Lead Data Engineer Jobs
Lead Data Engineer jobs are open across fintech, healthtech, e-commerce, and enterprise technology, from mid-level to staff and principal, with specializations in data platform architecture, pipeline engineering, and cloud data infrastructure. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Drives the design and deployment of physical plant cabling systems. Communicates the strategy for infrastructure implementation efforts for Oracle data centers. Leads collaborations with Program Management teams to ensure project deliverables are completed on time. Drives collaborations with vendors to deliver build out of data center infrastructure.
Key Responsibilities
Data Center Design & Implementation-Cabling Infrastructure:
-Serves as an expert in the implementation and evaluation of structured cabling solutions for new data center builds and expansions.
-Drives the design and deployment of physical plant cabling systems.
-Influences the development of global data center cabling and infrastructure standards.
-Troubleshoots highly complex cabling infrastructure connectivity issues, including patch panels and patch cords.
Data Center Design & Implementation-Implementation & Continuous Improvement:
-Communicates the strategy for infrastructure implementation efforts for Oracle data centers.
-Leads the creation and development of sustainable and repeatable solutions to support the continuous improvement of data centers.
-Identifies infrastructure challenges and leverages expertise to recommend and implement long-term solutions to ensure efficiency and reliability.
Project Management-Project Planning:
-Determines and reviews the scope of project work to ensure alignment with the Bill of Materials and resources available and reviews the project roadmap to align with the scope and business needs.
-Prioritizes customer experience in project planning and delivery.
Project Management-Reporting & Documentation:
-Leads collaborations with Program Management teams to ensure project deliverables are completed on time.
-Participates in vendor business reviews to report on team's project updates and document vendor progress and roadblocks.
-Provides expertise in the creation of documentation on cabling and build standards for data center infrastructure.
Vendor Management:
-Drives collaborations with vendors to deliver build out of data center infrastructure.
-Participates in the vendor bidding and selection process.
-Fosters relationships with internal and external project stakeholders, ensuring alignment for project delivery.
Core Responsibilities
Planning & Execution:
-Manages and provides direction on timelines, deliverables, and budgets when applicable for critical high-impact projects or initiatives that impact the line of business, ensuring timely completion and adherence to requirements. Anticipates and plans for shifts in resources or timelines based on changing business priorities, ensuring optimal outcomes.
Collaboration & Partnership:
-Influences cross-functional leaders and external stakeholders to gain alignment on strategic objectives. Fosters partnerships with key business leaders, stakeholders, and/or customers, identifying opportunities for expanding partnerships and promoting long-term organizational success. Champions transparency and inclusivity by actively seeking, listening to, and incorporating diverse perspectives.
Problem Solving:
-Leads specialized, advanced problem-solving efforts, serving as an escalation point for complex issues. Guides others to leverage innovative data-driven techniques to address ambiguous or novel issues, identify root causes, and drives the implementation of solutions that prevent future issues.
Continuous Learning:
-Leverages deep industry knowledge and expertise to serve as a thought leader within the organization. Contributes to the advancement of the field or industry through thought leadership (e.g., conference presentations, white papers, research contributions). Maintains and evolves expertise in relevant areas by proactively monitoring emerging trends, technologies, and industry standards, ensuring the organization remains current with best practices. Champions continuous learning and knowledge sharing, promoting professional development across teams. Applies new knowledge to drive advancement and mentors others to do the same.
Continuous Improvement:
-Develops innovative solutions and drives the implementation of ideas that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of processes, protocols, and workflows across the organization. Evaluates effectiveness of updated approaches and methods for continued improvement to enhance efficiencies and ensure changes align with organizational goals. Designs and develops metrics to measure success of improvement initiatives.
Performance and Development:
-Serves as a subject matter expert regarding talent needs and organizational talent strategy. Imparts leadership and expert knowledge throughout the talent development pipeline including candidate interviews, candidate assessment, and hiring decisions, ensuring alignment with organizational talent strategy.
*****This role is located in Santa Teresa, NM and candidates are expected to be onsite****
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Find Lead Data Engineer JobsLead Data Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- JPMorganChase28

- Oracle10

- WSP8

- Encore Semi8

- Deloitte6

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software15
- Insurance3
- Manufacturing3
- Banking & Financial Services2
- Artificial Intelligence1
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in lead data engineer jobs.
- Five or more years of experience designing and building large-scale data pipelines
- Proficiency in SQL and at least one of Python, Scala, or Java for data engineering
- Hands-on experience with a major cloud data platform such as AWS, GCP, or Azure
- Experience with distributed processing frameworks such as Apache Spark or Apache Flink
- Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow or Prefect
- Experience with data warehousing solutions such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or Redshift
Tips for Your Lead Data Engineer Job Search
Quantify your pipeline scale on your resume
Hiring managers for lead roles want to see scope, not just tools. Replace phrases like 'built data pipelines' with the data volumes you processed, the number of downstream consumers, and the latency or reliability improvements you delivered.
Highlight cross-functional leadership without a title
Lead data engineer roles expect you to have influenced decisions across data science, analytics, and engineering teams. Call out specific instances where you drove architectural decisions or unblocked other teams, even if you weren't a formal manager.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists lead data engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Filter openings by your primary cloud stack
Lead data engineer job descriptions are often written around a specific cloud provider and orchestration tool. Target roles that match your deepest experience first, whether that's AWS Glue and Airflow, Google Dataflow, or Azure Data Factory, to clear technical screens faster.
Prepare a system design answer for your data platform
Most lead data engineer interviews include at least one open-ended system design question. Practice walking through a full data platform design out loud, covering ingestion, transformation, storage layer choices, and how you'd handle schema evolution or upstream changes.
Negotiate scope alongside compensation
At the lead level, the team size you'll own, the infrastructure budget you'll influence, and whether you'll have a seat in architectural decisions vary widely between companies. Clarify these before accepting an offer so you're not stepping into a mid-level role with a lead title.
Lead Data Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most lead data engineers?
The most active employers for lead data engineers right now are JPMorganChase, Oracle, and WSP, and the most openings are in Texas, California, and New Jersey, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Demand is especially concentrated in fintech, healthtech, and enterprise software companies scaling their data platforms.
How many lead data engineer jobs are remote?
About 72% of lead data engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting strong remote flexibility at this seniority level. Data platform and cloud infrastructure specializations tend to be the most remote-friendly, while roles requiring close collaboration with on-site data science or analytics teams are more likely to require hybrid schedules.
How do you become a lead data engineer?
Start by building deep expertise in pipeline development, data modeling, and at least one major cloud platform. Progress through mid-level data engineering roles where you own end-to-end pipeline delivery. Take on cross-functional work, mentor junior engineers, and drive architectural decisions. Lead roles reward engineers who demonstrate technical depth alongside the ability to align data infrastructure with broader business goals.
Can you get hired as a lead data engineer without direct lead experience?
You can, but you need to make informal leadership visible in your application. Document instances where you owned a system end to end, mentored teammates, or drove a technical decision that affected other teams. Strong principal or senior engineers who have acted as a de facto tech lead on a data platform project are regularly hired into lead titles when they frame that experience clearly.
What does the lead data engineer interview process look like?
Most lead data engineer interview processes include a recruiter screen, a technical phone screen covering SQL and Python or Scala, a system design round focused on data platform architecture, and a final loop with engineering managers and cross-functional stakeholders. Some companies add a take-home component or a data modeling exercise. Expect at least one conversation about how you've influenced technical direction or resolved conflicts between data consumers.
Where can I find and apply to lead data engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to lead data engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States in one place. Find roles that match your experience, cloud stack, and preferred location or remote preference, then apply directly to each listing from the page.
See All 265+ Lead Data Engineer Jobs
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