Lead Data Engineer - Hybrid (Houston or Dallas, TX)

AECOM • Dallas, TX

1h • $130,000 - $180,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Lead Data Engineer with deep AWS expertise to guide the design, development, and optimization of our enterprise-scale data pipelines and products. In this role, you will not only contribute technically but also provide leadership to a team of data engineers, partner closely with data architects, and play a key role in planning, estimating, and resourcing major data initiatives. You’ll work on high-impact projects that integrate and transform large volumes of data from multiple enterprise systems into reliable, accessible, and high-quality data products that power analytics, reporting, and decision-making across the organization. This position will offer flexibility for hybrid work schedules to include both in-office presence and telecommute/virtual work, to be based from either Houston or Dallas, TX.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related discipline plus at least 8 years of hands-on data engineering experience, or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education
• 3+ years in a technical-lead or team-lead capacity delivering enterprise-grade solutions.
• Deep expertise in AWS data and analytics services: e.g.; S3, Glue, Redshift, Athena, EMR/Spark, Lambda, IAM, and Lake Formation.
• Proficiency in Python/PySpark or Scala for data engineering, along with advanced SQL for warehousing and analytics workloads.
• Demonstrated success designing and operating large-scale ELT/ETL pipelines, data lakes, and dimensional/columnar data warehouses.
• Experience with workflow orchestration (e.g.; Airflow, Step Functions) and modern DevOps practices—CI/CD, automated testing, and infrastructure-as-code (e.g.; Terraform or CloudFormation).
• Experience with data lakehouse architecture and frameworks (e.g.; Apache Iceberg).
• Strong communication, stakeholder-management, and documentation skills; aptitude for translating business needs into technical roadmaps.

Nice To Haves

• Solid understanding of data modeling, data governance, security best practices (encryption, key management), and compliance requirements.
• Experience working within similarly large, complex organizations
• Experience building integrations for enterprise back-office applications
• AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty or AWS Solutions Architect certification (or equivalent) preferred; experience with other cloud platforms is a plus.
• Proficiency in modern data storage formats and table management systems, with a strong understanding of Apache Iceberg for managing large-scale datasets and Parquet for efficient, columnar data storage.
• In-depth knowledge of data cataloging, metadata management, and lineage tools (AWS Glue Data Catalog, Apache Atlas, Amundsen) to bolster data discovery and governance.
• Knowledge of how machine learning models are developed, trained, and deployed, as well as the ability to design data pipelines that support these processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end design, development, and optimization of scalable data pipelines and products on AWS, leveraging services such as S3, Glue, Redshift, Athena, EMR, and Lambda.
• Provide day-to-day technical leadership and mentorship to a team of data engineers—setting coding standards, reviewing pull requests, and fostering a culture of engineering excellence.
• Partner with data architects to define target data models, integration patterns, and platform roadmaps that align with AECOM’s enterprise data strategy.
• Own project planning, estimation, resourcing, and sprint management for major data initiatives, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.
• Implement robust ELT/ETL frameworks, including orchestration (e.g., Airflow or AWS Step Functions), automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid, reliable deployments.
• Champion data quality, governance, and security; establish monitoring, alerting, and incident-response processes that keep data products highly available and trustworthy.
• Optimize performance and cost across storage, compute, and network layers; conduct periodic architecture reviews and tuning exercises.
• Collaborate with analytics, reporting, and business teams to translate requirements into reliable, production-ready data assets that power decision-making at scale.
• Stay current with the AWS ecosystem and industry best practices, continuously evaluating new services and technologies to enhance AECOM’s data platform.
• Provide clear, concise communication to stakeholders at all levels, articulating trade-offs, risks, and recommendations in business-friendly language.

Benefits

• AECOM is proud to offer comprehensive benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees. Depending on your employment status, AECOM benefits may include medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, disability benefits, paid time off, leaves of absences, voluntary benefits, perks, flexible work options, well-being resources, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, service recognition awards, retirement savings plan, and employee stock purchase plan.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees