Senior Data Governance Engineer

Job Title: Senior Data Governance Engineer

Location: Chennai, India Job Type: Full-time Function: Technology / Data Reports to: Raja Krishnamoorthi

About Pearson

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We are building the world’s leading learning company by providing digital content, assessments, and services that support learners at every stage.

As part of Pearson’s Chief Technology Office (OCTO), the Keystone Data Governance team is responsible for enabling trusted, high-quality, and compliant data across the enterprise. We are transforming how data is governed by embedding automation, scalability, and modern data engineering practices into our governance model.

The Role

We are seeking highly motivated Data Governance Engineers to join our Chennai-based team. This is a hands-on engineering role focused on building and scaling automated Data Governance capabilities across Pearson’s data ecosystem.

This role is primarily an engineering-focused position (approximately 70–80% hands-on engineering, 20–30% governance-related work). The expectation is that strong data engineers will apply their skills to governance-focused use cases, while developing deeper expertise in data governance, metadata, and compliance domains over time.

You will work closely with global Data Governance leadership, data engineering teams, and external partners to design and implement solutions that operationalize governance at scale. This role is critical to reducing manual effort for business stakeholders while improving data quality, compliance, and discoverability.

Key Responsibilities

Governance Engineering & Automation

• Design and build automation solutions that operationalize Data Governance processes and reduce manual effort for Data Stewards.
• Translate governance policies into scalable, technical implementations embedded within data platforms (with guidance from senior team members as needed).
• Together with US-based Data Governance team, develop reusable frameworks and patterns that enable consistent governance adoption across business units.

Collibra Platform & Integration

• Configure, extend, and support the Collibra Data Governance platform, including workflows and API-based integrations.
• Integrate Collibra with enterprise data platforms to enable automated metadata ingestion, lineage, and governance workflows.
• Support enterprise data catalog, business glossary, and lineage capabilities.

Metadata & Data Catalog Management

• Support the build-out of integrations with data sources (e.g., RDBMS, data warehouses, data lakes, SaaS systems, PaaS systems) to support catalog ingestion.
• Enable automated data discovery, classification, and enrichment to improve usability and trust.
• Ensure metadata accuracy, completeness, and scalability across platforms.

Data Quality Engineering

• Design and implement data quality rules, monitoring solutions, and validation pipelines as needed to support OCTO team and Pearson business units.
• Build and manage data quality jobs to support profiling, validation, and issue detection.
• Collaborate with Data Stewards to define quality standards and remediation workflows.

Data Compliance, Security & Privacy

• Implement governance controls for data classification, access management, and privacy compliance.
• Integrate governance workflows with enterprise security and compliance tooling.
• Support initiatives related to regulatory and policy compliance requirements.

Data Engineering & Integration

• Develop and maintain data pipelines, APIs, and integration services supporting governance use cases.
• Integrate data across platforms using ETL/ELT processes and modern data engineering practices.
• Ensure pipelines align with governance standards for quality, lineage, and security.

Collaboration & Delivery

• Partner with global stakeholders and Data Governance leadership to deliver prioritized backlog items. Participate in stand-up meetings with US-based team, accept assignments from US team leads.
• Work closely with engineering teams and external partners (e.g., Deloitte) to industrialize governance solutions.
• Contribute to documentation, standards, and best practices for governance engineering.

Qualifications

Required (Core Engineering Skills)

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related technical field.
• 3–6+ years of experience in data engineering, data platform engineering, or related roles.
• Strong programming and data engineering experience (e.g., Python, SQL).
• Hands-on experience with APIs and system integrations (REST, microservices).
• Familiarity with modern cloud-based data platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Snowflake, Databricks).

Preferred (Data Governance & Domain Experience – can be developed on the job)

• Understanding of data governance concepts including metadata, lineage, and data quality.
• Experience with data governance tools, preferably Collibra.
• Experience implementing data catalog, lineage, or metadata management solutions.
• Exposure to data quality frameworks and monitoring tools.
• Knowledge of data privacy, security, and compliance principles (e.g., PII, access controls).
• Experience designing and implementing data pipelines or integrating data from multiple sources.
• Experience working in global, cross-functional teams.

Skills & Attributes

• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Self-starter with a focus on delivering scalable, high-quality solutions.
• Interest in developing expertise in Data Governance and enterprise data management practices.
• Commitment to continuous learning and improvement.

What We Offer

• Opportunity to contribute to a global, enterprise-wide Data Governance transformation.
• Exposure to modern data platforms, tools, and engineering practices.
• Collaborative, inclusive, and growth-oriented work environment.
• Competitive compensation and benefits aligned with local market standards.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment where all employees are valued and empowered.