Benjamin Saine

About Benjamin Saine

I’m a developer who actually likes talking to the business.My background is a bit different than most engineers. I spent years as a Business Analyst before moving into Data Engineering, which means I approach every project by asking \"Why?\" before I start coding. I’ve found that the most expensive part of data engineering isn\'t the compute cost—it’s building the wrong thing because of a communication gap.Right now, I’m a Lead Data Engineer at 3M. I spend most of my time architecting cloud solutions for our global marketing teams, working within a business unit that pulls in over $11B a year. I’m comfortable working across the full stack—from setting up Medallion architectures in Databricks to building PowerApps that simplify life for our end users.A few things I’ve worked on recently:Replacing manual work with code: A teammate left recently, and instead of backfilling the role, I built a security admin app that automated their responsibilities. It saved us a 0.25 FTE and made our audits faster.Fixing \"Data Debt\": I moved us away from legacy manual processes into a modern dbt and Databricks workflow, which gave the team back about 60 hours of manual work every month.Connecting the dots: I built out our Lead-to-Revenue models to make sure our marketing and sales data actually talk to each other.I’m at my best when I’m solving a messy problem or helping a team figure out a better way to move data. I enjoy mentoring other devs and I’m always looking for ways to make our pipelines faster and cheaper.The tools I use most: Databricks, dbt, Snowflake, Azure, Python, SQL and Power BI.

Experience

1. Lead Data Engineer

   3M

   Oct 2021 — Present · Maplewood, MN, US

   As a Senior Technical Analyst, I support the Global Marketing Analytics team through the creation & implementation of analytics reporting. My main responsibilities include, data model ideation and creation, data movement and storage solutions, and report/visualization creation and distribution.• Build cloud-based data pipelines and reporting solutions supporting $13B+ in annual revenue across global marketing teams • Reengineered a data model to accelerate load times and optimize compute usage by aligning the right tools to each part of the data pipeline (Azure, Databricks, dbt, SQL, Python) • Created Lead-to-Revenue reporting to track and visualize lead progression from creation to conversion, supporting sales and change management • Automated reporting processes, eliminating over 20 hours of manual effort per month, with scalable design for future data sources • Built centralized data lake and integrated Power BI dashboards, enabling real-time insights and reduced dependency on IT for report updates • Developed PowerApps to allow end users to upload files and update datasets independently • Consolidated and transformed high-volume eCommerce, LMS, and marketing performance data using Snowflake, Azure SQL, and Databricks • Led onboarding and training for new developers and contract staff on Git workflows, SDLC standards, and cloud data tools • Built proactive error detection and alerting to ensure data pipeline reliability and reduce downstream report failures

Education

• North Dakota State University

  Bachelor of Science (BS), Business Administration

  2004 — 2008

• Metro State University

  Master of Science (MS), Management Information Systems

  2010 — 2014

Skills

• Outlook
• Access
• Leadership Development
• Team Leadership
• Visio
• Account Management
• Leadership
• Business Process Improvement
• Research
• Customer Satisfaction
• Training
• Process Improvement
• Project Management
• Microsoft Office
• Sales
• Strategic Planning
• Time Management
• Customer Service
• Microsoft Excel
• Analysis
• Team Building
• Management