Principal Data Engineer

Roles & Responsibilities

• Develop and continuously improve a data service that underpins cloud-based applications
• Support data and database modeling efforts
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of reusable component libraries and shared codebase
• Participate in the entire software development lifecycle, including requirement gathering, design, development, testing, and deployment, using an agile, iterative process
• Collaborate with developers, designers, testers, project managers, product owners, and project sponsors to integrate the data service to end user applications
• Communicate tasking estimation and progress regularly to a development lead and product owner through appropriate tools
• Ensure seamless integration between database and messaging systems and the frontend / UI they support
• Ensure data quality, reliability, and performance through code reviews and effective testing strategies
• Write high-quality code, applying best practices, coding standards, and design patterns
• Team with other developers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and professional growth

Minimum Qualifications

• 15+ years of professional software development or data engineering experience (12+ with a STEM B.S. or 10+ with a relevant Master's degree)
• Strong proficiency in Python and familiarity with Java and Bash scripting
• Hands-on experience implementing database technologies, messaging systems, and stream computing software (e.g., PostgreSQL, PostGIS, MongoDB, DuckDB, KsqlDB, RabbitMQ)
• Experience with data fabric development using publish-subscribe models (e.g., Apache NiFi, Apache Pulsar, Apache Kafka and Kafka-based data service architecture)
• Proficiency with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Docker-Compose, RKE2, Kubernetes, and Microk8s)
• Experience with version control systems (e.g., Git), CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins), and collaborative development workflows
• Strong knowledge of data modeling and database optimization techniques
• Familiarity with data serialization languages (e.g., JSON, GeoJSON, YAML, XML)
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills that have been applied to high visibility, important data engineering projects
• Strong communication skills and ability to lead the work of other engineers in a collaborative environment
• Demonstrated experience in coordinating team activities, setting priorities, and managing tasks to ensure balanced workloads and effective team performance
• Experience managing and mentoring development teams in an Agile environment
• Ability to make effective architecture decisions and document them clearly
• Must be a US Citizen and eligible to obtain and maintain a US Security Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and deployment strategies experience (Ansible, Terraform, WebGL)
• Geospatial information system (GIS) experience (e.g., Geoserver)
• Data science and AI/ML applications experience
• Experience managing robust build & test tools and implementing workflow automations / scripts
• Penchant for learning new technologies, balanced with strong pragmatic thinking
• Design-minded attention to detail in data service implementation
• Leadership of a fully remote team
• Portfolio of past projects with code samples
• Ability to travel as needed
• Active Security Clearance