Junior Data Governance Associate

We are looking for an entry-level Data Governance Engineer with 0–2 years of experience to support data governance, data quality, metadata management, compliance, and data stewardship initiatives. The candidate will work closely with data engineering, analytics, business, risk, and compliance teams to ensure enterprise data is accurate, trusted, well-documented, secure, and used responsibly across business processes. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Support implementation of data governance standards, policies, procedures, and operating models across data domains. 

• Assist in maintaining business glossaries, data dictionaries, metadata repositories, and data catalog entries. 

• Perform data profiling, validation, and quality checks to identify inconsistencies, duplicates, missing values, and data integrity issues. 

• Work with data owners, data stewards, and technical teams to document data definitions, ownership, lineage, usage, and quality rules. 

• Support data lineage mapping and documentation across source systems, data pipelines, reports, dashboards, and downstream applications. 

• Assist in monitoring data quality metrics, preparing governance reports, and tracking remediation actions. 

• Participate in data access reviews, privacy checks, classification activities, and compliance documentation. 

• Collaborate with data engineering and analytics teams to embed governance controls into data pipelines, reporting layers, and analytical solutions. 

• Support issue management by logging, tracking, and following up on data quality or governance-related defects. 

• Contribute to documentation, process guides, governance playbooks, and training materials for business and technical users. 

Required Skills 

• Basic understanding of data governance, data quality, metadata management, data privacy, and data lifecycle concepts. 

• Working knowledge of SQL for querying, validating, and analyzing data. 

• Understanding of relational databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and basic data modeling concepts. 

• Ability to document data definitions, business rules, process flows, and data quality observations clearly. 

• Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, and problem-solving skills. 

• Good communication skills with the ability to work with both business and technical stakeholders. 

• Basic knowledge of Excel, reporting tools, and data visualization concepts. 

• Awareness of data privacy, security, regulatory compliance, and responsible data usage practices. 

Preferred Technical Exposure 

• Exposure to data governance or cataloging tools such as Microsoft Purview, Collibra, Alation, Informatica, Atlan, or similar platforms. 

• Basic understanding of cloud data platforms such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud. 

• Familiarity with ETL/ELT concepts, data pipelines, APIs, and data integration processes. 

• Awareness of data quality tools, profiling techniques, and rule-based validations. 

• Exposure to reporting tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar visualization platforms. 

• Basic knowledge of Python or scripting for data analysis and automation is an added advantage. 

Educational Qualification 

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics, or a related discipline. 

• Fresh graduates or candidates with up to 2 years of relevant experience in data governance, data management, data quality, data analysis, or database-related roles may apply. 

Preferred Certifications 

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Fundamentals or Azure Fundamentals. 

• Microsoft Purview, data governance, or data cataloging-related training or certification. 

• Introductory certifications in SQL, data analytics, data engineering, or cloud data platforms. 

• Any foundational certification or coursework in data privacy, information security, or compliance is an added advantage. 

Good to Have 

• Understanding of Master Data Management, Reference Data Management, and Data Stewardship concepts. 

• Exposure to Agile delivery methods and working with cross-functional project teams. 

• Ability to create dashboards or reports to monitor data quality and governance KPIs. 

• Interest in AI governance, responsible AI, data ethics, privacy, and regulatory compliance. 

• Ability to learn new data tools quickly and adapt to evolving enterprise data governance practices. 

Selection Criteria 

• Strong fundamentals in SQL, databases, data lifecycle, and data quality concepts. 

• Ability to analyze data issues and document findings in a clear and structured manner. 

• Basic understanding of governance, compliance, privacy, and data security principles. 

• Communication skills to coordinate with business users, data stewards, and technology teams. 

• Curiosity to learn data governance tools, cloud platforms, and enterprise data management practices. 

• Attention to detail, ownership mindset, and willingness to follow defined processes and controls. 

Role Fit Summary 

This role is suitable for fresh graduates or early-career professionals who are interested in building a career in enterprise data governance, data quality, data management, cloud data platforms, and compliance-driven data operations. The ideal candidate should be detail-oriented, process-focused, analytical, and eager to work at the intersection of business, technology, and data governance.