Sr. Principal Engineer - Data Platform - Hybrid - Seattle, WA

At Nordstrom, we're committed to delivering outstanding customer experiences by harnessing the power of data. We are seeking a Sr. Principal Engineer - Enterprise Data to join our Technology team. In this pivotal role, you will define and drive enterprise-wide data architecture strategy, governance frameworks, and standards that enable Nordstrom's continued evolution as a digital-first omnichannel retailer.

This is a strategic, influence-driven role that will shape how engineering teams design, govern, and consume data for years to come. You will collaborate with executives and leaders across all disciplines to translate business strategy into data strategy, establishing the architectural foundations that enable analytics excellence, operational efficiency, and AI readiness. If you're passionate about enterprise data architecture and ready to make a lasting impact, we want to hear from you.

A day in the life ...

• Define Enterprise Data Strategy: Develop and communicate Nordstrom's enterprise data architecture vision, creating multi-year roadmaps aligned with business priorities, cloud strategy, and AI ambitions.

• Establish Standards and Reference Architectures: Own enterprise data architecture standards, reference designs, and design patterns spanning multiple domains . Create conceptual and logical data models, naming conventions, and metadata standards that guide domain team implementations.

• Lead Data Governance and Quality: Establish holistic enterprise data governance spanning source data stores, event streams, and analytics platforms. Define data contracts between producers and consumers, quality rules, stewardship responsibilities, and quality SLOs. Build the enterprise business glossary and data dictionaries.

• Ensure Privacy, Security, and Compliance: Incorporate privacy-by-design principles aligned with evolving regulations. Define data classification policies, access control standards, and security architecture patterns.

• Enable Analytics and AI Readiness: Design data environments supporting traditional BI, self-service analytics, and AI-powered data access. Define semantic layer specifications bridging technical schemas and business concepts, enabling conversational analytics and natural language interfaces. Support MLOps infrastructure including feature stores, data versioning, and ML pipeline requirements.

• Buil d Data Culture and Talent: Advocate for data-driven approaches across the organization. Facilitate communities of practice for knowledge sharing. Coach and mentor data architects, engineers, and analysts, advising on resourcing and promotions into technical leadership roles.

• Extensive Experience: 15+ years in data architecture, data engineering, or enterprise architecture roles, with demonstrated progression to strategic, enterprise-scope positions.

• Data Modeling Mastery: Deep expertise across conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling with proven ability to create abstractions that guide implementation teams.

• Governance Framework Fluency: Strong grounding in industry data management frameworks and experience adapting them to organizational context.

• Strategic Influence: Demonstrated ability to lead through influence rather than authority, building consensus and driving adoption across organizational boundaries.

• Platform Proficiency: Expertise with cloud platforms, streaming architectures, and modern distributed data technologies sufficient to evaluate tradeoffs and guide architectural decisions.

• Business Acumen: Ability to connect data architecture to business outcomes, build compelling business cases, and communicate value to executive stakeholders.

• Adaptive Mindset: Track record of evolving architectural approaches as technology landscapes and organizational needs change.

• Collaborative Leadership: Experience building cross-functional partnerships and developing technical talent across teams you don't directly manage.

Our employees are our most important asset and that's reflected in our benefits. Nordstrom is proud to offer a variety of benefits to support employees and their families, including:

• Medical/Vision, Dental, Retirement and Paid Time Away

• Life Insurance and Disability

• Merchandise Discount and EAP Resources

A few more important points..., The pay range(s) below has been provided in compliance with state specific laws. Pay ranges may be different for other locations. Pay offers are dependent on the location, as well as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

$200,500.00 - $332,000.00 Annual

This position may be eligible for performance-based incentives/bonuses. Benefits include 401k, medical/vision/dental/life/disability insurance options, PTO accruals, Holidays, and more. Eligibility requirements may apply based on location, job level, classification, and length of employment. Learn more in the Nordstrom Benefits Overview by copying and pasting the following URL into your browser: https://careers.nordstrom.com/pdfs/Ben_Overview_20-21.pdf

We're a fast-moving fashion company that started as a shoe store in 1901. This heritage of service is the foundation we're building on as we provide convenience and true connection for our customers. We empower our people to be innovative, creative and focused on providing the best service to our customers. Through it all, we remain committed to leaving the world better than we found it. Whether you're a genius engineer, a phenomenal salesperson or a supply chain pro, we invite you to bring your unique talents and join our team. We reward great work, promote from within and celebrate diversity. CUSTOMER OBSESSEDWe strive to know our customers better than anyone else. We listen, anticipate, build trust and move with speed to deliver on their needs. OWNERS AT HEARTWe treat every interaction as an opportunity to make an impact and deliver excellence. CURIOUS AND EVER CHANGINGWe approach problems with curiosity and create solutions. We unlock potential to be bold, think big and inspire innovation. HERE TO WINWe're committed to delivering results, both today and tomorrow. We win as a team by supporting and challenging one another to be better every day. WE EXTEND OURSELVESWe treat each other with respect and kindness. We do the small things that make a big difference. We create a welcoming environment, helping people feel connected, valued and part of one community., Nordstrom