Sr Enterprise Data Platform and Engineering

Academy Sports and Outdoors; Katy (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Academy Sports + Outdoors is seeking a Senior Data Engineer in Katy, TX to design and maintain a scalable enterprise data platform. You’ll build trusted data pipelines, govern data assets, and collaborate with Data Products and Analytics teams to empower business stakeholders with reliable information.

You will drive CI/CD, IaC, and observability while mentoring engineers and advancing security, performance, and data quality across cloud-native solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field.
• 7+ years in Data/Platform/Cloud Engineering or equivalent.
• Experience designing large-scale enterprise data platforms and integration solutions.
• Experience with cloud platforms, including Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Experience developing and supporting data orchestration, streaming technologies, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, and observability solutions.
• Experience implementing security, governance, metadata management, lineage, and data quality frameworks.
• Retail or related industry experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise data platform architecture, cloud-native engineering, and data integration patterns.
• Experience designing and supporting ELT/ETL frameworks, ingestion services, and enterprise data pipelines.
• Strong proficiency with SQL, Python, BigQuery scripting, or similar technologies.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable data ingestion and ELT/ETL pipelines.
• Shape enterprise data platform security, governance, lineage, and data quality.
• Collaborate with Data Products, Analytics Engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver trusted data solutions.
• Lead automation initiatives, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code across cloud environments.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to engineers across development and operations.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Problem solving

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/Data Engineering

Tools

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

SQL

Python

BigQuery

DBT Core

OpenMetadata

Confluent Kafka

Composer

Datastage

GoAnywhere

Job description

Who We Are

At Academy Sports + Outdoors our vision is to be the best sports + outdoors retailer in the country — but what truly sets us apart is our people. We’re a passionate, purpose-driven team that’s as committed to each other as we are to our customers. We’ve spent over 80 years building a culture that puts people first. We believe in creating opportunities for growth, fostering meaningful connections, and supporting every Team Member’s journey. What fuels us? Our belief in the power of fun. Here, you won’t just help customers gear up for their next adventure — you’ll launch one of your own. Whether you're starting out or leveling up, Academy is a place where fun can’t lose!

What You Will Work On

In this role, you shape the enterprise data platform that teams rely on for secure, scalable, and dependable data integration. Your work strengthens the infrastructure and platform capabilities that move data across the organization, helping Data Products, Analytics Engineering, and business stakeholders access trusted and governed solutions. By improving reliability, performance, security, and operational efficiency, you create a stronger foundation for enterprise data consumption. Working across cloud-based data ecosystems, you design and maintain platform services, ingestion frameworks, orchestration workflows, and ELT/ETL integration patterns. You lead modernization through automation, CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and deployment optimization while advancing monitoring, observability, alerting, lineage, metadata, and operational support. You also establish engineering standards and reusable frameworks, guide technical initiatives, evaluate emerging technologies, and help the team improve platform capabilities and engineering effectiveness.

Who You Will Work With

You will collaborate with Data Products, Analytics Engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver data solutions that are trusted, governed, and accessible. These partnerships connect platform engineering decisions with the teams and business needs that depend on reliable enterprise data. Within the Data Platform Engineering team, you will provide technical leadership, mentorship, guidance, and knowledge sharing across development and operational initiatives. You will also influence cross‑functional teams by communicating technical concepts clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

What You Bring

Bring your energy, your ideas, and your love for sports and the outdoors.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related field required
• 7+ years of experience in Data Engineering, Platform Engineering, Cloud Engineering, or related disciplines
• Experience designing, implementing, and supporting large‑scale enterprise data platforms and integration solutions
• Experience with cloud platforms, including Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Experience developing and supporting data orchestration, streaming technologies, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, and observability solutions
• Experience implementing security, governance, metadata management, lineage, and data quality frameworks
• Retail or related industry experience preferred
• Strong knowledge of enterprise data platform architecture, cloud‑native engineering, and data integration patterns
• Experience designing and supporting ELT/ETL frameworks, ingestion services, and enterprise data pipelines
• Strong proficiency with SQL, Python, BigQuery scripting, or similar technologies
• Experience with Google BigQuery, DBT Core, OpenMetadata, Cube Cloud, Composer, Datastage, Confluent Kafka, GoAnywhere, or similar technologies
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, monitoring, and observability solutions
• Strong understanding of security, privacy, governance, disaster recovery, and operational resilience principles
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem‑solving skills in distributed and cloud‑native environments
• Ability to develop reusable frameworks, engineering standards, and best practices
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to influence cross‑functional teams and communicate technical concepts to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders
• Ability to mentor engineers and provide technical leadership across development and operational initiatives
• A team-first attitude; while your core duties are your priority, you're happy to step in wherever you're needed

Work Style and Physical Requirements

Flexible work schedule may be required to support business needs. Regular in‑office attendance is required. Acceptable level of hearing and vision to perform job duties. Ability to adhere to company policies and professional standards.

Key Skills

• Automated Processes
• Deployments
• Best Practices
• Collaboration and Teamwork
• Security
• Mentorship
• Technology Solutions

Equal Employment Opportunity

Academy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate with regard to employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by law.

Academy® Sports + Outdoors is one of the nation’s largest sporting goods and outdoor retailers. It’s no surprise that we not only know how to create experiences for our customers, but for our team members as well. Understanding our people and the things that matter to them the most has been at the core of the Academy® culture for over 80 years. With more than 22,000 team members, we take pride in creating a workplace environment that values hard work, commitment, and growth.