Principal Engineer I

Spectrum; Greenwood Village (CO); On-site; USD 111,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Spectrum is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead the Hadoop-based data platform architecture and operations. You will guide design, scalability, security, and reliability while mentoring engineering teams across data ingestion, processing, governance, and access patterns.

You’ll partner with data engineering, analytics, security, and infrastructure groups to optimize the platform, evolve standard practices, and ensure robust operational excellence in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Master’s or bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field or related work experience
• 5+ years engineering work experience
• 5+ years project management work experience
• Ability to read, write, speak and understand English
• Basic knowledge of IEEE, ANSI, Fiber, Bridging, Switching, Routing, Ethernet and Transport technologies
• Experience with Hadoop and other database technologies (PostgreSQL/MySQL, Splunk)
• Experience with container technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes
• Experience with Django/Flask/FastAPI is not stated; focus on Hadoop ecosystem and cloud data platforms
• Cloud data platforms and hybrid architectures experience preferred
• Ability to mentor engineering teams and create platform runbooks

Responsibilities

• Owns architecture, design, and lifecycle management of enterprise Hadoop clusters
• Leads administration of Hadoop components (HDFS, YARN, Hive, HBase, Spark, Kafka, Oozie, ZooKeeper, Impala)
• Defines platform standards for availability, performance, DR, backup, monitoring, and security
• Drives infrastructure optimization across storage, compute, workload management, and job scheduling
• Establishes best practices for cluster provisioning, configuration, patches, upgrades, and decommissioning
• Mentor engineers and administrators; provide technical leadership
• Create and maintain platform documentation, runbooks, and architecture standards
• Create and maintain data views and automated data processing

Skills

Hadoop administration

Architecture leadership

Hadoop ecosystem tools

Python/Typescript

DevOps practices

Docker/Kubernetes

Network engineering concepts

Education

Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Tools

HDFS

YARN

Hive

HBase

Spark

Kafka

Oozie

ZooKeeper

Impala

Job description

This role requires the ability to work lawfully in the U.S. without employment-based immigration sponsorship, now or in the future.

Charter is proud to have a network that provides service to millions of customers across the US. The Network Engineering team is responsible for the implementation of approved network architecture and designs. Under limited supervision, this Principal Engineer position leads the architecture, engineering, administration, and strategic evolution of our Hadoop-based big data platform. This role is responsible for defining the technical direction of the enterprise data ecosystem, ensuring platform scalability, reliability, security, and operational excellence. The ideal candidate combines deep hands-on expertise in Hadoop administrationwith strong architecture leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to mentor engineering teams.

How You’ll Make an Impact

• Owns the architecture, design, and lifecycle management of enterprise Hadoop clusters and supporting data platform services.
• Leads administration of Hadoop ecosystem components such as HDFS, YARN, Hive, HBase, Spark, Kafka, Oozie, ZooKeeper, Impala, and related tooling.
• Defines platform standards for availability, performance, capacity planning, disaster recovery, backup, monitoring, and security.
• Drives infrastructure optimization across storage, compute, workload management, and job scheduling.
• Establishes best practices for cluster provisioning, configuration management, patching, upgrades, and decommissioning.
• Partner with data engineering, analytics, security, and infrastructure teams to support data ingestion, processing, governance, and access patterns.
• Troubleshoot complex platform, performance, and production stability issues across distributed systems.
• Lead root cause analysis and implement preventive measures to improve resiliency and service quality.
• Evaluate and guide migration or coexistence strategies involving cloud data platforms and hybrid architectures.
• Mentor engineers and administrators, providing technical leadership across platform operations and engineering initiatives.
• Create and maintain platform documentation, operational runbooks, and architecture standards.
• Create and maintain data views, data exports and automated data processing.

Working Conditions

• Office environment

What You’ll Bring to Spectrum

Required Qualifications

Education

• Master’s or bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field or related work experience

Experience

• 5+ years engineering work experience
• 5+ years project management work experience

Skills

• Ability to read, write, speak and understand English
• Basic knowledge of related industry specifications and standards IEEE, ANSI, Fiber (Multimode, Single mode, UTP, etc.), Bridging, Switching, Routing, Ethernet and Transport technologies and protocols
• Basic knowledge in network design, network architecture, protocols and network topology
• Basic knowledge in TCP/IP and the OSI Model
• Basic knowledge in using ticketing and software tools to support the current operations
• Basic knowledge of network devices and basic network appliances
• Basic knowledge of network designing software, such as Visio
• Ability to perform duties in a very fast-paced environment and ability to learn new technology quickly
• Ability to use personal computer and software applications

Preferred Qualifications

Education

• Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE)
• Industry and vendor specific certifications and training preferred (Cisco, Juniper, Alcatel-Lucent, etc.)

Skills

• Minimum four (4) years of software development experience using Python / Typescript
• Experience with Django/Flask/FastAPI
• Experience with Shell scripting, TCP/IP and networking concepts, system security best practices and system monitoring
• Capable of managing systems in a large scale, high availability, multi-site environment
• Experience working in DevOps practices and tools
• Experience with Hadoop and other database technologies, like Postgresql/MySQL, Splunk
• Experience with container technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, etc.
• Other Industry and vendor specific certifications, training (Python, DevOps, Network Technologies)
• Advanced knowledge of network automation platforms and techniques
• Advanced knowledge of concurrent, parallel and asynchronous programming design and techniques
• Advanced knowledge of restful api design, operation and interaction
• Working knowledge of PEP8 programming practices
• Ability to read, understand and effectively convey RFC and IEEE standards and concepts

Here, our employees don’t just have jobs, they're building careers. That’s why we offer a comprehensive pay and benefits package that rewards employees for their contributions to our success, supporting all aspects of their well-being at every stage of life.

A qualified applicant’s criminal history, if any, will be considered in a manner consistent with applicable laws, including local ordinances.

This job posting will remain open until 2026-11-03 05:00 AM (UTC) and will be extended if necessary.

The base pay for this position generally is between $110,800.00 and $196,400.00. The actual compensation offered will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. We comply with local wage minimums and also, certain positions are eligible for additional forms of other incentive-based compensation such as bonuses.

Get to Know Us

Spectrum is a suite of advanced communications services offered by Charter Communications, the leading broadband and video company in the nation and the fastest growing mobile provider in its footprint, with services available to more than 70 million homes and small to large businesses across 45 states. When you join our team, you’ll be keeping customers connected to Seamless Connectivity and entertainment with Spectrum Internet®, Mobile, TV and Voice products.

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We’re committed to growing a workforce that reflects the customers and communities we serve – providing opportunities for employment and advancement to all team members.

Spectrum is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including job seekers with disabilities and veterans.

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