Senior Data Engineer

Revolutionise data at Trailmix! Help us to collect, protect, and scale our data usage across the organisation.

At Trailmix, our players are the reason we exist, and this drives our mission: to create delightful spaces where millions of people can flourish. Our hit game Love & Pies, launched in September 2021, has resonated with millions worldwide and we build free-to-play mobile games that are snackable yet filled with heart, humour, and stories that stick.

We’re a focused and highly collaborative team with a big creative spirit. We believe the best games are made when the people behind them feel inspired, supported, and proud of the work they do.

That’s why our values sit at the heart of how we work, shaping every decision and creative choice we make.

Trailmix Values

• We win as one: Success is shared, and collaboration fuels everything we do because great games are never built solo.
• We are resilient by nature: We adapt and rise stronger each time because every challenge is a chance to evolve.
• We are powered by our players: Every choice begins with them because when our players thrive, so do we.
• We are kind and direct:  We speak with honesty and care because clarity and compassion build the trust that makes us better.
• We stay curious and grow:  We ask, explore, and learn because curiosity keeps our creativity alive.
• We decide boldly and own fully: We move with courage and conviction because great ideas only matter when we stand behind them.

If you’re excited by meaningful creativity, true collaboration, and making games that bring people joy, you’ll feel right at home here, too.

The Opportunity:

Our long-term vision for Data is to enable everyone in the company to be owners of performance and scientific in their approach to learning from data, with data being used to directly enhance our game experiences through personalisation and insights for our customers.

Data engineers are the people who enable everyone at Trailmix to produce and consume data by leveraging the capabilities of the data platform (e.g. services such as BigQuery, Cloud Composer, dbt, Omni, Vertex AI). They architect and implement the data platform infrastructure (e.g using Terraform, Docker), and use it to collect and protect data from across our internally owned and externally procured systems landscape, to make available for consumption. Ultimately, they make it possible for Trailmix to combine, enrich and consume data safely at scale to better achieve our company mission.

The Day to Day

As we are a small and nimble data team it will be expected that from time-to-time you will need to be hands-on across the whole data engineering lifecycle, including actively contributing to data modelling (dbt) and data serving (Omni/Tableau) as needed for the success of the data team, but this should be limited (5%). But you can mainly expect to be focussed on:

• Successfully design, build, and maintain ingestion pipelines and patterns for all mission critical data sources: Work with Game Engineers to establish a pattern of ingesting event logs from frontend and backend services, including partnering with Data Scientists to establish event log schema conventions that enable easy integration into existing datasets.
• Craft best-in-class data development experiences for data professionals (data analysts, analytics engineers, data scientists). Partner with and understand the needs of your users to make it safe, easy, and possible for all data professionals to build data products with best practices baked in, automated as much as possible via our CI/CD process and developer environment.
• Drive implementation of operational excellence across all our data infrastructure. Guide with best practices for instilling a culture of DataOps and FinOps. You will do this in-part by developing needed monitoring & alerting, enabling and automating best practice via CI/CD, and with all infrastructure managed using infrastructure as code and containerized workloads (using Terraform and Docker respectively).
• Coach and mentor other data/game engineers, data analysts, and the broader business on data quality. Help other data engineers, analysts, or software engineers to understand the importance of good data creation principles and ensure we are capturing the data we need in the correct format and at the correct latency.
• Stretch in the direction of your development goals. Be curious, find your stretch! Lead by example with proactivity and curiosity, perhaps this will be learning new leadership/communication techniques, sharpening your already strong data platform skills, deepening your commercial understanding or learning about data science techniques. It will be up to you to drive your own development and set what success looks like for this through your learning goals with all the support you need along the way from your manager and peers.

About you

• Demonstrable experience of designing and building systems on a cloud-native data platform (preferable on GCP) at a startup or scaleup in the past, and supporting the development needs of data analysts, analytics engineers, and data scientists. Bonus if this is within a Game Studio environment.
• Reasonably high ability to execute across the data engineering lifecycle, from building data platform infrastructure to data modelling (via dbt) in a cloud environment (e.g. BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, Databricks) you have done it.
• Strong Python software engineering skills (e.g. an understanding of concepts such as decorators, generators, context managers, typing).
• Comfortable with SQL (e.g. parsing JSON files, complex joins, complex calculations using CTEs etc) and performance optimisation of queries (i.e. clustering, partitioning).
• Ideally hands-on experience using infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g. Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation) and containerisation (e.g. Docker). If you are not too familiar with this then we are happy to teach you!
• (Bonus) You have worked within a Game Studio data domain before, which gave you experience in any of: supporting mobile or F2P games and live operations data, knowledge of A/B testing, player segmentation, or game economy telemetry, understanding of GDPR/compliance considerations with handling player data.
• An entrepreneurial spirit with the ability to thrive in a high ambiguity, fast paced environment that gives you the ownership and freedom to succeed.

That means we’re looking for someone who:

• Builds impact through collaboration: You know the best work comes from shared perspectives and collective wins.
• Grows stronger through challenges: You adapt, stay positive, and help others find a way forward when things get messy.

• Keeps players at the heart of decisions: You design, create, and problem-solve with empathy, knowing players are our why.
• Communicates with clarity and care: You give feedback that builds trust, and you listen openly so ideas can flourish.
• Stays curious and lifts others up: You experiment, learn quickly, and share your discoveries generously, raising the bar for the whole team.
• Moves with courage and ownership: You make bold calls when it matters, and you stand by them with accountability.
  

We are a Hybrid Studio

We work from our Kings Cross studio together three days a week ( Monday, Thursday, and Friday), because we believe great games (and great teams) are built through genuine collaboration.

These days are focused, energised, and designed for impact:

• We solve problems faster
• We share ideas in the moment
• We drive decisions that move us forward

This rhythm helps us deliver our best work not just for each other, but for our players. It’s how we build momentum, grow together, and stay ahead in a fast-moving industry.

Our Benefits

• Investing in Your Growth: Unleash your potential with our generous development budget. After completing your three-month probation, all team members receive a £1,000 allowance to fuel their professional growth each year.
• Fueling Your Day: Our kitchens are fully stocked with delicious treats and drinks, and we provide breakfast and lunch supplies to keep you energised throughout the day.
• Building Connections: Join us every Friday for a team lunch. A chance to connect and recharge for the week ahead.
• Planning for Your Future: Take control of your financial future with our contributory pension scheme. Plus, enjoy the added benefit of tax-free contributions.
• Unlocking Ownership: As a valued team member, you'll have the opportunity to own a stake in our success.
• Caring for Your Wellbeing: Your health is our priority. Enjoy peace of mind with our fully comprehensive private medical care, with premiums paid by Trailmix. Plus, access mental health support 24/7 with the Spill Mental Health App.
• Time to Recharge: Our holiday allowance allows you to take a well-deserved break. You'll enjoy 28 days of annual leave, including three company holiday days around Christmas.
• Surprise and Delight:  We want you to feel appreciated and valued with various gifts throughout the year and events, from team outings to themed parties.
• Setting You Up for Success: Receive a £250 work-from-home budget to ensure you have the proper home setup to perform at your best.

Our Inclusive Culture

Trailmix was founded to make a positive impact on our players, our community, and our colleagues. We’re committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can flourish and feel seen.

We believe it’s vital that players see themselves represented in the games they play; and in Love & Pies, we celebrate the beautiful diversity of life. The stories, characters, and relationships in our games reflect the people we are and the people we love.

We’re always excited to welcome more people who share our passion for designing games that truly include everyone.

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