Lead Data Engineer

This is a full-time, W-2 position.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Lead Data Engineer ("LDE") will be responsible for developing and executing the technology roadmap to enhance the use of data throughout the company's operations. That roadmap will include the effective application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to support the intake and ingestion of insurance submission applications, third-party data, warehousing, reporting, analytics and other data used in the underwriting process, with the objective of delivering decision-ready packaging for underwriters' review and evaluation.

The LDE will develop and lead a high-performance team of data engineers to leverage data engineering principles, architecture, design patterns and state-of-the-art data tools that deliver advanced business solutions to meet the Companies' business needs.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDING

• Collaborating with business sponsors and cross-functional teams to elicit and understand data requirements, translate them into technical specifications and deliver data solutions according to those specifications.
• Designing robust and enduring data architecture that will meet today's needs while also being adaptable to meet the operational data needs of the future.
• Optimizing data workflows and ensuring the reliability, security and performance of the Companies' data.
• Leading a skilled team of data engineers in the design and implementation of scalable data pipelines with Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) processes.
• Mentoring and guiding less experienced data engineers, while fostering a culture of learning and innovation within the team.
• Staying current with industry trends and emerging technologies to ensure the team utilizes best practices in data engineering.
• Conducting code reviews and enforcing best coding practices throughout the data team.
• Recommending and implementing data governance policies to ensure data integrity, compliance with corporate guidelines and data privacy regulations.
• Managing and meeting project deliverables within agreed timelines and budgetary constraints.
• Such other duties as requested by management.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES

• A strong background in designing, developing and maintaining data infrastructure, pipelines and solutions.
• A proven ability to manage cloud-based data infrastructure (Azure) for storage, processing and analytics.
• A proven ability to Integrate structured and unstructured data from internal and external systems into unified datasets for consumption by analytics and AI teams.
• A sound understanding of data warehousing concepts and architecture (e.g., Snowflake, Synapse, Fabric).
• Proficiency in programming languages, e.g., SQL, R, C#, Java, Python, Shell Scripting. Python, Spark and ETL frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of data engineering concepts, including data APIs, data availability, data quality, data management, metadata management, reference data management, data governance, data catalog, data virtualization and data optimization.
• A working knowledge of data tools and platforms, e.g., Snowflake, Data Bricks and Big Data.
• The ability to influence decisions and outcomes in an environment where the role may not directly control all related resource allocations.
• The proven ability to lead and manage vendors and contractors effectively, whether on-shore, off-shore and/or near-shore.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to address associates at all levels of the organization, including the executive level.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/CERTIFICATIONS

• Required: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college/university, preferably in Data Engineering, Computer Science, Data Science or Data Analytics.
• Required: 5+ years of experience in data engineering, with at least 2 years in a technical or team leadership capacity.
• Preferred: Insurance industry experience.
• Deep hands-on experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Azure Data Factory, AWS Glue, Google Cloud Platform Dataflow, etc.) and tools, e.g., Databricks, Snowflake, or Redshift.
• Experience with SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB).
• In-depth experience with of data warehousing concepts, dimensional modeling and data lake architecture.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Physical demands are considered to be that of a climate-controlled office environment, with minimal physical exertion.
• Position is hybrid and requires the ability and the willingness to work in a Company office at least three (3) days per week.
• Position requires prolonged sitting, extensive utilization of computers and interactions with others in person and via phone.
• Position requires the ability and the willingness to travel to meet business needs.