Lead Data Engineer

Harnham; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading analytics firm is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design and optimize modern data platforms on AWS. This hands-on role requires significant experience in data engineering and leadership, focusing on building scalable data systems and integrating enterprise sources. Ideal candidates will excel in AWS services, Python, and orchestration tools, ensuring data quality and performance across platforms. This position offers an opportunity to contribute to strategic data initiatives in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering.
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale solutions.
• Strong skills in building data lakes and data warehouses.

Responsibilities

• Build and optimize scalable data pipelines on AWS.
• Lead technical design and delivery of major data initiatives.
• Drive data quality, performance, and cost optimization across the platform.

Skills

AWS data services expertise

Python

PySpark/Scala

Advanced SQL

Data engineering leadership

Data pipeline optimization

Tools

Airflow

AWS S3

Glue

Redshift

EMR/Spark

Athena

Lambda

Job description

We’re looking for a Lead Data Engineer to help design, build, and scale a modern enterprise data platform on AWS. This is a hands‑on role for someone who enjoys solving complex data problems, building high‑performance pipelines, and shaping how data is used across an organization.

You’ll work on large‑scale data systems that integrate multiple enterprise sources to deliver trusted, production‑grade data products that power analytics, reporting, and decision‑making.

What You’ll Do

• Build and optimize scalable data pipelines and platforms on AWS (S3, Glue, Redshift, EMR/Spark, Athena, Lambda).
• Lead technical design and delivery of major data initiatives from concept through production.
• Partner closely with architects, analytics teams, and business stakeholders to turn requirements into reliable data assets.
• Implement modern ELT/ETL frameworks with orchestration, CI/CD, testing, and monitoring.
• Drive data quality, performance, security, and cost optimization across the platform.
• Establish engineering best practices through design and code reviews and technical standards.

What We’re Looking For

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, including experience leading enterprise‑scale solutions.
• Deep expertise in AWS data services and cloud‑native architectures.
• Strong skills in Python, PySpark/Scala, and advanced SQL.
• Proven experience building data lakes, lakehouse platforms, and cloud data warehouses.
• Hands‑on experience with orchestration tools (Airflow, Step Functions) and modern DevOps practices.
• Strong communicator who can bridge technical and business teams.

Nice to Have

• Experience with Apache Iceberg and modern table formats.
• Background in data governance, enterprise integrations, or ML‑enabled data platforms.