Our data engineers’ favourite tools of 2025 (so far!)
From slick workflows to game-changing debugging tools, here’s what’s powering our team’s data magic this year.
When you work in data engineering, your toolkit can make or break your day. Whether it’s transforming messy datasets, orchestrating complex pipelines, or debugging something that broke at 2 a.m. – the right tool doesn’t just make things easier, it makes better work possible. At EdgeRed, we’re always testing, tweaking and evolving how we work – and our engineers aren’t shy about what tools they love most.
So we asked a few of them: what’s the one tool that’s made your life easier this year? Here’s what they said – and why it matters.
Arun – Data Engineer
Favourite tool: Apache Airflow
“Airflow’s visual DAGs are a lifesaver. It makes it so much easier to see how everything’s connected – especially when you’re deep in a complex pipeline.”
Why he loves it:
Arun uses Airflow to orchestrate data workflows across multiple systems. The flexibility of defining workflows as code, plus the ability to track task status visually, helps him catch issues early and iterate fast. It’s become a key part of how he builds and maintains production-grade pipelines.
Bella – Data Engineer
Favourite tool: Terraform (IaC)
“Terraform lets me manage infrastructure across different cloud providers — all in one place, all in code. It’s fast, reliable, and makes teamwork way easier.”
Why she loves it:
Bella uses Terraform to spin up and manage environments without bouncing between cloud consoles. It helps her avoid errors, reuse what works, and track every change in Git. With support for multiple providers and reusable modules, Terraform keeps things tidy — and makes scaling infrastructure a whole lot smoother.
Kevin – Data Engineer
Favourite tool: dbt Cloud
“dbt Cloud has changed the way I work. I’m not just writing SQL anymore – I’m building tested, documented, reusable data models.”
Why he loves it:
Kevin uses dbt to transform raw data into clean, ready-to-analyse datasets for business users. With automated testing, documentation, and Git integration, dbt Cloud keeps his work high quality and low drama. It’s also helped create better handovers and transparency across teams.
Keen to unlock more value from your data?
Let’s chat about how our data engineering services can help.
About EdgeRed
EdgeRed is an Australian boutique consultancy with expert data analytics and AI consultants in Sydney and Melbourne. We help businesses turn data into insights, driving faster and smarter decisions. Our team specialises in the modern data stack, using tools like Snowflake, dbt, Databricks, and Power BI to deliver scalable, seamless solutions. Whether you need augmented resources or full-scale execution, we’re here to support your team and unlock real business value.
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