Lead Data Engineer

Description:
Hybrid 3 on in Charlotte, NC

Our client seeks a Lead Data Engineer to own architecture and delivery of scalable data platforms on AWS. The role will lead design of data lakes and warehouses, govern IAM and security, and implement resilient pipelines using Python, PySpark, and SQL. The leader will mentor engineers, drive standards for quality and observability, and partner with architects and stakeholders to align solutions with enterprise objectives. Experience with Kafka streaming, Terraform, CI/CD, and orchestration is required. Knowledge of Bedrock, LLMs, RAG, vector databases, and MLOps will support AI-ready pipelines and responsible AI practices.

Due to client requirements, applicants must be willing and able to work on a w2 basis. For our w2 consultants, we offer a great benefits package that includes Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits, 401k with company matching, and life insurance.

Rate: $85.00 to $95.00/hr. w2

JN -44

Responsibilities:

• Lead design, architecture, and implementation of enterprise data solutions across AWS.
• Partner with developers, data scientists, architects, product owners, and stakeholders to define technical strategy and scalable solutions.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data engineers and promote engineering best practices.
• Drive architectural decisions to ensure scalability, security, reliability, and maintainability.
• Design and oversee data lake and data warehouse solutions using Lake Formation, Redshift, and Athena.
• Establish standards for data modeling, ETL frameworks, pipeline reliability, monitoring, and operations.
• Lead end-to-end delivery aligned to business requirements, enterprise standards, and regulatory needs.
• Oversee production support of AWS data platforms, perform root-cause analysis, and optimize performance.
• Champion data quality, governance, observability, and stewardship across platforms and teams.
• Identify modernization opportunities using automation and cloud-native technologies.

Experience Requirements:

• 8+ years in data engineering with 5+ years on AWS.
• Expertise with S3, EMR, Glue, Lambda, Athena, CloudTrail, SNS, SQS, CloudWatch, and Step Functions.
• Experience creating AI applications with AWS Bedrock.
• Strong background in data lakes and warehouses with Lake Formation, Redshift, and Athena.
• Extensive experience with Kafka streaming, preferably Confluent Kafka.
• Advanced SQL and data modeling including dimensional and data vault.
• Deep experience building scalable and resilient pipelines in AWS.
• Hands-on PySpark on EMR and advanced Python development.
• Expertise with Terraform for Infrastructure as Code.
• CI/CD with GitHub and GitHub Actions.
• Deep knowledge of AWS IAM roles, policies, governance, and security best practices.
• Workflow orchestration with Step Functions, Airflow, or similar.
• Leadership in cloud migration, modernization, and enterprise data platforms.
• Strong understanding of data governance, metadata, data quality, and observability.
• Proficiency with Generative AI concepts, LLMs, RAG, vector databases, and MLOps.
• Experience with Azure or Databricks is a plus.

Recruitment Transparency Notice



Eliassen Group values transparency in our recruitment practices. Please be advised that Eliassen Group utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) tools as part of its initial application screening and hiring process. You may receive email and SMS notifications from the Eliassen Virtual Recruiting Team (, ) inviting you to complete a brief voice screening as part of your application process. These tools assist our hiring teams in different ways, including but not limited to, assistance in reviewing application materials to help identify candidates whose qualifications most closely match the requirements of the position. All AI-assisted evaluations and responses are reviewed by human recruiters before any hiring decisions are made. The use of AI in our process is intended to support fairness, efficiency, and consistency, and Eliassen Group takes measures to prevent bias or discrimination in connection with its hiring practices. By proceeding, you acknowledge, agree, and consent to Eliassen Group's use of these tools, including AI tools, as part of the application and hiring process.

Skills, experience, and other compensable factors will be considered when determining pay rate. The pay range provided in this posting reflects a W2 hourly rate; other employment options may be available that may result in pay outside of the provided range.

W2 employees of Eliassen Group who are regularly scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week are eligible for the following benefits: medical (choice of 3 plans), dental, vision, pre-tax accounts, other voluntary benefits including life and disability insurance, 401(k) with match, and sick time if required by law in the worked-in state/locality.
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About Eliassen Group:

Eliassen Group is a strategic consulting firm that helps organizations reach further and achieve more through our technology, business advisory, and life sciences solutions. For nearly 40 years, we have combined exceptional people, deep domain expertise, and intelligent capabilities to expand our clients' capacity and accelerate meaningful outcomes. We are driven by a purpose to positively impact the lives of our employees, clients, consultants, and the communities we serve.

Eliassen is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We are an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and all employment decisions are based on merit, performance, and business needs. Eliassen does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender identity or expression, sexual preference or orientation, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), marital status, creed, religion, physical or mental disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, age, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, prohibited criminal record inquiries of applicants and employees, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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