Lead Data Engineering

Role: Technical Lead – Data EngineeringLocation: Hybrid – Tempe, Arizona.FULLTIMERole OverviewWe are seeking an experienced Onsite Technical Lead to serve as the primary bridge between the client and an offshore delivery team across various active workstreams that includes Production Support Operations, Application Development & Maintenance. The ideal candidate combines strong hands-on data engineering skills with the communication, coordination, and business acumen needed to operate effectively in a fast-paced client environment. While there would be multiple workstreams in scope, production support takes priority — the ability to respond quickly, communicate clearly under pressure, and ensure SLA adherence is essential.Key ResponsibilitiesServe as the onsite point of contact for the client, coordinating day-to-day activities across support and development.Lead morning production support operations — pipeline monitoring, incident triage, data validation, and escalation — ensuring data readiness SLAs are metAct as the primary communication bridge between client stakeholders and the offshore ITCI delivery team — translating business needs into technical direction and vice versaDesign and develop scalable Snowflake-based data solutions and ELT/ETL pipelines as part of ADM deliveryDevelop and manage Airflow workflows and orchestration frameworksImplement Spec-Driven Development using Cursor and AI-assisted engineering practices.Create Power BI-ready semantic layers and analytics datasets; support executive reporting validationDrive automation, testing, monitoring, and CI/CD best practices across all three tracksCoordinate stand-ups, status updates, and stakeholder communications — ensuring offshore team context is current and client expectations are managed proactivelyDemonstrate flexibility and ownership during critical business periods, including early-morning support windows and time-sensitive incidentsExperience Required & Education8–12 years of experience in Data Engineering, Cloud Data Platforms, or a combination of engineering and technical delivery rolesBachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or a related fieldMust-HaveStrong expertise in Snowflake (Architecture, Data Modelling, Performance Tuning, Streams & Tasks)Strong expertise in Python and advanced SQLExperience building and supporting scalable ETL/ELT pipelines in production environmentsStrong knowledge of Apache Airflow for workflow orchestration and DAG-level incident managementHands-on experience with AWS services — S3, Glue, Lambda, CloudWatch, Secrets Manager, SNS/SQSExperience with Power BI datasets, semantic models, and report validationStrong understanding of Git, CI/CD, and DataOps practicesProven experience in a client-facing or embedded onsite role — managing stakeholder expectations, communicating technical status clearly, and maintaining trust during incidents.Demonstrated ability to coordinate between an onsite client environment and an offshore or distributed delivery teamHands-on production support experience with defined SLAs — owning incident response from detection through resolution and RCAAbility to triage, prioritize, and route incoming requests across parallel workstreams without creating delivery bottlenecksExperience integrating data from APIs, SaaS applications, and enterprise systemsGood to HaveHands-on experience with Snowflake Cortex (Cortex Analyst, Cortex Search, AI-powered analytics)Proficiency in Cursor IDE and AI-assisted or Spec-Driven Development (SDD)Experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as CodeExposure to Datadog or enterprise monitoring toolsExperience with AI/GenAI-driven data engineering solutionsFamiliarity with running parallel workstreams — balancing operational support priorities against active development deliveryExperience with structured change management processes (CAB, change tickets, deployment approvals) in an enterprise client environmentRetail, Consumer, or QSR domain experienceExperience working in Agile product delivery teamsExposure to modern data platform modernization initiatives