Senior Principal, Data Engineering

Mastercard; Missouri; On-site; USD 212,000 - 339,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive health insurance

Paid time off

401k with company match

Job summary

Mastercard is looking for a Senior Principal Data Engineer to enhance data platforms through innovation and engineering excellence. This role involves designing cloud-native solutions and providing technical leadership while not managing a team directly.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise with AWS and Azure, hands-on data engineering experience, and a background in software engineering. The position offers competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits, including health insurance and paid leave.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in designing and operating enterprise-scale cloud platforms.
• Experience with AWS, Azure and related modern technologies.
• Strong understanding of cloud security architecture and compliance.

Responsibilities

• Design and architect cloud-native data platform solutions.
• Lead hands-on development of DevOps capabilities.
• Define and document architectural standards and best practices.

Skills

Cloud and data platforms expertise

Hands-on AWS services experience

Hands-on Azure services experience

Software engineering background

Infrastructure-as-Code

Data processing with Spark/PySpark

Proficiency in Python and scripting

Containerization technologies

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Databricks

Terraform

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Senior Principal, Data Engineering

Senior Principal, Data Engineering

Overview

Mastercard Services Technology is seeking a Senior Principal Data Engineer to drive our mission of unlocking the full potential of our data assets through innovation, automation, and engineering excellence. This highly technical, hands‑on individual contributor role focuses on building and evolving modern data platforms that enable secure, scalable, and governed access to data across cloud and on‑premises environments. The senior technical leader will design, build, and optimize enterprise‑scale data platforms on AWS and Azure, define architectural standards, champion best practices, and lead the implementation of cloud‑native data solutions across Mastercard’s data ecosystem. The role requires strong technical leadership but does not include direct people management.

Role

• Design and architect end‑to‑end cloud‑native data platform solutions, including modern lakehouse architectures leveraging AWS (S3) and Azure (Data Lake) with Databricks and related ecosystem tools.
• Lead by doing through hands‑on development of DevOps capabilities, including CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure‑as‑Code, and automated environment provisioning across multi‑cloud platforms.
• Define and enforce cloud security architecture standards, including IAM design, encryption strategies, network security, and regulatory compliance (GDPR, HIPAA).
• Establish enterprise‑grade data governance frameworks covering data cataloging, lineage, classification, and access control using tools such as AWS Lake Formation and Azure Purview.
• Architect and deliver scalable data engineering solutions, including ETL/ELT pipelines, data lakes, and data warehouse systems supporting analytics and reporting use cases.
• Implement and evolve Medallion Lakehouse architectures (Bronze, Silver, Gold) leveraging AWS services (Glue, Lake Formation) and analytics engines such as Databricks, EMR, and Athena.
• Translate complex business requirements into scalable, secure, and maintainable technical solutions in partnership with product, engineering, and analytics stakeholders.
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership by mentoring engineers and DevOps practitioners, promoting engineering excellence, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Drive operational excellence through proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization of data platforms for performance, scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency.
• Define and document architectural standards, design patterns, and operational best practices to enable consistency and scalability across teams.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and industry trends in cloud, data, and DevOps to ensure the platform remains modern, efficient, and future‑ready.
• Actively participate in architecture reviews, technical design discussions, Agile ceremonies, and iterative planning and estimation sessions while influencing cross‑team technical direction.

All About You

• Deep expertise designing, building, and operating enterprise‑scale cloud and data platforms.
• Hands‑on experience with AWS services including S3, EC2, Lambda, Glue, Redshift, EMR, Athena, and Lake Formation.
• Hands‑on experience with Azure services including Data Factory, Synapse, Fabric, Azure Data Lake, and related technologies.
• Strong software engineering background with experience building production‑grade cloud‑native solutions.
• Expertise implementing Infrastructure‑as‑Code and CI/CD pipelines using Terraform, CloudFormation, Bicep/ARM, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI/CD, or similar tools.
• Strong understanding of cloud security architecture, IAM, encryption, governance, and compliance frameworks.
• Extensive experience with Spark, PySpark, distributed data processing, and large‑scale data engineering systems.
• Proficiency in Python and scripting languages such as Bash or PowerShell.
• Demonstrated success delivering production‑scale Medallion Lakehouse architectures.
• Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies including Docker, Kubernetes, ECS, and AKS.
• Strong knowledge of observability, monitoring, and logging platforms such as CloudWatch, Azure Monitor, ELK, or Grafana.
• Experience implementing cloud cost optimization and FinOps best practices.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction, drive consensus, and deliver outcomes across cross‑functional teams without direct authority.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Benefits & Compensation

In line with Mastercard’s total compensation philosophy and assuming that the job will be performed in the US, the successful candidate will be offered a competitive base salary and may be eligible for an annual bonus or commissions depending on the role. The base salary offered may vary depending on multiple factors, including but not limited to location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Mastercard benefits for full‑time employees generally include insurance (medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life); flexible spending account and health savings account; paid leaves (16 weeks new parent leave, up to 20 days bereavement leave); 80 hours Paid Sick and Safe Time, 25 days vacation time and 5 personal days, pro‑rated based on date of hire; 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays; 401k with best‑in‑class company match; deferred compensation for eligible roles; fitness reimbursement or on‑site fitness facilities; tuition reimbursement; and many more. Benefits for interns include 56 hours Paid Sick and Safe Time and junior‑specific benefits.

Pay Ranges

Arlington, Virginia: $244,000 – $390,000 USD
O'Fallon, Missouri: $212,000 – $339,000 USD

Equal Opportunity Statement

Mastercard is a merit‑based, inclusive, equal opportunity employer that considers applicants without regard to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabled or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We hire the most qualified candidate for the role. In the US or Canada, if you require accommodations or assistance to complete the application process or during the recruitment process, please contact [e-mail] and identify the type of accommodation or assistance you are requesting. The Reasonable Accommodations team will respond promptly.

Corporate Security Responsibility

• Abide by Mastercard’s security policies and practices.
• Ensure the confidentiality and integrity of the information being accessed.
• Report any suspected information security violation or breach.
• Complete all periodic mandatory security trainings in accordance with Mastercard’s guidelines.