Do you want to build and ship at scale with a global impact? and do you want to have an impact on managing the assets for the world’s largest enterprise foundation? Then we are looking for you to become part of our Data & Analytics team as our Lead Data Engineer.

Novo Holdings is a world-leading life science investor, driven by the purpose of improving people’s health and the sustainability of the planet. Since 1999 we have been investing to promote ground-breaking solutions in healthcare and bio-sustainability while generating attractive returns for the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s grant-giving activities – supporting scientific, humanitarian, and social causes.

The Team

You’ll be part of the broader Data & Analytics team, combined of Data, Platform, AI, and Software Engineers. We are responsible for building Novo Holdings’ entire data landscape and tailored software and AI products to provide our organisation with a differentiated view across sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management - as well as the single, trusted entry point to all of Novo Holdings’ digital capabilities. Unify our internally developed AI capabilities, reporting solutions, external vendor systems, and data sources into one governed, high-performance platform.

You’ll join a culture that values curiosity and encourages you to experiment and challenge assumptions. We pride ourselves on our product mindset, high velocity, and obsession with solving real user problems end-to-end.

About the Role

We are seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design, build, and maintain the backbone of our data platform. You will play a key role in architecting and implementing robust, scalable, and secure data solutions that support analytics, AI, and ML use cases. This is a hands-on role that blends technical depth with stakeholder collaboration and delivery ownership.

The Job

Your key responsibilities are:

Lead the design and development of data pipelines and products using Azure, Databricks, and dbt

Manage infrastructure provisioning and deployments with Terraform and Azure DevOps

Implement CI/CD workflows, version control, and automation practices using Git and Azure DevOps

Develop and maintain data transformations, models, and orchestration logic in Databricks, leveraging features such as Unity Catalog and Autoloader

Build and deploy Python applications and PySpark data processing solutions

Apply best practices in data modelling across structured and unstructured data sources

Ensure system-to-platform and system-to-system integrations where the data platform serves as the intermediate layer

Enable (near) real-time data processing and delivery capabilities

Contribute to the development of the semantic layer, connecting data products to business logic

Oversee production stability, monitoring, and daily operational excellence of data solutions

Professional Qualifications

Many paths can lead to the position of a Lead Data Engineer at Novo Holdings. We expect that you have 5+ years of experience in the field of Data Engineering, with a MSc or PhD in Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science or similar. Experience from an international environment, private or financial organisations is not a must but a plus. We believe that to succeed in the role it is more important that you have demonstrated problem-solving skills and a curious mind.

In addition, you are comfortable and familiar with:

Azure cloud ecosystem

Databricks (Unity Catalog, Autoloader, orchestration, environment management)

Terraform for IaC provisioning

dbt for data transformations and modelling

Python (and PySpark) and SQL for pipeline and data product development

Azure DevOps and Git for CI/CD and version control

Experience working with both structured and unstructured data

Exposure to (near) real-time data processing frameworks

Strong stakeholder management and the ability to translate between business needs and technical requirements

Understanding of semantic layers and their role in connecting data to business use cases

Hands-on experience deploying Python applications into Databricks workspaces

Personal Qualifications

As a person you are:

Outcome- and impact-oriented, with a strong product mindset

Skilled at long-term thinking and setting technical standards for quality and maintainability

Curious, structured, and proactive in solving complex problems

Able to operate independently while contributing actively to a team-oriented environment

Comfortable interacting with both technical specialists and business stakeholders, and able to communicate clearly and constructively

Working at Novo Holdings

Our work environment is driven by purpose and values, and we strive to be recognised by our stakeholders and people as an exceptional enterprise. We employ more than 230 professionals from various nationalities and backgrounds, all sharing the same goal: To generate attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Our investment teams are spread across offices in San Francisco, Boston, London, Singapore, Mumbai, Shanghai, and our headquarters just north of Copenhagen in Hellerup.

Contact

We are looking to fill the position as soon as possible and will conduct interviews on an ongoing basis. Please submit your application no later than 4 January 2026, including your CV and a cover letter that explains your motivation and how you have created value and impact in your previous roles.

If you have any questions, please contact Head of Data & Analytics, Mark van der Bourgh Lange at e-mail: mbl@novo.dk