[Hiring] Principal Data Engineer @8th Light

Role Description

As a go-to data platform technologist within 8th Light, you'll take on highly visible, client-facing engagements and set the technical direction for how data gets architected and delivered. You'll be responsible for:

• Owning architecture and delivery for modern data platforms end-to-end
• Shaping client data strategy and designing scalable solutions
• Leading implementation efforts from design through production
• Partnering directly with client stakeholders, from requirements through executive updates
• Mentoring internal team members and ensuring high-quality delivery
• Working pragmatically to balance technology choices while delivering high-quality work within deadlines
• Advising clients on architecture, scalability, and platform evolution, connecting technical decisions to business outcomes
• Leading or initiating retrospectives and feedback conversations with teams and clients
• Clearly articulating and documenting outcomes and driving action items forward
• Contributing to the health of your team and 8th Light's culture by modeling our Values
• Identifying, mitigating, and resolving blockers to team progress
• Contributing to 8th Light by mentoring, leading workshops, representing us in the tech community, or supporting our hiring process

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software and 7+ years in data engineering
• Experience delivering data platforms with a clear progression into technical leadership and architectural ownership
• Deep expertise in Databricks and modern lakehouse architecture, including Delta Lake and Spark-based processing
• Advanced level in SQL and Python, building and optimizing large-scale data pipelines
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms, including their data services and infrastructure design
• Strong data modeling, ETL/ELT patterns, and distributed data processing skills
• Experience with orchestration tools and transformation frameworks in production
• Ability to partner directly with clients on requirements gathering, solution design, and executive communication
• Experience working with healthcare data such as Epic, HL7, FHIR, and claims
• Familiarity with CI/CD, DevOps practices, and infrastructure-as-code tools
• Experience mentoring internal team members and sharing knowledge
• Proven ability to seek out and give feedback

Requirements

• Experience in platform engineering: building reusable data foundations and infrastructure
• Knowledge of real-time and streaming data tools such as Kafka, Kinesis, or Pub/Sub
• Experience delivering production agentic systems, including RAG pipelines and vector search
• Familiarity with MLOps
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code

Benefits

• A robust L&D program featuring unlimited access to thousands of books, courses, and expert-led training on the O'Reilly learning platform
• Annual financial stipend and time allotment for learning & development
• Coworking support for our global team
• Flexible PTO
• 12 weeks of new parent leave available for eligible employees