Principal Engineer Data

Position Overview

The Principal Data Engineer is responsible for architecting and delivering the enterprise data foundation that supports high-volume, real-time data streaming, governed analytics, and AI/ML enablement. You will design and implement scalable pipelines and reusable design patterns, embedding data lineage and governance into every layer to ensure transparency, trust, and reusability across the organization.

Position Responsibilities

• Define the target-state architecture for a unified, cloud-native data foundation and translate business goals into actionable roadmaps.
• Architect and optimize real-time ingestion pipelines capable of handling massive event streams with zero data loss.
• Build reusable, resilient, and scalable pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and analytics across multiple business domains.
• Implement frameworks for end-to-end lineage, metadata management, and governance to ensure data is traceable, high-quality, and reusable.
• Lead the transition from legacy data systems to modern cloud-native architectures with minimal disruption and maximum scalability.
• Establish engineering standards for data modeling, pipeline reliability, observability, and performance optimization at enterprise scale.
• Partner with product, backend, cloud/SRE, and AI/ML teams to ensure cohesive platform evolution.
• Guide senior engineers, promote reusable patterns, and foster a culture of excellence in enterprise data engineering.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills & Qualifications

• 10+ years in data engineering or enterprise data architecture, with 5+ years at principal or staff scope.
• Proven expertise in cloud-native data platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) and distributed systems.
• Deep knowledge of Databricks, Spark, Kafka, Flink, and lakehouse architectures.
• Strong background in data lineage, governance, metadata management, and streaming design patterns.
• Experience leading large-scale data streaming and modernization initiatives at enterprise level.
• Able to influence executives and guide senior engineers across multiple teams.
• Exceptional communication skills—able to simplify complex data concepts for technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Working Conditions

Work is primarily sedentary and requires frequent use of a computer, keyboard, and mouse. Please note that this Job Description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.