Lead Staff AI Data Engineer

Relha LLC; Hartford (CT); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The Hartford in Hartford, CT is seeking a Lead Staff AI Data Engineer to drive AI data pipelines, RAG architectures, and scalable data platforms. You will mentor engineers, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and lead GenAI initiatives, ensuring governance, cost-efficiency, and production readiness.

Join a fast-paced environment where you shape enterprise data strategies, implement reliable data solutions, and deliver impactful AI capabilities across the business.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of data engineering experience with deep expertise in SQL, data modeling, and large-scale data processing systems.
• Proven experience designing and optimizing ETL/ELT pipelines and orchestration frameworks in enterprise environments.
• Hands-on experience implementing production-ready, enterprise-grade GenAI data solutions.
• Experience implementing RAG pipelines, including retrieval, chunking, embedding, and grounding techniques.
• Experience operationalizing GenAI pipelines in production environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the implementation of AI data pipelines integrating structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.
• Develop AI-driven data systems that enhance data capabilities with best practices.
• Implement and optimize Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures with enterprise data platforms.
• Design, build, and optimize scalable batch and streaming data pipelines with performance and resiliency.
• Develop real-time data streaming pipelines using technologies such as Snowpipe.
• Ensure reliability, availability, and scalability of data pipelines with monitoring and incident management.
• Drive engineering discipline across data platforms, including observability, data quality, lineage, and governance.

Skills

SQL

Python

Data modeling

ETL/ELT

GenAI

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Snowflake

Snowpipe

Job description

We're determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals - and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future.

Join our team as a Lead Staff AI Data Engineer and lead the charge in developing cutting-edge AI solutions and data engineering strategies. Embrace our core values of innovation, collaboration, and excellence as you unlock unparalleled growth opportunities in the dynamic field of AI and data engineering. Shape the future of technology with us!

This role can have a Hybrid or Remote work schedule. Candidates who live near one of our locations will have the expectation of working in an office 3 days a week (Tuesday through Thursday). Candidates who do not live near an office should maintain their current work arrangement with the expectation of coming into the office as business needs arise.

Primary Job Responsibilities

Lead the implementation of AI data pipelines integrating structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data to support AI and agentic solutions, including preprocessing techniques such as extraction, chunking, embedding, and grounding (e.g., RAG, retrieval frameworks)

Develop AI-driven data systems that enhance data capabilities while ensuring adherence to industry best practices

Implement and optimize Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures and integrate them with enterprise data platforms

Design, build, and optimize scalable batch and streaming data pipelines with a focus on performance, resiliency, and operational efficiency

Develop and maintain real-time data streaming pipelines using technologies such as Snowpipe

Develop data domains and data products to support reporting, analytics, AI/ML, and data science use cases

Ensure the reliability, availability, and scalability of data pipelines through monitoring, alerting, and incident management

Implement reliability engineering best practices, including fault tolerance, redundancy, and disaster recovery

Drive engineering discipline across data platforms, including observability, data quality, lineage, and governance

Collaborate with DevOps and infrastructure teams to enable seamless deployment and operation of data systems

Partner with cross-functional teams to integrate data and AI solutions into business processes and enterprise systems

Provide architectural leadership in partnership with Data Architects, including defining technical standards and influencing enterprise-wide practices

Develop and integrate graph database solutions to support complex data relationships within AI systems

Apply GenAI approaches to insurance-specific data use cases and challenges

Lead the development of AI-ready data foundations that support scalable, production-grade solutions

Ensure data platforms remain resilient, governed, and cost-efficient, aligned with enterprise cloud and data strategies

Mentor junior engineers and contribute to communities of practice, promoting best practices, reusable patterns, and engineering standards

Stay current with advancements in GenAI and apply relevant technologies and methodologies to platform evolution

Skills

Strong technical expertise in AI-driven data solutions leveraging modern cloud platforms

Deep expertise in core data engineering, including advanced SQL, data modeling, and query performance tuning

Strong experience in ETL/ELT architecture, orchestration frameworks, and pipeline optimization

Experience working across teams with strong communication and stakeholder management skills

Proven ability to mentor and develop AI and data engineering talent

Knowledge of emerging AI and data engineering design patterns

Strong planning, organization, and execution capabilities

Ability to lead in a lean, agile, and fast-paced environment, leveraging Scaled Agile practices

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate business requirements into technical solutions

Demonstrated leadership capability to own architecture decisions and drive cross-team alignment

Effective collaboration, decision-making, and relationship-building skills

Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to provide thought leadership in a dynamic environment

Qualifications

Candidates must be authorized to work in the US without company sponsorship. The company will not support the STEM OPT I-983 Training Plan endorsement for this position.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field

8+ years of data engineering experience with deep expertise in SQL, data modeling, and large-scale data processing systems

Proven experience designing and optimizing ETL/ELT pipelines and orchestration frameworks in enterprise environments

Hands-on experience implementing production-ready, enterprise-grade GenAI data solutions

Experience implementing RAG pipelines, including retrieval, chunking, embedding, and grounding techniques

Experience operationalizing GenAI pipelines in production environments

Hands-on experience with cloud ecosystems (AWS, GCP, Azure, Snowflake) and Python-based data engineering stacks

Proven ability to deliver resilient, governed, and cost-efficient data platforms at scale

Experience with vector databases and graph databases, including design and optimization

Experience working with unstructured data for GenAI applications

Experience implementing data governance practices, including data quality, lineage, and data cataloging at scale

Proficiency in building AI data pipelines that integrate structured and unstructured data with preprocessing techniques

Strong programming skills in Python

Strong communication skills and ability to explain technical concepts to a broad set of stakeholders

Preferred Qualifications

Experience designing multi-cloud or hybrid AI data solutions

AI-related certifications

Experience in the P&C insurance industry

Contributions to open-source AI projects or research in Generative AI

Compensation

The listed annualized base pay range is primarily based on analysis of similar positions in the external market. Actual base pay could vary and may be above or below the listed range based on factors including but not limited to performance, proficiency and demonstration of competencies required for the role. The base pay is just one component of The Hartford's total compensation package for employees. Other rewards may include short-term or annual bonuses, long-term incentives, and on-the-spot recognition. The annualized base pay range for this role is:

$135,040 - $202,560

Equal Opportunity Employer/Sex/Race/Color/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity or Expression/Religion/Age

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