Principal Data Engineer - Data Strategy & Architecture

Fifth Third Bank • Cincinnati, OH

3d

About The Position

The Principal Data Engineer designs and builds data platforms, tools, and solutions that help the Bank manage, secure, and derive value from data. The role develops scalable, reusable capabilities for collecting, storing, processing, and serving data across traditional and modern architectures, working in on-premises and cloud environments. It also uses approved AI-assisted engineering capabilities to improve productivity, code quality, testing, and documentation, and supports trusted data assets for analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

This position provides technical leadership across multiple teams within a business or data domain. It independently delivers complex, high-impact solutions; shapes technical strategy and engineering standards; influences outcomes across the broader organization; and develops engineering capabilities through mentoring, coaching, and knowledge sharing. The role is accountable for risk management and for following Bank policies and procedures while supporting positive customer and colleague experiences.

The position leads important data solutions throughout their lifecycle, from design and development through testing, deployment, monitoring, operational support, modernization, and retirement. It collaborates with technology, architecture, infrastructure, security, and business stakeholders to translate strategies into secure, scalable data solutions and to deliver strategic initiatives across Agile teams. The posting lists Cincinnati, Ohio, as the location. Supervisory responsibilities: none.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 8 or more years of related experience, including at least 6 years in a hands-on software development or data engineering role.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to tailor communication to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Proficiency in SQL, including query optimization, complex joins, window functions, and analytical queries across large datasets.
• Significant experience with at least two relational database management systems, SQL-based data platforms, and large-scale data processing patterns.
• Experience working with and supporting Unix/Linux and Windows systems.
• Proficiency in relational database modeling concepts and techniques.
• Strong conceptual understanding of distributed computing principles and scalable data architectures.
• Strong working knowledge of application and data security concepts, best practices, and common vulnerabilities.
• Experience in REST API design and development.
• Experience with version control and CI/CD tools.
• Experience with infrastructure automation and virtualization tools.
• Experience with one or more major cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Experience using AI-assisted engineering capabilities and understanding of how trusted data supports analytics, AI, and machine learning solutions.
• Understanding of data product principles and experience managing the full lifecycle of data assets.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with modern data platforms, cloud-native architectures, and data transformation technologies such as Snowflake or dbt.
• Experience with traditional data engineering tools such as IBM DB2 or IBM Information Server/DataStage.
• Experience with metadata management products and data governance tools.
• Experience with BI report development and data visualization tools.
• Experience with messaging and streaming systems such as Apache Kafka.
• Experience with data warehousing and warehousing architectures.
• Experience collaborating with offshore teams.
• Financial services industry experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and support scalable data solutions, APIs, tools, and processes across traditional and modern data platforms.
• Collaborate with IT application teams, Enterprise Architecture, infrastructure, information security, and line-of-business stakeholders to turn strategies into data-driven solutions and influence technical direction.
• Serve as a principal technical expert and trusted advisor on complex system and application design, performance, integration, security, and delivery problems.
• Research relevant banking, data engineering and architecture, data security, and AI-readiness trends, and apply findings to practical improvements.
• Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines and self-service deployment tools.
• Evaluate data and software products and document recommendations for improving capabilities.
• Lead complex and strategically important data solutions through design, development, testing, deployment, monitoring, operational support, modernization, and retirement; define and drive engineering standards across teams.
• Troubleshoot data pipelines and platforms and participate in incident response and resolution for critical production issues.
• Lead strategic technical initiatives across teams, including legacy modernization, pipeline improvements, monitoring, and documentation; identify dependencies, risks, and delivery barriers.
• Optimize and automate data pipelines for efficiency, scalability, observability, and performance.
• Develop and maintain automated testing, validation, reconciliation, and data quality controls.
• Use approved AI-assisted engineering capabilities to improve productivity, code quality, testing, documentation, and problem solving, while supporting trusted data assets for analytics, AI, and machine learning.
• Manage data assets with a data product mindset, ensuring ownership, quality, discoverability, documentation, lineage, and governance throughout their lifecycle.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, coaching, and knowledge sharing across teams.
• Drive prioritization, escalation, and resolution of competing technical demands and strategic dependencies across teams.
• Lead delivery of strategic, high-impact solutions across multiple Agile teams, collaborating with product owners and stakeholders while balancing delivery, risk, resiliency, and quality.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits programs supporting employees’ and families’ physical, financial, emotional, and social well-being.
• Eligibility to participate in an incentive compensation plan, with payments based on company, line-of-business, and/or individual performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal