As dbt Labs expands its global footprint, Romania has emerged as a key strategic hub for innovation. In this exclusive Techsylvania interview, we sat down with Mark Porter, a senior leader from dbt Labs to explore the reasons behind their investment in Cluj and Bucharest, the company’s approach to building empowered local teams, and how AI and next-gen data tools are reshaping the analytics landscape. From career growth opportunities to the bold future of dbt Fusion, this conversation offers a deep look into how Romanian talent is powering the future of data transformation.
- Why Romania? What strategic factors led dbt Labs to invest in a Romanian engineering hub, and how do you see Romania’s talent pool shaping the future of the dbt product suite?
We’re genuinely thrilled to be growing in Cluj and Bucharest—and I’m personally excited as well. So, why Romania? Let’s start with the people. At my previous company, Grab, we acquired a team in Cluj, and I was immediately impressed. The talent was exceptional. The culture was grounded in hard work, high judgment, and kindness. And the people? Really, really smart. That’s a pretty unbeatable mix.
We currently have two teams based in Romania—one focused on customer-facing special projects, the other working on core platform technology. While Romania’s tech talent pool may not be as large as that of the U.S., it’s more than robust enough for us to build full, capable teams. Between Cluj and Bucharest—and the strong technical universities in both—we’ve got access to a healthy pipeline of junior and senior engineering talent, as well as product managers and designers.
This is not about outsourcing. This is about building long-term, full-stack teams that own and ship critical pieces of the dbt product suite. We’re here to grow together.
- Career Growth & Learning. What opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and technical leadership can Romanian engineers expect when joining dbt Labs?
Helping people grow is a personal passion of mine—because when people grow, amazing things happen.
Historically, our technical team has been concentrated in North America. But as dbt Labs becomes a truly global company, we’re committed to scaling the right way. That means avoiding scattered teams split across wildly different time zones. I’m not a fan of small engineering teams stretched across oceans—it’s hard to build the camaraderie and shared context that drive great outcomes.
Instead, we build complete local teams. That means engineers at all levels, paired with product and design teammates who are either local or in a nearby time zone—like Dublin, Ireland.
Of course, this takes real work. We have to architect our codebase, our org structure, and our internal systems to support distributed but self-sufficient teams. That means clean architecture, clear roles and responsibilities, and robust onboarding—designed to work in any time zone, not just U.S. hours.
When we launch a new hub—like in Cluj—we don’t just drop people in and hope for the best. We send Senior and Staff-level mentors to support the team. We nurture the environment. And we ensure that growth is baked into the experience.
This model benefits everyone. Diverse, empowered teams operating with psychological safety are more likely to take ownership and deliver exceptional results. That’s what we’re building.
- Innovating in Data Transformation. Looking ahead, what emerging trends or features in data transformation and analytics excite you most, and how is your team preparing to integrate them into the dbt platform?
It’s a thrilling time to work in data. For the past 30 years, the industry has been laser-focused on collecting and analyzing more and more data. Today, we have systems that can process 100 times more data than before. But despite all that scale, one thing hasn’t changed much: how humans extract insights. We’re still looking at dashboards, writing SQL, and trying to translate machine output into business meaning.
AI is changing the game.
When AI operates on trusted data, it can surface real insights—not guesses. And when it has access to dbt’s rich metadata, large language models (LLMs) become dramatically more accurate and useful. They hallucinate less and help users more.
Enter MCP—the Model Context Protocol. It allows LLMs to do what they’re great at: ask smart questions and form answers. Meanwhile, MCP allows data systems do what they’re built for: provide timely, accurate answers. Paired with dbt’s multi-cloud, multi-warehouse capabilities, this enables our users to extract insights faster than ever across their entire data estate.
This is the missing link that data teams have been waiting for….forever.
- Long-Term Vision. Where do you see dbt Labs—in terms of team size, product capabilities, and market impact—five years from now, and how will your Romanian engineering base factor into that vision?
If you’d asked me five years ago where tech would be today, I would’ve gotten a lot of it wrong—so I’m wary of five-year forecasts. In this fast-moving world, two years is about as far as anyone can reasonably see. But within that window? The future for dbt is electric.
We’re expanding our global footprint and rapidly evolving our product. What began as a focused transformation tool—turning raw data into clean, reliable models—has grown into something far bigger. dbt is now a true data control plane: with orchestration, observability, metadata cataloging, and a semantic layer. We’ve become the connective tissue of the modern data stack.
And now, with the launch of dbt Fusion, we’ve entered a new era. Fusion is a ground-up rewrite of our core technology—bringing blazing performance and smarter SQL understanding. It’s helping developers move faster while helping companies save on compute costs. That’s a win-win.
Looking ahead, we’re doubling down on features that speed up development, surface deeper insights, and help businesses move from data to action faster than ever.
Romania will play a central role in that future. We’re investing in Cluj and Bucharest not just for engineering, but for product, design, and support. The tech ecosystem here is vibrant, growing, and full of promise—and we’re excited to be part of its next chapter. If you want to join us on this mission, please visit us at our booth or connect with me directly!
As dbt Labs continues to redefine the modern data stack, its investment in Romania signals more than just global expansion—it reflects a commitment to building high-impact teams rooted in technical excellence and collaborative culture. With a focus on mentorship, innovation, and long-term growth, the Romanian hub is set to become a cornerstone of dbt’s mission to empower data teams around the world. For those looking to shape the future of data transformation, the journey starts here.
