Principal Data Engineer

NextGen Healthcare India; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 600,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

NextGen Healthcare India seeks a Principal Data Engineer to define the long-term technical vision for data platforms supporting analytics, AI/ML, and regulated healthcare systems.

You will drive governance, modernization, and cross-organizational alignment, mentoring senior staff while balancing innovation with risk and compliance—leading enterprise-wide architecture decisions and partnering with executives.

Qualifications

• Experience designing and governing large-scale data architectures.
• Proven ability to lead enterprise data strategy and cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong communication with executives and engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Define enterprise-wide data architecture and long-term roadmap.
• Lead modernization and transformation of data platforms.
• Establish governance for architecture, scalability, and compliance.
• Partner with executives to align data strategy with business goals.
• Make final architectural decisions on key investments.
• Mentor senior engineers and shape technical standards.
• Balance innovation with stability and regulatory requirements.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

Executive communication

Leadership

Data platforms

Governance & compliance

AI/ML data design

Education

Bachelor's in Computer Science/Data Science/AI or related

Job description

The Principal Data Engineer defines the long-term technical vision and enterprise architecture for data platforms supporting analytics, AI/ML, and regulated healthcare systems. This role serves as the highest-level technical authority in data engineering, driving innovation, governance, and cross-organizational alignment.

• Define enterprise-wide data architecture and long-term technical roadmap.
• Lead large-scale modernization and transformation initiatives.
• Establish governance frameworks for data architecture, scalability, and compliance.
• Partner with executive leadership to align data platform strategy with business objectives.
• Make final architectural decisions on critical data platform investments.
• Represent data engineering strategy in executive and cross-functional forums.
• Mentor Senior Staff engineers and shape technical career standards.
• Drive innovation while balancing risk, compliance, and operational stability.
• Perform other duties that support the overall objective of the position.

Education Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field
• Or, any combination of education and experience that would provide the required qualifications for the position.

Experience Required

• 14+ years of experience architecting and scaling enterprise data systems, including leadership of organization-wide technical strategy.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge of: Enterprise architecture frameworks. Large-scale distributed systems and streaming architectures. AI/ML data ecosystem design. Healthcare regulatory and governance environments.
• Skill in: Enterprise technical strategy development. Executive-level communication. Complex systems evaluation and modernization. Cross-organizational influence.
• Ability to: Set enterprise technical direction. Influence executive and organizational decision-making. Lead transformation across multiple engineering domains. Balance innovation with long‑term sustainability.