Data Operations Lead

**WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands.** **We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth.** **We work with the world's most valuable brands and have global reach across 100+ markets, with deep local expertise.** **Our people are the key to our success. We're committed to fostering a culture of creativity, belonging and continuous learning, attracting and developing the brightest talent, and providing exciting career opportunities that help our people grow.** **For more information, visit [.](https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwpp.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7CErica.Durr%40wpp.com%7C9bf4566a65bc46a48ac008de749116ea%7C150b5e663d884dee83f6ed149b727a00%7C0%7C0%7C639076363668176216%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Q9juosud56XGLThSFZ1NpPZd6FXpJPxV74OeRZWoh%2B4%3D&reserved=0)** **Why we're hiring:** WPP Media is embarking on a transformative data journey through **Databridge**—our internal comprehensive data strategy and framework designed to unify our fragmented global data landscape. We are moving from isolated, market-specific implementations to a standardized, scalable, cloud-agnostic, and AI-ready data platform built on a modern tech stack: **dbt, Databricks, Python (dlthub), and GitHub Actions**. As **Data Operations Lead**, you will establish and head our new **Data Integration & Operations** team in Chennai. This is a **build-and-run role**: you'll define how the team operates while leading day-to-day delivery of operational excellence across global data products. You will be the **custodian of production**—owning the operational layer including CI/CD automation, deployment pipelines, monitoring, data quality enforcement, incident management, and support. This role requires deep technical knowledge of Databricks and modern data platforms, alongside the ability to lead, mentor, and scale a growing team. **What you'll be doing:** **Technical Ownership & Execution** - Lead the team responsible for data integration, orchestration, and platform operations across Azure and GCP environments - Build and maintain automated CI/CD pipelines using **GitHub Actions** and **Databricks Asset Bundles** for data workflows - Design platform-wide monitoring, logging, and alerting covering pipeline execution, data quality, SLA compliance, and cost - Manage production deployments and own centralized job orchestration via **Databricks Jobs/Workflows** (scheduling, dependencies, retries, notifications) - Implement comprehensive data quality testing and validation using **dbt's** testing framework and custom checks **Operational Standardization** - Create and roll out standard operating procedures, runbooks, onboarding guides, and automation patterns - Establish reusable deployment frameworks and project templates for consistent implementation across markets - Build and maintain the **Central Data Solution Repository** with reusable assets (dlthub pipelines, dbt models, tests, macros) - Define repeatable deployment patterns ensuring standards and best practices are followed globally **Platform Support & Governance** - Set up and manage SLAs, incident workflows, and escalation models - Proactively identify and resolve operational risks in cloud-based data platforms - Partner with DevOps to leverage **Databricks Unity Catalog** for governance, access control, and lineage - Enforce data quality standards and governance policies embedded within pipeline code **Team Leadership** - Lead and mentor the Data Integration & Operations team in Chennai - Shape the team's operating model, priorities, and capabilities - Act as subject matter expert and escalation point for technical operations - Facilitate regular retrospectives to drive continuous improvement and optimize processes - Collaborate with Data Engineering, DevOps, and Product teams globally **What you'll need:** **Experience** - **7+ years** in data operations, platform engineering, or data engineering with hands-on production experience - **3+ years** in technical leadership or team lead capacity, with proven ability to build and scale teams - Demonstrated experience establishing DataOps practices and operational frameworks from the ground up **Technical Expertise** - **Deep, hands-on experience with Databricks platform**, specifically: - Databricks SQL Warehouses, Unity Catalog, Jobs/Workflows - Databricks Asset Bundles for Infrastructure as Code - Delta Lake performance opt