Data Engineer

Build the global data backbone for AI and workforce intelligence as a Data Engineer at HeadFirst Group

Do you want to build scalable data platforms that power AI, analytics and intelligent workforce solutions on a global scale? Are you excited by modern Databricks environments, cloud-native engineering and the opportunity to help shape the future of AI-enabled platforms?

As a Data Engineer within the Global Data & AI Team of HeadFirst Group & Impellam Group, you will play a key role in building and scaling the data backbone behind our international Workforce-as-a-Service (WaaS) strategy. You will work on our internally developed Headless Data Architecture (HDA): a scalable, API-first lakehouse platform built on Azure Databricks, Delta Lake and Unity Catalog. This platform supports analytics, AI workloads and intelligent workforce solutions across Europe, North America and APAC.

What makes this role unique? You are not joining a traditional data team focused only on reporting or ETL. You will help build a modern global data platform where data engineering, AI enablement and platform scalability come together. You will work with modern technologies, AI-assisted development tooling and an international engineering team that is actively shaping the next generation of workforce intelligence.

Your impact at HeadFirst Group

As a Data Engineer, you are responsible for designing, building and optimising scalable and production-ready data pipelines within our global lakehouse ecosystem. You help create scalable and reusable data products powering analytics, AI and operational intelligence. You will contribute directly to the further development of our Headless Data Architecture (HDA), where governance and scalability are embedded into every layer of the platform.

In this role, you collaborate closely with ML/AI Engineers, Platform Engineers, Cloud Engineers and stakeholders across Europe, the UK, the US and APAC. Together, you help shape a modern cloud data platform that enables teams to exchange, govern and leverage data efficiently. You will join a growing international engineering team with significant ownership over platform decisions, engineering standards and the future direction of the platform.

What will you do?

• Design, build and maintain Bronze → Silver → Gold medallion pipelines in Azure Databricks;

• Develop scalable ETL/ELT pipelines using PySpark, Delta Lake and Databricks-native tooling;

• Build deployable data products using Lakeflow, Spark Declarative Pipelines and Databricks Asset Bundles (DABs);

• Implement reusable data contracts and scalable data product patterns;

• Manage Unity Catalog governance, lineage and access management;

• Contribute to vector search, semantic search and AI-enabled retrieval capabilities;

• Work within a global multi-lakehouse architecture, including Delta Sharing across regions;

• Collaborate with international engineering teams on platform scalability and data exchange;

• Participate in Git-based development, CI/CD workflows and code reviews;

• Monitor platform health, observability and DataOps reliability;

• Work with AI-assisted development tooling such as Claude Code and the Databricks AI Dev Kit.

About HeadFirst Group

HeadFirst Group is a leading international workforce solutions provider and the largest Managed Service Provider in the Netherlands. Every day, we connect thousands of professionals with organisations such as Rabobank, Vattenfall, government institutions and many other public and private sector clients.

Through technology, data-driven insights and specialised expertise, we help organisations navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly changing labour market. Within our Global Data & AI Team, we are building the foundation for a truly AI-enabled and data-driven organisation. You will join an ambitious international engineering environment where innovation, ownership and collaboration are central. We combine enterprise scale with modern engineering practices and continuously invest in cloud-native technologies, AI capabilities and platform maturity.

This is an opportunity to work on a modern Databricks ecosystem with real international impact, while helping shape the future of data and AI within a global organisation.