Principal Data Engineer

Ladders; United States; Remote; USD 172,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & wellness

Mind & lifestyle programs

Flexible work arrangements

Professional development

Job summary

Ladders is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to steer the technical direction of scalable data platforms for critical data flows and engineering outcomes.

Location: Remote – US-based candidates only. Compensation: $171,500 – $269,500 annually. You will design robust ingestion, transformation, and system architectures, mentor engineers, and define reusable patterns to raise delivery quality.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software, data, or platform engineering.
• 5+ years designing large-scale data platforms.
• Expertise in end-to-end system design and production delivery.
• Deep knowledge of modern data architecture concepts.
• Strong proficiency in SQL and a programming language such as Python, Java, or Scala.
• Experience with distributed data processing frameworks such as Spark or Kafka.
• Proven ability to lead technical decisions across teams.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision for scalable data platforms.
• Design end-to-end data systems for ingestion and transformation.
• Document high-quality architecture decisions and tradeoffs.
• Define reusable architectural patterns for data engineering challenges.
• Lead technical design reviews for high-impact initiatives; establish and improve engineering standards and best practices.
• Mentor data engineers and foster a culture of excellence.

Job description

For our client, we are seeking a Principal Data Engineer to join the team of a leader in the Information Technology space. This role will shape the technical direction for scalable data platforms that support critical business data flows and engineering outcomes. You will partner closely with technical teams to design robust ingestion, transformation, and system architecture solutions that can operate reliably at scale. The position also plays a key leadership role in defining reusable patterns, improving engineering standards, and raising the quality of data platform delivery across the organization.

Location: Remote - US based candidates only, no visa sponsorship available

Compensation: $171,500 – $269,500 annually

Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision for scalable data platforms
• Design end-to-end data systems for ingestion and transformation
• Document high-quality architecture decisions and tradeoffs
• Define reusable architectural patterns for data engineering challenges
• Lead technical design reviews for high-impact initiativesEstablish and improve engineering standards and best practices
• Mentor data engineers and foster a culture of excellence

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software, data, or platform engineering
• 5+ years designing large-scale data platforms
• Expertise in end-to-end system design and production delivery
• Deep knowledge of modern data architecture concepts
• Strong proficiency in SQL and a programming language such as Python, Java, or Scala
• Experience with distributed data processing frameworks such as Spark or Kafka
• Proven ability to lead technical decisions across teams

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and wellness programs
• Holistic mind, body, and lifestyle initiatives
• Flexible work arrangements
• Opportunities for professional development and growth

Our client is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification—your background could be exactly what this team needs.