Lead Data Engineer

The University of Texas at Austin; United States; Remote; USD 125,000 - 144,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Insurance options

Paid time off

TRS retirement

FSAs for medical/childcare

Training and conference opportunities

Tuition assistance

Athletic ticket discounts

Library and museum access

UT Shuttle/Cap Metro access

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin's Enterprise Technology - Data to Insights team is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design and deliver scalable data pipelines, lead data engineers, and enable AI-ready platforms across UT's cloud data ecosystem.

The role is fixed-term through Dec 19, 2026 with a 40-hour week, flexible remote options in the U.S., and travel limited to training. Strong Databricks, AWS, Python, and data governance skills are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS, information systems, engineering, or equivalent.
• 5+ years designing and optimizing complex data pipelines and platforms.
• 5 years in cloud data engineering with Databricks and AWS.

Responsibilities

• Design, architect, and deliver production-grade, scalable data pipelines and AI-ready data platforms.
• Lead end-to-end lakehouse data pipelines with performance and cost efficiency.
• Implement data quality, governance, and observability using Delta Lake and Unity Catalog.
• Mentor junior engineers and lead knowledge-sharing on AI and data technologies.
• Define project milestones and coordinate with stakeholders for timely delivery.

Skills

Databricks

AWS

Python

PySpark

SQL

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

Delta Live Tables

Terraform

GitHub Actions

CI/CD

Spark

Airflow

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/IS/Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Databricks

AWS

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

Delta Live Tables

Python

PySpark

SQL

Terraform

GitHub Actions

Terraform

Spark

Airflow

Job description

Job Posting Title:

Lead Data Engineer

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Hiring Department:

Enterprise Technology - Data to Insights (D2I)

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Immediately

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue Until Dec 19, 2026

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Location:

Texas

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Job Details:

General Notes

This is a fixed term position that is expected to continue for a 1-year limited term from start date with a possibility for extension.

Flexible work arrangements are available for this position, including the ability to work 100% remotely. Remote work for individuals who reside outside Texas but within the United States and its territories will be considered and requires Central Office approval.

This position provides life/work balance with typically a 40-hour work week and travel limited to training (e.g., conferences/courses).

Enterprise Technology is dedicated to supporting the mission of the University of Texas at Austin of unlocking potential and preparing future leaders of the state.

Your skills will make a difference.

You’ll be working for a university that is internationally recognized for research and the work you do will make a difference in the lives of our students, faculty and staff. If you’re the type of person that wants to know your work has meaning and impact, you’ll like working for our campus.

The University of Texas at Austin and Enterprise Technology provide an outstanding benefits package to our staff. Those benefits include:

• Competitive health benefits (Employee premiums covered at 100%; family premiums at 50%)
• Vision, dental, life, and disability insurance options
• Paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Teachers Retirement System of Texas (a defined benefit retirement plan)
• Additional voluntary retirement programs: tax sheltered annuity 403(b) and a deferred compensation program 457(b)
• Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
• Training and conference opportunities
• Tuition assistance
• Athletic ticket discounts
• Access to UT Austin’s libraries and museums
• Free rides on all UT Shuttle and Capital Metro buses with staff ID card

For more details, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards

Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employer without sponsorship.

This position requires you to maintain internet service and a mobile phone with voice and data plans to be used when required for work.

Purpose

The Lead Data Engineer for the UT Data Hub improves university outcomes and advances the UT mission to transform lives for the benefit of society by increasing the useability and value of institutional data. You will lead senior data engineers and data engineers to create complex data pipelines within UT’s cloud data ecosystem in support of academic and administrative needs. In collaboration with our team of data professionals, you will help build and run a modern data hub to enable advanced data-driven decision making for UT. You will leverage your creativity to solve complex technical problems and build effective relationships through open communication within the team and outside partners.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership:

• Design, architect, and deliver production-grade, scalable data pipelines and AI-ready data platforms using Databricks,AWScloud-native services and modern data engineering frameworks.
• Lead end-to-end implementation oflakehousedata pipelines, ensuring performance, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Championindustrybest practices for data engineering.
• Conduct andparticipatein peer code reviews tomaintaincode quality and consistency across the team.
• Proactivelyidentifyand resolve bottlenecks in data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration processes using Databricks Delta Live Tables, Spark optimizationtechniques, and workflow automation.
• Implement systems for data quality, observability, governance, and compliance using tools such as Unity Catalog, Delta Lake, and data validation frameworks.
• Lead technical knowledge-sharing sessions on topics such as AI/ML integration, datalakehousearchitecture, and emerging data technologies.

Project Management:

• Define project milestones, timelines, and deliverables for data and AI initiatives, ensuringtimelyand high-quality outcomes.
• Collaborate with both internal and external stakeholderssuch as data architects, system architects, business users, Agile teammembers, and other D2I internal groups.
• Manage project priorities, sprint planning, and team workloads while balancing innovation with delivery.
• Communicate risks, dependencies, and resource constraints effectively, and develop mitigation plans for on-time project delivery.

Team Management and Leadership:

• Supervise and mentor a team of Data Engineers (2-5 individuals) working on cloud, Databricks, and AI pipeline initiatives.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, experimentation, and technical excellence, encouraging engineers to explore AI and automation use cases.
• Participate in recruiting, onboarding, and developing data engineering talent with strong Databricks and AI skillsets.
• Conduct performance reviews, set development goals, and create individualized growth plans for team members.
• Encourage collaboration across Data, AI/ML, Analytics, and Infrastructure teams to drive cross-functional success.

Communication:

• Provide regular updates on project progress, technical challenges, andprojectmilestones to both technical and business stakeholders.
• Translate complex technical concepts related to Databricks, AI, and data architecture into clear narratives for non-technical audiences.
• Foster a transparent communication culture and provide actionable feedback to promote a growth mindset.
• Ensure all data engineering processes, architectures, and standards are well-documented for reuse, governance, andknowledgecontinuity.

Innovation and Other Duties:

• Stay current with advancements in AI, data engineering, and Databricks ecosystem, evaluating new tools and frameworks for potential adoption.
• Pilot and promote innovative solutions such as AI-assisted data quality checks, data observability automation, and intelligent pipeline optimization.
• Perform other duties as assigned, contributing to the organization’s data-driven and AI-enabled transformation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s orMaster’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of experience designing, implementing, andoptimizingcomplex, production-grade datapipelinesor enterprise-scale data platforms.
• 5 years of experience in cloud-based data engineering using Databricks and Amazon Web Services (AWS) (e.g., Glue, S3, Lambda, Redshift).
• 3+ years of experience managing or leading teams of data and/or software engineers, including mentorship, performance management, and project delivery.
• Expertisein Python,PySpark, and SQL, withstrongunderstanding of data modeling, stored procedures, and scalable data transformations.
• Proven experience architecting and implementing ETL/ELT solutions across relational, non-relational, andlakehouseenvironments (e.g., Delta Lake, Parquet, or Iceberg).
• Experience designing and managing CI/CD pipelines andinfrastructureascode(IaC) using tools such as Databricks Repos, CDK, Terraform, or GitHub Actions.
• Demonstrated knowledge of test-driven development (TDD) and data quality frameworks, ensuring reliability and reproducibility across data workflows.
• Deep understanding of data governance, security, and compliance standards in cloud environments.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills across distributed data systems.
• Proven ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, and guiding junior team members on technical and professional development.

Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Data Engineering or related fields, including 5+ years of hands‑on experience building andoptimizingdata pipelines on Databricks or similar large-scale data platforms.
• Proven experience implementinglakehousearchitectures leveraging Databricks Delta Lake, Delta Live Tables, and Unity Catalog for governance and scalability.
• Experience designing AI-ready data platforms and integrating machine learning pipelines using tools such asMLflowor model registry frameworks.
• 3+ years of experience managing or leading cross‑functional technical teams, fostering collaboration between Data Engineering, Analytics, and AI/ML teams.
• 5+ years of experience with Agile software development methodologies and project tracking systems such as JIRA.
• Expertisein distributed data processing and streaming frameworks, such as Apache Spark, Kafka, Flink, or Airflow, for orchestration and automation.
• Strong familiarity with data observability, cost optimization, and performance tuning in Databricks and cloud-nativearchitecture.
• Professional certifications such as Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional or AWS Solutions Architector AWSData Analytics Specialty are highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to introducenew technologiesand best practices to modernize existing data environments and promote AI/analytics maturity across the organization.
• Passion for continuous learning and staying current with emerging technologies in data engineering, AI integration, and Databricks ecosystem advancements.

Salary Range

$125,000 - $143,712

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office conditions
• Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation
• Use of manual dexterity (ex: using a mouse)

Work Shift

• Monday - Friday 8am-5pm; Occasional nights or weekends may be required

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Employment Eligibility

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.