AWS - Senior Data Engineer - LS - CWR

Cognizant; Chennai District; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to lead the design and implementation of enterprise-scale cloud data platforms using AWS and Snowflake. This contractual role requires deep hands-on data engineering, architecture translation, and delivery leadership across ingestion, transformation and operational monitoring.

Experience in Life Sciences or regulated data environments is preferred. The role emphasises scalable design, security, cost-efficiency and strong collaboration with Data

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on Snowflake and AWS experience.
• Advanced SQL and data-engineering fundamentals.
• ETL/ELT architecture and development experience.
• Data modelling and database design.
• Production-grade logging, monitoring and error handling.

Responsibilities

• Design, build and optimize enterprise-scale data pipelines on AWS and Snowflake.
• Implement batch, streaming and near-real-time data patterns.
• Deliver scalable and cost-efficient data solutions with strong governance and security.
• Mentor engineers and lead delivery of end-to-end data platforms.
• Collaborate with architects and business teams to translate requirements into production systems.

Skills

Snowflake

AWS

SQL

Data engineering fundamentals

ETL/ELT architecture

Tools

dbt

Airflow

Terraform

Job description

DATA & AI CLOUD DATA ENGINEERING LIFE SCIENCES

AWS Snowflake – Senior Data Engineer - Contractual role

Manager / Senior Manager

LEVEL: Manager / Senior Manager

EXPERIENCE: Manager: 12–14 years; Senior Manager: 14–16 years

DOMAIN: Life Sciences preferred

CORE PLATFORM: AWS | Snowflake | Data Engineering

Role purpose

Lead the engineering and implementation of enterprise-scale cloud data platforms using AWS and Snowflake. The role combines deep hands‑on data engineering with technical leadership: translating architecture and business requirements into production‑grade solutions that are scalable, secure, performant, supportable and cost‑efficient.

Life Sciences / Pharma / Biotech / MedTech experience is preferred, particularly in regulated, high‑volume or analytics‑intensive data environments.

What you will own

• Design, build and optimize enterprise‑scale data pipelines across AWS and Snowflake, spanning ingestion, transformation, consumption and operational monitoring.
• Engineer batch, near‑real‑time and streaming patterns for structured, semi‑structured and unstructured data; translate solution architecture into detailed engineering designs and deployable components.
• Build reusable frameworks, utilities and engineering patterns rather than one‑off pipelines; design for scalability, resilience, maintainability and operational support.
• Own technical delivery across design, build, testing, migration, deployment and production stabilisation.

Core engineering accountabilities

• Snowflake engineering — Build and optimise databases, schemas, tables, views, warehouses and data‑sharing patterns; use Snowpipe, Streams & Tasks, Dynamic Tables and Snowpark where appropriate; optimise SQL, compute, concurrency, storage and cost; implement RBAC, masking and access policies.
• AWS data engineering — Engineer solutions using relevant services such as S3, Glue, Lambda, Step Functions, DMS, Kinesis, IAM and CloudWatch; integrate cloud, SaaS, API, enterprise and on‑premise sources; implement monitoring, logging, recovery and operational resilience.
• ETL / ELT & integration — Design complex ETL/ELT pipelines, source‑to‑target mappings, transformation logic, reconciliation controls and orchestration; establish restartability, exception handling, auditability and standardised integration patterns.
• Data modelling & quality — Implement logical and physical models for operational, reporting, analytics and AI use cases; automate completeness, validity, consistency, uniqueness and reconciliation controls; enable metadata, lineage and observability.
• DevOps & engineering standards — Establish CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, automated testing, version control, code review and release‑management practices; improve engineering productivity through reusable components and automation.

Life Sciences experience – preferred

• Clinical Development / Clinical Operations
• Clinical Data Management & Biostatistics
• Pharmacovigilance / Drug Safety
• Regulatory Affairs
• Research & Discovery
• Medical Affairs
• Manufacturing & Quality
• Commercial / Patient Data
• Real‑World Data / Real‑World Evidence

The individual should understand that Life Sciences data engineering is not only about moving data. Data quality, traceability, lineage, controlled access and reproducibility can be as important as engineering performance. Experience in environments subject to GxP, 21 CFR Part 11, GDPR or other applicable privacy/regulatory requirements is advantageous.

Core technical expectations

MUST HAVE

• Strong hands‑on Snowflake and AWS experience
• Enterprise‑scale cloud data platforms and pipelines
• Advanced SQL and strong data‑engineering fundamentals
• ETL/ELT architecture and development
• Snowflake performance and workload management
• Data modelling and database design
• Production‑grade logging, monitoring, reconciliation and error handling
• Security, governance, lineage and data‑quality fundamentals
• Design‑to‑production implementation ownership

GOOD TO HAVE

• Python
• Snowpark, Snowpipe, Streams & Tasks, Dynamic Tables
• dbt and/or Airflow or equivalent orchestration
• Kafka / Kinesis or other streaming technologies
• Terraform / CloudFormation
• Git‑based CI/CD
• Collibra / Alation or equivalent
• Databricks or other modern data platforms
• AWS and/or Snowflake certifications

Engineering leadership expectations

• Lead distributed data‑engineering teams and convert complex requirements into executable engineering work packages.
• Review solution designs, data models, pipeline patterns and critical code; retain enough hands‑on depth to challenge designs and diagnose complex issues.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards; own performance, production and technical escalations.
• Manage technical dependencies, engineering estimates and delivery risks; mentor senior engineers and technical leads.
• Work effectively with Data Architects, Cloud Architects, Security, DevOps, Analytics and business teams, and explain engineering trade‑offs clearly to senior client stakeholders.

Level expectations

MANAGER

• Operate as a senior engineering lead with strong hands‑on technical credibility.
• Independently lead a significant data‑engineering workstream and team.
• Own complex pipeline and integration design, engineering estimation and delivery planning.
• Lead code/design reviews, performance troubleshooting and engineering‑quality governance.
• Own technical risks, dependencies and client‑facing engineering discussions.

SENIOR MANAGER

• Operate as engineering leader for a complex enterprise data platform or transformation program.
• Own engineering strategy across multiple workstreams and larger distributed teams.
• Govern engineering standards, reusable frameworks and cross‑team technical consistency.
• Own complex technical escalations and challenge architecture/engineering decisions constructively.
• Lead senior client discussions, multi‑release planning, modernisation and engineering‑productivity improvement; coach Managers and technical leads.