Principal Data Engineer

Director / Principal Data Engineer (Contract) Data Engineering | Contract | US About the Role We are partnering with a digital product engineering firm to bring on senior data engineering leaders, Director or Principal level, to power demand generation and analytics across their client portfolio. You will own the architecture, build the pipelines, and shape how marketing and revenue teams actually use data to drive growth. This is technical leadership with hands on the keyboard. The work sits at the intersection of marketing operations and modern data engineering. You will design AWS-native data platforms, wire up demand gen sources, model the data so it tells the right story, and partner with stakeholders who care about pipeline, conversion, and attribution. The right person here has shipped at scale and can hold their own in front of a CMO and a CTO. What You Will Own • Architect and build production-grade data pipelines on AWS to power demand generation, marketing analytics, and revenue intelligence. • Design scalable data models that support attribution, funnel analysis, lead scoring, and campaign performance reporting. • Build and maintain Python-based data services, transformation layers, and orchestration. • Integrate demand generation data sources (CRM, marketing automation, ad platforms, web analytics, intent data) into a unified analytics layer. • Drive performance, cost, and reliability decisions across the data stack. • Provide technical leadership and mentorship across data engineering and adjacent teams. • Communicate architecture, trade-offs, and outcomes clearly in client-facing settings. • Shape data governance, quality, and security practices across engagements. What You Bring Must-Haves • Extensive experience supporting demand generation, marketing analytics, or revenue operations data work. You understand the data behind pipeline, attribution, and funnel performance. • Deep AWS experience. You have architected and run production data platforms on AWS. • Strong Python skills. You write production code, not just scripts. • Director or Principal level data engineering experience, with a track record of leading teams and owning platform decisions. • Proven ability to design and deliver end-to-end data pipelines (ingestion, transformation, modeling, consumption). • Strong SQL and modern data warehousing fundamentals, including dimensional modeling and ELT/ETL patterns. • Comfort working with stakeholders across marketing, revenue, and engineering. You can translate fluently across all three. • Strong communication skills and the ability to operate independently in complex client environments. Nice to Have • Experience with Snowflake, Databricks, or similar modern warehouse platforms. • dbt, Airflow, or equivalent orchestration tools. • Familiarity with marketing automation and CRM platforms (HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce, Pardot). • Experience with ad platform APIs and intent data providers. • Cloud cost optimization and FinOps experience. About the Firm Our partner is a digital product engineering firm that builds modern data and software solutions for fast-growing companies. The team is sharp, the engagements are real, and senior engineers are trusted to lead. Why This Role • Senior, hands-on technical leadership with real ownership. • Modern AWS data stack with high-stakes business impact. • Two seats open, so you would have a peer at your level to build alongside. • A team that values craft, speed, and clean design. • Contract engagement with a strong consulting partner.