Lead Data Engineer

Blend360•Columbia, MD

8h•$125,000 - $140,000

About The Position

We're looking for a Data Engineer who is passionate about building modern data products, leveraging AI-powered capabilities, and partnering closely with product teams to drive meaningful outcomes. This role is equal parts technical delivery and product partnership. You'll design and deliver data solutions while serving as a trusted advisor to stakeholders—helping teams identify opportunities, improve processes, and unlock value through data, automation, and AI. We're seeking someone who brings curiosity, initiative, and a consulting mindset, with the ability to lead conversations and proactively recommend solutions rather than simply execute requests.

Requirements

Experience designing and building data products, analytics solutions, or modern data platforms.
Strong SQL expertise and hands-on experience with data modeling concepts and best practices.
Experience working within Snowflake and cloud-based data ecosystems.
Familiarity with Snowflake AI capabilities, including Cortex Analyst, Cortex Agents, Cortex Code, or similar AI-powered tools.
Strong understanding of how AI, automation, and agent-based solutions can improve business processes and user experiences.
Ability to identify opportunities where AI can replace or augment manual processes, improve knowledge discovery, and streamline workflows.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead discussions independently with product managers, business leaders, and technical teams.
Experience gathering requirements, facilitating discovery sessions, and translating business needs into scalable solutions.
Strong consulting mindset with a focus on business outcomes, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing AI-enabled analytics, automation, or data product solutions.
Experience working with knowledge management, documentation, and workflow optimization using AI-powered approaches.
Background in analytics engineering, data engineering, or data product development.
Experience working in Agile product environments.
Familiarity with modern cloud ecosystems and emerging AI technologies.

Responsibilities

Design, build, and support scalable data products and analytics solutions.
Develop and optimize data models, data pipelines, and transformations using SQL and modern cloud data platforms.
Leverage Snowflake's AI ecosystem to accelerate development, analytics, and operational efficiency.
Apply and support Snowflake Cortex capabilities, including Cortex Agents, Cortex Analyst, Cortex Code, copilots, and other emerging AI-powered features.
Partner with product and business teams to translate requirements into scalable technical solutions.
Perform data analysis to uncover insights, validate opportunities, and inform product decisions.
Ensure data quality, reliability, performance, and maintainability across data products and platforms.
Stay current with rapidly evolving AI and Snowflake capabilities and identify practical ways to apply them within client environments.
Act as a strategic partner to product and business stakeholders rather than a task executor.
Lead discovery sessions to understand business challenges, identify opportunities, and define solution approaches.
Proactively recommend product, process, and platform improvements that create measurable business value.
Drive conversations around automation and AI-enabled workflows to improve user experiences and team productivity.
Help stakeholders rethink traditional approaches by identifying opportunities to leverage AI agents, knowledge automation, and intelligent workflows.
Serve as a subject matter expert on data, analytics, AI, and Snowflake capabilities.
Influence product direction through data-driven insights, technical expertise, and consultative problem-solving.
Bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring alignment on goals, priorities, and outcomes.