Lead Data Engineer (AI/ML)

INSPYR Solutions; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

INSPYR Solutions is seeking a Lead Data Engineer (AI/ML) in Houston, TX to shape architecture, set engineering standards, and write production code across data products, AI models, and platform infrastructure.

The role emphasizes building data pipelines, MLOps practices, GenAI apps like RAG, and end-to-end platform reliability on AWS and on-premise environments. Mentoring junior engineers is expected.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with leadership exposure.
• Expert Python and software engineering fundamentals (testing, reviews, branching, VCS).
• Experience building data products with Snowflake, DBT, Airflow.

Responsibilities

• Design and build batch and streaming pipelines for time-series and unstructured data.
• Define data modeling, quality, lineage, and cataloging practices for data products.
• Build feature pipelines and curated datasets for analytics, ML, and GenAI use cases.

Skills

Python

Mentoring

System design

Communication

Tools

Snowflake

DBT

Airflow

Terraform

AWS CDK

CloudFormation

SageMaker

Bedrock

Lambda

ECS

RDS

IAM

VPC

Claude Code

Cursor

Job description

Title: Lead Data Engineer (AI/ML)
Location: Houston, TX 77002 (ONSITE)
Duration: Direct Hire
Work Requirements: U.S. Citizen, GC Holders, or Authorized to Work in the U.S.

Job Description

Looking for a Lead Data Engineer who will shape the architecture, set engineering standards, and write production code across data products, AI models, and platform infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Design and build reliable batch and streaming pipelines, including ingestion of industrial time-series and operational data alongside unstructured document sources.
• Establish data modeling, quality, lineage, and cataloging practices for data product development.
• Build feature pipelines and curated datasets that serve analytics, ML, and GenAI use cases.
• Productionize classical ML models following MLOps practices.
• Build GenAI applications such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) over enterprise documents, including chunking, embeddings, vector search, prompt management, and evaluation.
• Implement guardrails, observability, and cost controls for LLM-based systems.
• Define evaluation approaches that make AI quality measurable and regressions visible.
• Build self-service tooling, reusable templates, and CI/CD pipelines so teams can ship data and AI products consistently on AWS and on-premises environments.
• Own infrastructure as code, observability, and reliability practices for the platform.
• Embed security, governance, and compliance requirements into the platform by design.
• Define and implement best practices around AI Assisted Software Development Life Cycle.
• Mentor junior engineers in design and code reviews and implementation best practices.

Qualifications

The successful candidate will meet the following qualifications:

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a technical lead role.
• Expert level experience in Python with solid software engineering fundamentals including testing, code reviews, branching policies, version control, design patterns, and API design.
• Experience building data products leveraging Snowflake, DBT, and Airflow.
• Experience delivering classical ML and GenAI systems to production, including MLOps practices such as model registries, pipeline automation, and monitoring.
• Deep AWS experience building data and AI platforms including S3 Tables, Glue, Athena, Lake Formation, SageMaker, Bedrock, Lambda, ECS, RDS, IAM, and VPC.
• Experience in designing and implementing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform, AWS CDK, or CloudFormation along with deployment automation with CI/CD pipelines.
• Practical experience with AI-assisted software development workflows using tools such as Claude Code or Cursor to design, implement, test, and refactor code.
• Experience in structuring work for AI coding agents such as writing clear specifications, providing context, breaking tasks down, and reviewing generated output critically.
• Clear communication skills and the ability to work with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

About INSPYR Solutions

Technology is our focus and quality is our commitment. As a national expert in delivering flexible technology and talent solutions, we strategically align industry and technical expertise with our clients' business objectives and cultural needs. Our solutions are tailored to each client and include a wide variety of professional services, project, and talent solutions. By always striving for excellence and focusing on the human aspect of our business, we work seamlessly with our talent and clients to match the right solutions to the right opportunities. Learn more about us at inspyrsolutions.com.

INSPYR Solutions provides Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other protected status. INSPYR Solutions complies with all applicable laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process should contact [e-mail] for assistance.

Information collected and processed through your application with INSPYR Solutions (including any job applications you choose to submit) is subject to INSPYR Solutions' Privacy Policy and INSPYR Solutions' AI and Automated Employment Decision Tool Policy: https://www.inspyrsolutions.com/policies/. By submitting an application, you are consenting to being contacted by INSPYR Solutions through phone, email, or text.

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