Principal Data Engineer

EAB is dedicated to making education smarter and communities stronger by partnering with over 2,800 institutions. The Principal Data Engineer is responsible for designing impactful data and analytics solutions, leading discovery engagements, and serving as a trusted technical advisor to partners, ensuring solutions align with their goals and drive measurable outcomes.

Responsibilities:

• Lead discovery engagements with institutional stakeholders to translate business questions into clear data and analytic requirements
• Design end-to-end data solutions, including data models, integrations, transformation logic, and reporting structures that align with Edify platform best practices and long-term partner data strategy
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to partners, guiding them through complex data challenges and opportunities to expand impact through improved data usage, reporting, and analytics
• Mentor or manage Data Engineers and collaborate with Technical Project Managers to guide implementation of designed solutions
• Identify, investigate, and resolve performance and production issues, proactively recognizing recurring patterns and developing scalable solutions to prevent future occurrences
• Contribute to the development of advanced capabilities, including predictive analytics, automation, and AI-driven use cases
• Provide structured feedback to Product and Engineering teams to inform platform evolution

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent professional experience
• 8+ years of experience in data architecture, analytics consulting, or related roles
• Strong proficiency in SQL, experience writing and code-reviewing complex stored procedures, and working knowledge of data transformation and modeling concepts
• Experience designing data pipelines, integrations, and warehouse structures
• Deep understanding of how data flows across systems and how it is used to drive business decisions
• Demonstrated ability to translate ambiguous problems into structured, actionable solutions
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical audiences
• Detail-oriented with ability to multitask and adapt to changing priorities
• Experience working directly with external stakeholders in a consulting or client-facing capacity
• Familiarity with cloud data ecosystems (AWS preferred) and modern data stack concepts
• Experience guiding data strategy, analytics roadmaps, or system design decisions
• Exposure to advanced analytics, predictive modeling, or AI/ML use cases
• Ability to recognize patterns across implementations and drive reusable, scalable solutions
• Experience in higher education or similarly complex data environments
• SPM certifications or demonstrated planning, organizing and time management skills
• Commitment to embracing a continual learning environment and contributing to a dynamic and welcoming culture of fairness, authenticity, and belonging in support of EAB's mission, values, and aspiration