Engineering Lead

About Penbrothers

Penbrothers is an HR & remote talent management partner and one of the fastest-growing companies in the Philippines. We provide talented Filipinos with global opportunities in high-growth startups and dynamic companies, from the comfort of their own homes.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced Team Lead to join us and lead our new Manila-based offshore team, delivering high-impact data and marketing solutions across the business.

This is a hands-on leadership role combining technical delivery, team management, and cross-functional collaboration. You will play a key role in developing our Vitruvian platform and guide a team of Data and Backend Engineers to deliver reliable, high-quality data and marketing products. You will also act as the primary point of contact between the Manila team and the Malta-based leadership, ensuring the offshore team can operate independently with minimal handholding.

Working as part of a wider global Data & AI function, you will collaborate with various other Vitruvian verticals such as AI/ML, Architecture, Operations, and Marketing Hub to drive the successful delivery of complex Data, AI, and Marketing initiatives.

What You'll Do

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Data Engineers and a Backend Engineer based in Manila, supporting both their technical growth and career progression, and carrying out line management duties including 1:1s, objective setting, and performance reviews.
• Manage day-to-day team activities, including sprint planning, backlog prioritization, and delivery tracking.
• Act as a hands-on engineer within the team, contributing to the development and maintenance of data pipelines and platform components.
• Ensure high standards of code quality, testing, and documentation through code reviews and engineering best practices.
• Design and evolve scalable data architectures, including modern data platforms such as Lakehouse and real-time streaming solutions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into technical deliverables.
• Lead the delivery of complex data and marketing projects, managing timelines, dependencies, and risks.
• Drive improvements in data quality, reliability, and governance across the platform.
• Support operational excellence, including incident management, monitoring, on-call routes and SLA/KPI tracking for the Manila team.
• Participate in audit and compliance processes, ensuring appropriate data controls are in place.
• Act as the primary liaison between the Manila offshore team and Malta-based stakeholders.
• Contribute to hiring activities, including CV screening and interviewing candidates.

What You Bring

• Proven experience building and maintaining scalable data pipelines and distributed systems.
• Experience working with a range of database technologies (relational, columnar, and NoSQL).
• Hands-on experience with data transformation and orchestration tools (e.g., DBT, Airflow, or similar).
• Experience with modern data streaming technologies such as Spark, Kafka, NiFi, and Flink.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms, preferably AWS.
• Solid understanding of data architectures, including data warehouses, data lakes, and lakehouse models.
• A software engineering background with hands-on experience in Python or Java.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams and delivering complex data projects.
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies, including sprint planning and delivery management.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills.
• Excellent written and spoken English.

Nice to Have

• Experience working in distributed or hub-and-spoke team setups across multiple time zones.
• Experience working in regulated environments or with data governance frameworks.
• Experience with, or willingness to adopt, AI-assisted development tools (e.g., Cursor, Claude).
• Industry experience in gaming or gambling is beneficial but not required.

What We're Looking For

• Leadership & Ownership: You take accountability for delivery and team outcomes and can lead without authority.
• Hands-on Mindset: You enjoy staying close to the code and setting the technical bar by example.
• Passion for Data: You understand the value of data in driving business decisions.
• Communication: You can explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and represent the team externally.
• Collaboration: A strong team player who thrives in cross-functional, distributed environments.
• Mentorship: You are committed to growing the engineers around you.

Our Hiring Process

We utilize AI tools to enhance hiring efficiency and ensure a fair evaluation. Consequently, candidates will engage with an AI Interviewer, supervised by Human Talent Acquisition Experts who will support your entire application journey.

Our AI Expectations: While we encourage you to use AI for CV refinement and research, we require that all interviews and assessments be completed through your own authentic effort. The use of real-time AI assistance during interviews or to complete skills tests is strictly prohibited to ensure a fair and genuine evaluation of your capabilities.

What You’ll Get

At Penbrothers, we are obsessed with creating positive employee experiences. Here you’ll find an environment that nurtures learning and provides growth opportunities. You’ll have the opportunity to make an impact on fast-growing startups and dynamic companies.

· Meaningful work & Growth: We take every opportunity to stretch ourselves and deliver an excellent client experience.

· Employee as our biggest asset: We are genuinely invested in our people’s careers and welfare.

· Global reach & local impact: Get to work with high-growth startups and dynamic companies from the comfort of your own home.

· Powering global startups: We’ve created 1,400 Filipino jobs that empower global start-ups to focus on growth.