Lead Cloud Data Engineer – Data Mesh & AI

Lead Cloud Data Engineer – Data Mesh & AISoftware Guidance & Assistance, Inc., (SGA), is searching for a Lead Cloud Data Engineer – Data Mesh & AI for a contract assignment with one of our premier Financial Services clients in San Francisco, CA.ResponsibilitiesWe are seeking an experienced Lead Data Engineer to join our team and drive the development of modern data platforms and AI-augmented solutions. This role is critical to supporting ongoing operations of Large Data Warehouse, architecting the Large Data Hub, and preparing for the enterprise data mesh modernization program.Data Engineering & Pipeline Development Develop and maintain end-to-end ETL/ELT pipelines for data ingestion from multiple sources (databases, APIs, streaming), transformation, quality validation, data modeling, and consumption layer optimization using AWS services (Glue, EMR, Lambda, Kinesis, Step Functions)Implement data governance policies, metadata management, data lineage tracking, fine-grained access controls, and automated data quality frameworks with validation rules, anomaly detection, and monitoring/alerting mechanismsData Mesh Architecture Design and implement Data Mesh architecture on AWS with federated governance, defining domain boundaries, data product specifications, and self-serve infrastructure patterns across Databricks, Starburst, Collibra, and Immuta platformsDevelop reusable frameworks, accelerators, and self-serve tools enabling domain teams to independently publish, discover, and consume data products while ensuring performance optimization and cost efficiencyDevSecOps & Infrastructure Integrate DevSecOps practices including CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code (Terraform/CloudFormation), automated security scanning, compliance validation, and disaster recovery strategiesAI-Augmented Development Design and build agentic AI solutions, RAG pipelines, and intelligent automation using LLMs, orchestration frameworks, and AI-powered development tools (Copilot, Claude Code) to enhance platform capabilities and accelerate SDLCTechnical Leadership & Collaboration Provide L3 technical support and mentor engineering teams on data mesh principles and modern data technologiesCollaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutionsLead architecture design reviews and create comprehensive technical documentationRequired SkillsWe are looking for candidates with the following skills:Data Mesh Architecture & AWS (5+ years required): Deep experience designing distributed data architectures on AWS (S3, Glue, Lake Formation, EMR, Redshift)Hands-on implementation of data mesh principles including domain-oriented data ownership, data as a product, and federated computational governanceModern Data Platform Technologies: Proficiency: Databricks (Unity Catalog, Delta Lake), Starburst/Trino (federated query), Collibra (data governance), or Immuta (dynamic data access control)Ability to architect multi-technology solutionsDevSecOps & Infrastructure as Code: Strong experience with CI/CD pipelines (GitLab/GitHub Actions, Jenkins)Containerization expertise (Docker/ECS)Infrastructure automation (Terraform, CloudFormation)Security compliance frameworks for AWS GovCloud environmentsAI-Augmented Development & Engineering: Demonstrated use of generative AI tools for accelerating SDLC activities including code generation, testing, and documentationExperience designing or implementing agentic AI solutions using Amazon Bedrock or similar frameworksLeadership & Soft Skills: Proven ability to translate business requirements into technical solutionsExperience leading technical design sessions and mentoring engineering teamsStrong communication skills to convey complex architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholdersExperience working across hybrid cloud/on-premises environmentsSGA is a technology and resource solutions provider driven to stand out. We are a women-owned business. Our mission: to solve big IT problems with a more personal, boutique approach. Each year, we match consultants like you to more than 1,000 engagements. When we say let's work better together, we mean it. You'll join a diverse team built on these core values: customer service, employee development, and quality and integrity in everything we do. Be yourself, love what you do and find your passion at work.