Manager, Data Engineering (P865)

84.51° Overview:

84.51° is a retail data science, insights and media company. We help The Kroger Co., consumer packaged goods companies, agencies, publishers and affiliates create more personalized and valuable experiences for shoppers across the path to purchase.

Powered by cutting-edge science, we utilize first-party retail data from more than 62 million U.S. households sourced through the Kroger Plus loyalty card program to fuel a more customer-centric journey using 84.51° Insights, 84.51° Loyalty Marketing and our retail media advertising solution, Kroger Precision Marketing.

Join us at 84.51°!

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Manager, Data Engineering (P865)

As a full-stack data science subsidiary of The Kroger Company, we leverage over 10 petabytes of data to personalize the experience for 62 million households. We are seeking a hands-on Lead Data Engineer to guide a high-performing, hybrid scrum team of onshore and offshore engineers. In this "player/coach" role, you will blend deep technical expertise with people management to architect, build, and operate our analytical lakehouse on a modern data stack. You will partner closely with Product Management to own the data strategy and deliver scalable, high-quality data products.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership & Architecture: Own the architecture and delivery of secure, scalable data pipelines on Databricks (PySpark, Delta Lake, DLT) and Azure. Lead technical strategy, establish engineering best practices (coding, reviews, CI/CD, IaC), and drive the adoption of modern tools and patterns like medallion architecture and Unity Catalog.
• People Management & Team Leadership: Manage, coach, and develop a hybrid team of 2-8 data engineers (FTEs and offshore contractors). Conduct 1:1s, performance reviews, and career planning while fostering an inclusive, high-ownership culture. Lead recruitment and hiring efforts.
• Agile Delivery & Product Collaboration: Partner with Product Management to translate business needs into technical roadmaps, data contracts, and SLAs. Own the team’s capacity planning and delivery commitments within an agile framework (Scrum/Cycle Planning), removing blockers and driving continuous improvement.
• Hands-On Delivery & Operations: Remain high-touch with design, coding (Python, SQL), and production operations. Implement robust monitoring, lead incident response, and optimize cloud performance and cost (FinOps). Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions) and manage infrastructure with Terraform.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 7+ years in data engineering with 3+ years in a senior/lead capacity, including experience managing or mentoring technical teams.
• Core Technical Skills:
• Databricks: 4+ years of hands-on experience with Spark (PySpark/SQL), including building and operating Delta Live Tables (DLT) pipelines.
• Azure: Strong proficiency with ADLS Gen2, Entra ID (Azure AD), Key Vault, and related services.
• Languages & Tools: Expert-level Python and SQL.
• Infrastructure as Code: Proven experience with Terraform.
• Architecture: Strong understanding of data modeling (medallion, dimensional), data warehousing, and CI/CD best practices (Git, GitHub Actions).
• Leadership: Demonstrated success leading hybrid (onshore/offshore) technical teams in an agile environment. Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to partner with Product and business stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Azure or Databricks certifications (e.g., Data Engineer Associate/Professional).
• Experience with ELT tools (Fivetran), Snowflake, and real-time streaming data (Event Hubs, Kafka).
• Familiarity with AI-ready data strategies and AI development tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot).

The Opportunity

• Shape the data strategy and engineering practices for a leading enterprise at scale.
• Lead and develop a talented, hybrid team in a collaborative, growth-minded culture.
• Work with modern tooling and have a direct impact on millions of customers.
• Receive a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and flexible hybrid work arrangements.

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Pay Transparency and Benefits

• The stated salary range represents the entire span applicable across all geograp