About Sestra People

Sestra People is a boutique, female-founded talent provider dedicated to rewriting the narrative around recruitment. At Sestra People, we believe your next best hire isn't just a CV — it's a human being with quirks, flaws, talent, and a story. We champion values of Kindness, Transparency, and Professional Results, without compromising on a family-feel, bringing back a sense of "humanness" to recruitment.

The Opportunity

We're partnering with a boutique, Sydney-based consulting firm that lives and breathes Data, Cloud, and AI transformation. They're on the hunt for Data Engineering Consultants who genuinely understand how things work under the hood — not just how to prompt their way to an answer.

This isn't a role for someone who leans on AI to think for them.

This team wants engineers who can explain their reasoning from first principles, who get genuinely curious about architecture and design trade-offs, and who can walk into a client meeting and hold the room — not just the terminal.

You'll be working across a mix of cloud data platforms and client engagements, with real variety, real client exposure, and real ownership over how solutions get designed and delivered.

The ideal person has deep technical fundamentals, is comfortable using AI tools like Claude to move faster (not to substitute for their own thinking), and has the personality to build genuine rapport with clients — someone who's just as sharp in a solution design workshop as they are over coffee with a stakeholder.

What You'll Do

- Design and build data pipelines and cloud-based data platforms across Snowflake, Databricks, or Microsoft Fabric.
- Work across AWS, Azure, and GCP environments, understanding how each ecosystem approaches data storage, compute, and orchestration.
- Apply strong data fundamentals — schema design, dimensional modelling, warehouse architecture, and data quality — as second nature, not an afterthought.
- Draw on a genuine background in database development or architecture — someone who's actually designed, normalised, and optimised databases,



not just consumed them through a modern cloud platform.
- Use AI-assisted coding tools like Claude to accelerate delivery, while still being able to explain, defend, and troubleshoot the underlying logic without leaning on a chatbot to do it for you.
- Lead client meetings and workshops with confidence — building rapport, reading the room, and translating technical complexity into language a stakeholder can act on.
- Collaborate closely with clients to understand business requirements and shape them into practical, well-architected solutions.
- Mentor junior consultants, sharing not just what to build but why — reinforcing the fundamentals in a team that's increasingly AI-assisted.
- Contribute to technical strategy discussions and help clients avoid building the wrong thing, faster.

What We're Looking For

- Strong, provable data fundamentals — you can talk schema design, modelling, and architecture without needing to look it up.
- A background in database development or database architecture — real, hands-on experience designing schemas and data structures, not just building on top of what a cloud platform hands you.
- Deep, fundamental understanding of data modelling — normalisation, relational design, and the "why" behind a schema — that goes well beyond knowing your way around a modern cloud data platform.
- Hands-on experience with at least one of Snowflake, Databricks, or Microsoft Fabric.
- Genuine working experience across AWS, Azure, and GCP — not just exposure on a slide.
- Strong coding capability in Python, SQL, or Spark, with clean, scalable engineering practices.
- Comfortable using AI coding assistants (Claude, in particular)



as a tool to work faster — but able to demonstrate your own reasoning, debugging, and design thinking independent of them.
- A naturally friendly, bubbly, consulting-ready personality — someone who builds rapport easily and enjoys the client-facing side of the job as much as the technical side.
- Confidence running client meetings solo — not just sitting in them.
- Solid communication skills, able to make the complex sound simple.

Nice to Have

- Certifications across Snowflake, Databricks, or Fabric.
- Exposure to data visualisation tools such as Tableau or Power BI.
- Experience with streaming data or event-driven architectures.
- Knowledge of data security and governance best practices.
- Prior consulting or client-facing project experience.

What's On Offer

- Competitive salary package.
- Exposure to cutting-edge cloud data and AI platforms, and the freedom to use modern tools properly — not just as a crutch.
- Varied, challenging client work across industries.
- A collaborative, low-ego environment where curiosity (and having your own opinions) is genuinely valued.
- Clear growth pathways as the consulting practice scales.

Location

- Sydney, NSW – Minimum 3 days per week in office. This role is not remote.
- Opportunities available in Brisbane & Adelaide for the right candidates.
- Candidates must hold Australian Permanent Residency or Citizenship.
- No visa sponsorship is available for this role.

Next Steps

If you're a data engineer who can think for yourself, hold a room, and still knows their way around a data model without asking AI first, we'd love to hear from you. Apply with your CV and Siena will be in touch for a confidential discussion.

Sestra.Code

Beyond this role, we've also built Sestra.Code, a community supporting Mid to Executive Level Women in Technology, focused on sharing knowledge, opportunities, and support. If you're interested but not sure this role is the perfect fit, we still encourage you to apply so we can connect and discuss other opportunities within our network.

📌 Data Engineering Consultant (Sydney)
🏢 Sestra People
📍 Sydney