Principal Data Engineer
Hybrid – Cork | Contract | €680 per day
Role Overview
We are seeking a highly experienced Principal Data Engineer to lead the design and evolution of enterprise-scale data platforms. This role is responsible for defining and delivering robust data architecture that enables advanced analytics, machine learning, reporting, and strategic decision-making across the organisation.
As a senior technical leader, you will shape data engineering standards, guide architectural direction, and ensure that data systems are scalable, secure, high-performing, and aligned with broader enterprise technology strategy.
Key Responsibilities
Define and implement enterprise data architecture, including modern data lakes, warehouses, lakehouse models, and real-time streaming solutions
Design, develop, and optimise scalable ETL/ELT pipelines to ingest and transform data from multiple structured and unstructured sources
Provide technical leadership to data engineering teams, promoting best practices, reusable design patterns, and architectural consistency
Partner with data scientists, analysts, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into reliable and scalable data solutions
Establish and maintain standards for data quality, governance, metadata management, security, and performance optimisation
Assess and introduce emerging tools, frameworks, and technologies to continuously improve platform capability and engineering efficiency
Oversee performance monitoring, reliability engineering, and operational support to ensure high availability of critical data systems
Technical Expertise & Skills
Deep understanding of modern data architecture patterns including data lakes, warehouses, and lakehouse ecosystems
Strong programming capability in Python, Scala, Java, or similar languages used in large-scale data processing
Extensive experience with distributed data processing and orchestration tools such as Spark, Kafka, Airflow, Flink, or comparable technologies
Proven expertise building and operating cloud-native data platforms on AWS, Azure, or GCP
Advanced data modelling skills across relational and non-relational environments
Expert-level SQL and hands-on experience with modern analytical platforms such as Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, or Databricks
Experience implementing enterprise-grade data governance, quality frameworks, and metadata solutions
Strong knowledge of data security principles, regulatory compliance, and privacy standards
Demonstrated ability to lead technical strategy and mentor senior engineers
Excellent analytical and architectural decision-making capabilities
Strong communication skills with the ability to engage both technical and business audiences
Experience & Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline
8+ years of data engineering experience, including significant time in a senior or technical leadership capacity
Proven delivery of large-scale, enterprise data platforms in complex environments
Experience leading technical initiatives and influencing engineering best practices
Strong background in cloud-based data ecosystems and modern data stack technologies