Lead Data Engineer

thoughtworksreferral; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Self-directed career development

Onsite collaboration

Job summary

Thoughtworks is seeking a Lead Data Engineer to design modern data architectures and deliver end-to-end data solutions for diverse clients. The role blends hands-on engineering, technical leadership, and advisory work to unlock value from data while guiding teams from inception through production operation.

The candidate will lead data projects, collaborate with stakeholders, and own governance, security, and privacy requirements across distributed environments.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading data solution design and implementation.
• Hands-on experience building big data architectures and data pipelines.
• Strong understanding of data modeling and modern data engineering tools.
• Experience deploying large-scale data pipelines in production.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage data engineering projects from scoping through delivery, coordinating across teams to land solutions on time.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand strategic objectives and identify opportunities to leverage data and improve data quality.
• Design, build, and operate modern data architectures and end-to-end data solutions in distributed environments.
• Create intricate data processing pipelines and partner with data scientists to scale their models into production.
• Write clean, iterative code guided by test-driven development and continuous delivery practices to deploy and operate pipelines reliably.
• Advise clients on distributed storage and compute options, selecting appropriate data models and implementing them with the right technology stack.
• Own data governance, security, and privacy to meet business and compliance requirements, while embedding data quality into daily work.

Job description

Role overview

A global technology consultancy is hiring a Lead Data Engineer to design modern data architectures and deliver end-to-end data solutions for clients across industries. The role spans hands-on engineering, technical leadership, and advisory work, helping organizations unlock value from their data while guiding teams from inception through production operation.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage data engineering projects from scoping through delivery, coordinating across teams to land solutions on time.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand strategic objectives and identify opportunities to leverage data and improve data quality.
• Design, build, and operate modern data architectures and end-to-end data solutions in distributed environments.
• Create intricate data processing pipelines and partner with data scientists to scale their models into production.
• Write clean, iterative code guided by test-driven development and continuous delivery practices to deploy and operate pipelines reliably.
• Advise clients on distributed storage and compute options, selecting appropriate data models and implementing them with the right technology stack.
• Own data governance, security, and privacy to meet business and compliance requirements, while embedding data quality into daily work.

Requirements

• Proven experience leading the system design and implementation of technical data solutions.
• Hands-on work building big data architectures, operating data pipelines, and maintaining storage within distributed systems.
• Deep understanding of data modeling and modern data engineering tools and platforms, with the ability to write clean, high-quality code.
• Track record building and deploying large-scale data pipelines on distributed storage and processing platforms in production.
• Familiarity with data visualization techniques and a range of databases, including SQL, NoSQL, data lakes, and data schemas.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, resilience in ambiguous situations, and a coaching leadership style that drives accountability and technical excellence.
• Experience applying data security and privacy strategy to solve business problems.

Nice to have

• Curiosity and adaptability for consulting-style engagements with varied clients and domains.

Benefits and work setup

• Self-directed career development supported by interactive tools, numerous learning programs, and a culture of mentorship and cultivation.
• Onsite collaboration expectations as part of a global consultancy community.