Technical Lead (TL) / (m/f/d) – Data & AI

Sector: Telecommunications
Location: Málaga, Spain (3 days on-site / 2 days remote)
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: Open-ended (ongoing engagement)
Contract Type: Freelance / Contract
Reporting To: Hiring Manager based in London
Language: Fluent/Advanced English required – Spanish not required

Role Overview

We are looking for an experienced Technical Lead (TL) to provide end-to-end technical leadership and governance across the DART teams (Data & AI). The TL acts as the primary technical authority connecting multiple organisations and delivery units (ACOE, AIDA, D&A, Local Markets), owning technical standards, cost governance, and platform integrity. This is a full-time, dedicated role with no split delivery responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the single point of ownership for technical problems and their resolution across all Data & AI initiatives
• Manage priorities and dependencies across four key actors (ACOE, AIDA, D&A, Local Markets), facilitating negotiations and resolving conflicts
• Own engineering and architectural standards across the organisation
• Approve or reject technical demand based on cost and sustainability
• Define and maintain golden paths for data ingestion, transformation, and serving
• Establish and chair a Technical Assurance Board with clear roles, decision rights, and transparent communication
• Drive cost governance: mandatory run-cost estimation gates, standardised monitoring via Cloud Smart, publishing reference cost models and benchmarks
• Partner with Finance on budgeting and forecasting
• Lead platform rationalisation: reviewing legacy artefacts, freezing non-standard data movement paths, migrating non-standard solutions
• Define and enforce telemetry, observability, and monitoring standards
• Create a safe space for innovation and experimentation while balancing long-term sustainability
• Track, document, and share lessons learned across programmes and markets
• Promote parametrised, reusable engineering patterns as default practice
• Escalate risks that threaten platform standards, budgets, or long-term sustainability

Required Skills & Experience

• Senior/Principal-level experience in Data & AI engineering or architecture
• Strong hands-on background with GCP (including cost optimisation and Cloud Smart tooling)
• Deep expertise in data engineering: ingestion, transformation, serving, data pipelines
• Proven experience in technical governance at enterprise scale (standards, architecture boards, cost control)
• Strong stakeholder management skills – ability to align and influence across multiple business units and markets
• Experience with platform rationalisation and legacy migration
• Solid understanding of telemetry, observability, and monitoring frameworks
• Track record of defining and enforcing engineering standards and best practices
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and cost modelling in a technical context
• Excellent communication and decision-making skills with high accountability
• Fluent/Advanced English (mandatory)