Lead Data Engineer: Cloud Pipelines, AI & Platform

CFS; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health

Dental

Vision

401K

PTO

Job summary

CFS is seeking a Lead Data Engineer in Chicago to design, implement, and optimize a modern cloud-based data platform. The role blends hands-on Python data engineering with technical leadership, guiding initiatives across scalable data solutions and AI-enabled applications.

The ideal candidate brings extensive data engineering experience, strong Python expertise, and the ability to mentor engineers while delivering end-to-end solutions in a hybrid environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.
• 10+ years of data engineering experience required.
• Strong hand-on Python development experience.
• Experience building and supporting enterprise-scale data pipelines and architecture.
• Cloud platform experience, preferably AWS.
• Exposure to AI, machine learning, LLMs, or AI-enabled solutions.
• Strong SQL, data modeling, and database experience.
• Experience with Snowflake, DevOps practices, CI/CD, Docker, or similar modern technologies.
• Proven ability to learn new technologies quickly and solve complex technical challenges.
• Strong communication skills with experience working across technical and business teams.
• Previous technical leadership, mentoring, or project lead experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable data pipelines, integrations, and data services.
• Lead the architecture and implementation of cloud-based data platforms and modern data solutions.
• Develop and support AI-driven and data-intensive applications.
• Partner with business and technical stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable solutions.
• Improve platform performance, reliability, security, and scalability.
• Establish engineering best practices, development standards, and technical governance.
• Mentor and guide engineers while providing leadership on complex technical initiatives.
• Drive projects through the full lifecycle from design and development to deployment and ongoing support.

Skills

Python

SQL

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Education

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

Tools

Snowflake

Docker

CI/CD

AWS

DevOps

Job description

CFS is seeking a Lead Data Engineer in Chicago to design, implement, and optimize a modern cloud-based data platform. The role blends hands-on Python data engineering with technical leadership, guiding initiatives across scalable data solutions and AI-enabled applications.

The ideal candidate brings extensive data engineering experience, strong Python expertise, and the ability to mentor engineers while delivering end-to-end solutions in a hybrid environment.