Lead, Data Validation Specialist

About the role

Addepar is a technology company serving the financial services industry with a platform designed for investment management and portfolio analytics. The platform enables advisors and institutional investors to consolidate, analyze, and report on complex investment portfolios across multiple asset classes and custodians. The Lead, Data Validation Specialist will own the data quality strategy and guide a team dedicated to ensuring the accuracy and reliability of financial data flowing through the Addepar platform. This role reports into the data organization and works closely with engineering, product, and client-facing teams to define validation standards and resolve data discrepancies that could impact client reporting. The specialist will be responsible for setting priorities, mentoring team members, and driving process improvements that reduce errors in client-facing reports and internal analytics. As a lead, this person will also represent the data validation function in cross-functional initiatives and contribute to the long-term roadmap for data quality at Addepar. The position requires someone who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on technical work, ensuring that the validation infrastructure scales as Addepar continues to grow its client base and data volumes.

Key facts

What you'll do

Own the end-to-end data validation pipeline for financial portfolio data entering the Addepar platform

Lead and mentor a team of data validation analysts, setting performance goals and conducting regular reviews

Design and maintain automated validation rules that flag inconsistencies in asset holdings, pricing, and client account information

Collaborate with engineering teams to build data quality checks into ingestion workflows and ETL processes

Investigate and resolve complex data discrepancies reported by internal stakeholders and external clients

Create documentation and runbooks that describe validation logic, exception handling procedures, and escalation paths

Monitor data quality dashboards and generate weekly reports on validation metrics for leadership

Work with product managers to define new data fields and ensure validation coverage is built into product releases

Coordinate with third-party data providers to troubleshoot and resolve upstream data feed issues

Drive continuous improvement initiatives that reduce manual intervention and increase the speed of data reconciliation

Requirements

Proven experience leading a data quality or data validation team in a financial services or technology environment

Strong understanding of financial data structures including portfolios, holdings, transactions, and pricing feeds

Experience designing and implementing automated data validation frameworks and rules engines

Excellent analytical skills with the ability to diagnose root causes of data errors across complex systems

Strong communication skills for presenting data quality findings to both technical and non-technical audiences

Ability to manage multiple priorities and drive projects to completion in a fast-paced environment

Experience with SQL and scripting languages for data analysis and validation automation

Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field, computer science, or a related discipline

Nice to have

Experience with financial data standards such as ISO 10962 or GICS classification systems for asset categorization

Familiarity with cloud data platforms like Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift for large-scale data processing

Knowledge of data governance frameworks and regulatory requirements relevant to financial services and investment management

Previous experience working with investment management software or wealth management platforms in a production environment

Skills & tools

SQL for querying and validating large financial datasets

Python or similar scripting language for building validation automation

Data pipeline tools such as Airflow, dbt, or equivalent ETL frameworks

Spreadsheet and BI tools for monitoring data quality metrics

Version control systems like Git for managing validation logic as code

Financial data formats and standards including FIX, JSON, and CSV parsing

Practical notes

This role is based in Addepar's Edinburgh office and is not a remote position

The Lead, Data Validation Specialist will work within the data organization and collaborate across multiple departments

Addepar values data integrity and expects this hire to uphold the highest standards of accuracy in all validation work

The team operates in a fast-paced environment where timely resolution of data issues is critical to client trust