Design, build, and optimize scalable cloud data pipelines and infrastructure. Maintain and refactor SQL and ETL processes, automate data workflows, ensure data quality/security, and troubleshoot complex issues. Provide technical leadership and mentor junior engineers while collaborating with stakeholders to translate requirements.
Summary:
The Senior Data Engineer designs, builds, and optimizes scalable data pipelines and cloud-based data infrastructure. This role is critical to managing and organizing structured and unstructured data across the organization to enable outcomes analysis, insights, compliance, reporting, business intelligence, and data science. The Senior Engineer ensures data quality, security, and performance across platforms while providing technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Design and build efficient, scalable data pipelines using cloud services
- Maintain and refactor complex SQL and ETL processes in enterprise data platforms
- Develop automation scripts, APIs, and infrastructure components
- Collaborate with architects, analysts, and stakeholders to translate requirements
- Ensure strong data quality, integrity, and security controls across platforms
- Troubleshoot complex data issues and lead root cause analysis
Skills & Competencies:
- Advanced SQL and strong data modeling expertise
- Proficiency in Python or JVM languages for data engineering and automation
- Deep knowledge of cloud-based data patterns, distributed systems, and modern data architectures
- Strong analytical reasoning and problem-solving abilities
- Ability to lead delivery efforts and mentor junior team members
- Clear communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences
- Ability to work independently and collaborate effectively in cross-functional environments
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Management, or related field preferred
- 5–8 years of experience in data engineering or a similar role
- Strong SQL skills and deep knowledge of relational databases and data warehousing
- Proficiency in Python or JVM languages (e.g., Java, Scala, Kotlin) for data manipulation and automation
- Hands-on experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, or GCP)
- Solid understanding of ETL/ELT processes, data modeling, and data architecture
- Track record of owning and leading technical projects
- Experience with Agile methodologies and version control
Similar Jobs
AdTech • Artificial Intelligence • Marketing Tech • Software • Analytics
Build, deploy, and operate production-grade data pipelines and data products for healthcare audiences. Design transformations, data models, and governed views using Python, SQL, Airflow, S3, Snowflake, and EMR. Implement data-quality, monitoring, and privacy-by-design controls for PHI/PII. Partner with product, analytics, and platform teams to onboard sources, support audience discovery, segmentation, activation, measurement, and troubleshoot production issues.
Top Skills:
Amazon EmrAmazon S3Apache AirflowAthenaHivePythonSnowflakeSQL
Artificial Intelligence • Big Data • Healthtech • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics
Design, build, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT data pipelines and architectures across warehouses, lakes, and streaming environments. Ensure data governance, quality, and security. Lead delivery of analytics data products, optimize production systems, collaborate with stakeholders, and mentor junior data engineers.
Top Skills:
Amazon RedshiftApache AirflowSparkAzureCi/CdDatabricksEtl/EltGitJavaKafkaLinuxPythonScalaSnowflakeSQL
Artificial Intelligence • Big Data • Healthtech • Information Technology • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics
Design, build, test, document, and maintain scalable big-data solutions. Evaluate and deploy tools and frameworks, develop APIs and integrations, translate requirements into designs, collaborate across teams, participate in code reviews, and provide production support and documentation.
Top Skills:
DatabricksHadoopJSONPythonScalaSnowflakeSparkSQLWeb Services
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
