Data Integration and Pipeline – Lead Engineer

Job Description SUMMARY: • We are seeking a Data Integration & Pipeline Lead Engineer (Informatica Technical Lead) to provide hands-on technical leadership across our enterprise data integration platform. • This role is responsible for the design, build, stability, and technical evolution of Informatica-based data pipelines while partnering closely with architecture, platform leadership, and delivery managers. • This is a technical leadership role—not a people-management role. • The Technical Lead sets the technical bar, ensures production stability, mentors engineers, and coordinates execution across teams, while delivery ownership and people management remain with the Informatica Manager. • The role supports a hybrid environment that includes Informatica (PowerCenter / IDMC) and possibly a gradual evolution toward modern cloud and analytics platforms (Snowflake, dbt). ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties and special projects may be assigned. Technical Ownership & Delivery • Lead the end-to-end technical design and implementation of Informatica ETL/ELT pipelines, including sourcing, transformations, orchestration, error handling, restartability, and downstream dependencies. • The Lead will also administrative responsibilities such as upgrades/hotfixes, manage repository folders, and will lead Informatica related tasks for infrastructure upgrades and security patches. • Establish and enforce technical standards and reusable patterns for mappings, workflows, parameterization, performance tuning, and monitoring. • Partner with data architects to translate target-state architecture into executable Informatica designs, including hybrid and dual-run patterns. • Review and guide implementation work to ensure design integrity, scalability, and operational resilience. • Create minimal scripting in Python. • Develop and implement orchestration and ingestion patterns for API integrations, event driven patterns Production Stability & Support • Serve as the primary technical escalation point for complex production incidents, leading deep root-cause analysis and permanent remediation. • Identify systemic failure patterns and drive architectural or design changes to reduce recurring incidents. • Ensure pipelines meet defined SLAs, reliability, and audit expectations, especially for regulatory and risk-sensitive data flows. • Collaborate with support and scheduling teams to ensure smooth promotion, execution, and recovery of Informatica jobs. Estimation, Planning & Coordination • Break down requirements into technically meaningful components and help shape realistic estimates based on data volume, transformation complexity, dependencies, and risk. • Coordinate closely with the Informatica Manager to surface technical risks early, enabling proactive re-planning rather than late delivery issues. • Participate in project planning, design reviews, and readiness checkpoints to ensure technical feasibility and delivery confidence. • Communicate technical concepts clearly to delivery managers and non-technical stakeholders without over- or under-simplifying. Mentorship & Technical Quality • Mentor data engineers on best practices, debugging techniques, performance optimization, and operational thinking. • Raise overall team capability through design reviews, knowledge sharing, and consistent technical guidance. • Help reduce key-person risk through documentation, standardization, and shared ownership of critical pipelines. Modernization & Platform Evolution (as applicable) • Identify candidates suitable for refactoring or migration to modern data platforms. • Support incremental modernization efforts by defining safe migration approaches that minimize business disruption. • Contribute technically to initiatives involving Snowflake, dbt, AWS, or cloud-native tools, where applicable. EDUCATION • Bachelor's Degree is preferred and master’s degree is a plus. EXPERIENCE Required Experience & Skills • 7+ years of experience in data engineering or data integration, with deep hands-on experience using Informatica PowerCenter and/or IDMC. • Strong understanding of ETL/ELT design principles, performance tuning, metadata, lineage, and data quality controls. • Proven experience supporting business-critical, regulated datasets in production environments. • Solid SQL skills and experience with scripting languages used in data processing. • Ability to diagnose and resolve complex data pipeline failures under operational pressure. • Clear communicator with the ability to collaborate across technical and non-technical teams. • Exposure to modern data platforms tools such as Snowflake, AWS, dbt, or other cloud-based data environments, and their orchestration tools. Preferred / Optional Experience (Nice to Have) • Experience working in banking or financial services environments. • Familiarity with hybrid architecture and phased modernization approaches. • Cloud certifications (AWS or equivalent) are a plus, not a requirement. CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATIONS • AWS or other cloud provider certifications is a plus KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES • Deep understanding of data integration principles, pipeline orchestration, data quality, and lifecycle management. • Strong understanding of data architecture principles and modern data engineering practices. • Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills. • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex data sets. • Excellent sense of urgency, ownership, and accountability • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. • Ability to drive change and innovation within an organization. • Ability to lead cross-functional teams and work in a fast-paced environment. • Strong organizational skills and attention to detail. • Knowledge of data governance and data privacy regulations. • Familiarity with Agile or hybrid project management methodologies.