The Data Engineering Lead is a hands-on technical expert who builds scalable data platforms, data pipelines, automated tools, and reusable data products that expand the organization’s Data & AI capabilities. This role also partners closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, and other business stakeholders to translate opportunities into clear data solutions and to ensure what we build drives measurable business impact and growth. Office location: Toronto - Canada Work arrangement: Hybrid - 3 days in office, 2 days from home; Remote working option is not available. Position Responsibilities: 1) Build scalable data platforms, products, and automation Design and build scalable data pipelines, automated data tools, and reusable data products on modern cloud platforms such as Azure Databricks to accelerate AI and analytics value delivery. Automate, modernize, and improve data pipelines and engineering processes to increase efficiency, reliability, and scalability. Deliver projects across data ingestion, engineering, visualization, and decision-making. 2) Own the data domain and strengthen engineering quality Serve as a data-domain subject matter expert and trusted technical advisor. Build a strong understanding of systems and the data environment by researching, exploring, and testing new data architecture, design ideas, and technologies. Collaborate with internal and external experts to improve data quality, platform reliability, access, and usability. Use technical documentation to develop a holistic understanding of the data domain. 3) Enable analytics through strong data foundations and business context Work with data scientists to turn business requests into high-value data products and capabilities. Partner with business teams and data scientists to build, improve, and deliver trusted, analysis-ready data. Help develop conceptual/logical data models, curated data layers, or semantic layers with clear business context. 4) Partner with the business (Sales/Marketing/Product) and communicate clearly Work with Sales, Marketing, Product, and other teams to understand needs and identify where data and analytics can support growth. Turn business insights into clear technical requirements focused on measurable impact. Explain technical ideas in plain language and confidently present solutions to non-technical audiences. Act as a connector between technical and business teams to keep goals, requirements, and delivery aligned. 5) Grow data and analytics capability across the organization Help business partners understand and use data and automation effectively. Identify and develop “data champions” to increase profitable use of data. Learn key business concepts from partners and enable creative, effective use of data technologies. Required qualifications: Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in computer science or quantitative field (e.g., Mathematics, Physics, Engineering). Technical Requirements must have: Advanced experience with databases, data architecture, and modern data engineering practices. Strong programming skills in Python, SQL, Spark. Experience building automated data pipelines, orchestration workflows, and data transformation solutions, ideally in Azure Databricks or similar cloud data platforms. Experience with cloud data technologies—especially Azure, including Azure Databricks—and Data as a Service (DaaS). Demonstrated experience leveraging AI/Generative AI tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, LLM-based assistants, automation frameworks) to accelerate development, improve code quality, and enhance productivity across the software delivery lifecycle Experience with analytics and visualization tools (e.g. PowerBI) is a plus. Business Partnership & Communication Skills Ability to collaborate with Sales, Marketing, and other customer-facing stakeholders. Be able to capture business pain points, showcase prototypes and iterate on solutions Strong communication and storytelling skills; able to simplify complex concepts. Comfortable facilitating sessions, presenting to groups, and engaging partners. Consultative mindset with the ability to link technical work to business outcomes. Preferred Qualifications: Solid understanding of RESTful APIs with FastAPI (authentication, rate limiting, pagination, error handling) Experience in deploying and operating containerized applications on AKS (Azure Kubernetes Service) Good understanding of Agentic AI frameworks like LangChain/AutoGen.. Exposure to A2A (Agent to Agent) implementation & Agent scaling When you join our team: We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see. The role being advertised is an existing vacancy. About Manulife and John Hancock Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html. Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law. It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact hr@manulife.com. Referenced Salary Location Toronto, Ontario Working Arrangement Hybrid Salary range is expected to be between $113,000.00 CAD - $163,000.00 CAD Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact hr@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact hr@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions. We use data and analytics technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and automated processing tools, to analyze and process the information you provide to us or third parties in the application process. For more information, please refer to our personal information collection statement. We're Manulife. And we’re on a mission to make decisions easier and lives better. Better is what drives us. It’s what inspires us to find new ways to support customers and colleagues in living longer and healthier lives. It’s the reason we’re dedicated to investing in digital innovation and accelerating a sustainable and economically inclusive future. Joining us means you’ll be empowered to learn and grow your career. We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. And as part of our global team, you’ll help shape the future you want to see – and discover that better can take you anywhere you want to go. We’re proud of our accomplishments and recognitions. Recent awards include: 2024 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner Manulife Named one of Forbes World’s Best Employers 2023 Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2023 We’ve been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers (2024) Manulife included in Bloomberg’s 2023 Gender-Equality Index To receive our latest job opportunities directly to your inbox, create an account or sign in and navigate to the ‘Job Alerts’ section located in the top right corner of the page. From there, you can sign up to receive job alerts. Our ambition is to be the most digital, customer-centric global company in our industry. Learn more at https://www.manulife.com/.