Capability Lead Engineering

About the job

Are you ready to own the global data engineering direction for Data & Analytics at enterprise scale?

As Global Capability Lead Data Engineering, you define the architecture, standards, and ways of working for our Global Azure/Databricks platform. You build and mature the data engineering capability, mentor engineers, and drive scalable data pipelines and API-based data access creating a future‑ready data foundation that enables analytics, AI, and digital products.

You operate at the intersection of platform, architecture, and delivery. Your leadership ensures we move from fragmented solutions to an industrialized, scalable engineering capability that accelerates insights, adoption, and data‑driven decision-making across the enterprise.

What We Ask

You combine deep technical credibility with leadership and the ability to scale engineering capabilities globally.

• You take end-to-end ownership of the data engineering capability driving standards, practices, and outcomes across domains
• You are able to translate strategy into implementation, setting direction while ensuring adoption in delivery teams
• You act decisively in complex environments, balancing architecture, delivery, speed, and quality
• You build trust and alignment across Business, IT, and D&A, influencing senior stakeholders and driving change
• You are a capability builder developing people, practices, and engineering maturity, not just solutions

You bring:

• Strong expertise in Data Engineering and scalable data platforms, including cloud-based architectures (Azure preferred)
• Deep understanding of modern data engineering practices (e.g. pipeline design, data modeling, orchestration, performance optimization)
• Proven track record in defining and scaling engineering standards, patterns, and best practices across teams
• Minimum 10+ years of software engineering experience, with strong focus on data engineering
• Demonstrated leadership in developing engineers and building high-performing teams and communities
• Hands-on experience with Python, Azure Databricks, and modern data tooling
• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or similar

What We Offer

• A global, hybrid role with high visibility across Business, IT, and D&A
• The opportunity to shape the engineering backbone of Data, Analytics & AI at enterprise scale
• Strong exposure to strategic transformation and executive decision-making
• High autonomy to define and scale engineering practices, platforms, and capabilities
• A collaborative international environment across NL, KL, and Budapest hubs
• Competitive compensation aligned with a senior leadership role

You Will

• Set the global direction for data engineering, defining architecture principles, standards, and best practices for data pipelines, platforms, and API-based data consumption
• Work closely with data engineers, platform teams, architects, analytics and AI teams, and business stakeholders to translate enterprise needs into scalable data solutions
• Act as a capability leader and senior sparring partner, mentoring engineers, guiding technical decisions, and raising the overall quality and consistency of data engineering
• Drive adoption of modern engineering ways of working on Azure-based data platforms, ensuring reliability, performance, security, and operational readiness at scale
• Strengthen the enterprise data foundation that enables trusted analytics, AI, and data products, supporting better decisions for FrieslandCampina’s colleagues, customers, and member farmers

For thousands of people every day, FrieslandCampina is more than a dairy company. To our farmers, employees, partners, and the communities we serve, it reflects who we are and the impact we make. Our work contributes to better nutrition and a better future worldwide.

You will join the Global Data & Analytics organization, part of Global Business & Digital Services, enabling the capabilities that support FrieslandCampina’s global operations.

The role is based in Kuala Lumpur, one of our key global delivery hubs, working closely with teams and stakeholders across the world. From KL, you contribute to global transformation while being part of a diverse, collaborative, and high-impact environment.