Principal Data Engineer — AI-Ready Data Platforms (Hybrid)

Talentify; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 212,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation benefits

Company vehicle program

Job summary

General Motors is seeking a principal-level Data Engineer who leads cross‑team data initiatives, shapes technical direction, and drives scalable data infrastructure for AI-enabled analytics. This role blends data engineering with AI enablement and requires broad autonomy to set strategy and deliver high-impact outcomes.

The successful candidate will partner with data scientists, analysts, software engineers, and business leaders to ensure data is accessible, governed, and trusted.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of relevant full-time experience in data engineering or closely related roles; or equivalent depth of knowledge.
• Strong hands-on experience with end-to-end pipeline development, data modeling, and production data platforms.
• Extensive experience designing and optimizing batch and streaming data pipelines using Databricks, Apache Spark, and Delta Lake.
• Proficiency in Python or Scala, SQL, and relational/non-relational data storage technologies.
• Deep experience with cloud platforms – Azure strongly preferred; AWS or GCP also considered.
• Experience leading cross-functional collaboration and delivering data solutions enabling AI and advanced analytics.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and productionize reliable, scalable data pipelines and data products in Azure Databricks for AI and analytics needs across multiple domains.
• Lead end-to-end transformation of raw data from numerous source systems into trusted, well-structured, governed datasets.
• Define architecture, patterns, and best practices (Medallion Architecture, Delta Lake, data quality, observability) across teams.
• Drive improvements in delivery patterns, efficiency, reliability, and speed of data delivery within the organization.
• Solve complex data engineering problems with advanced analytical thinking, ownership, and sound technical judgment.
• Partner with data scientists, analysts, software engineers, and business leaders to ensure accessible, trustworthy data aligned to business outcomes.
• Lead AI and data science enablement with feature-ready data, experimentation workflows, and scalable model development patterns.
• Provide technical leadership for large initiatives, defining scope and ensuring cohesive delivery across contributors.
• Mentor engineers and data scientists and promote DevOps, DataOps, and MLOps practices, including CI/CD for data pipelines.
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences and influence roadmaps.

Job description

General Motors is seeking a principal-level Data Engineer who leads cross‑team data initiatives, shapes technical direction, and drives scalable data infrastructure for AI-enabled analytics. This role blends data engineering with AI enablement and requires broad autonomy to set strategy and deliver high-impact outcomes.

The successful candidate will partner with data scientists, analysts, software engineers, and business leaders to ensure data is accessible, governed, and trusted.