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# Principal Data Engineer

- **Company:** Robert Half
- **Location:** Des Moines, IA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $225,000.0 - $300,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Business Analytics Applications, Computer Programming, Continuous Integration, Data Architecture, Information Engineering, Data Governance, Data Infrastructure, Extract Transform Load (ETL), Data Security, Apache Hadoop, Python (Programming Language), Data Streaming, Cloud Platform System, Snowflake, Apache Spark, Data Strategy, Build Management, Apache Kafka, Data Management
- **Published:** August 21, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.juju.com/job/00000000god4e9

## About the Role

* 10+ years of experience in data engineering, including large-scale architecture ownership

 * Strong programming skills in Python and experience with tools like Spark, Kafka, or similar

 * Expertise building batch and streaming pipelines in cloud environments (AWS preferred)

 * Deep knowledge of data modeling for both transactional and analytical systems

 * Hands-on experience with Snowflake, Redshift, or modern data platforms

 * Strong understanding of data governance, privacy, and secure data design

 * Experience with ETL frameworks, testing, and CI/CD-driven data workflows

 * Ability to clearly communicate technical strategy and tradeoffs to senior stakeholders, All applicants applying for U.S. job openings must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Benefits are available to contract/temporary professionals, including medical, vision, dental, and life and disability insurance. Hired contract/temporary professionals are also eligible to enroll in our company 401(k) plan. Visit roberthalf.gobenefits.net for more information.

## Description

We're hiring a Principal Data Engineer to design and deliver a modern, scalable data platform from the ground up. This is a high-impact, hands-on role where you'll lead architecture decisions, build production-grade pipelines, and enable secure, multi-tenant data capabilities that support everything from reporting to advanced AI use cases.

What You'll Own

 * Design and build a modern data platform across ingestion, transformation, storage, and consumption

 * Develop scalable batch and real-time pipelines across diverse data sources (relational, event, document)

 * Establish data architecture standards, modeling practices, and engineering frameworks

 * Create secure, multi-tenant data environments with strong governance and access controls

 * Build data models and serving layers for reporting, self-service analytics, and AI workloads

 * Evaluate and implement cloud data technologies for performance, cost, and scalability

 * Partner with engineering and business leaders to align data strategy with company priorities

 * Guide vendors and external partners while enforcing internal data standards and quality, If you're a hands-on data engineer who enjoys building scalable platforms and shaping how data is leveraged across an organization, this is a high-impact opportunity to lead from the front. Requirements Apache Spark, Python, Apache Hadoop, Apache Kafka, ETL - Extract Transform Load, Data Architecture, Snowflake, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Strategic Recommendations, Strategic Roadmaps Technology Doesn't Change the World, People Do.®


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