclusive racing experiences, club membership and ‘behind the barriers’ access to the world of horse racing
• Wellbeing & additional leave, extra days off to support mental and physical health
• Access to professional development in and out of the workplace
• Salary-sacrificing options
• Close to public transport, with free onsite parking for added convenience

How do I apply?

If this sounds like the role for you apply using the Apply via our website, applications close Monday 31 March 9am early applications are encouraged, as interviews will commence prior to this date.