Senior Principal Data Engineer Jobs
Senior Principal Data Engineer jobs are open across technology, financial services, healthcare, and media at every level from staff engineer to distinguished engineer, with specializations in data architecture, platform engineering, and real-time streaming pipelines. Find a role that fits from the openings below and apply directly.
Find JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 66+ Senior Principal Data Engineer jobs











Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman Mission Systems seeks a Quality Engineer to lead sector‑wide data analytics. The Quality Engineer is responsible for leveraging data analytics to identify quality trends, emerging risks, and opportunities for continuous improvement across programs and functional organizations. This role serves as a strategic partner to Quality leadership by transforming complex data into actionable insights that drive risk-based decision making and improve organizational performance.
The successful candidate will collect, analyze, and interpret quality data from multiple enterprise systems to identify systemic issues, develop meaningful performance metrics, and recommend areas requiring increased Quality Engineering focus. This position requires strong analytical skills, curiosity, and the ability to communicate technical findings to both engineering and executive leadership.
This position will be based full-time on-site in Linthicum, MD.
What You'll Get To Do:
Analyze large and complex datasets from quality, manufacturing, engineering, supplier, and program sources to identify trends, systemic issues, and emerging risks.
Participate in development of dashboards, scorecards, and visualizations that provide meaningful insights into quality performance.
Perform statistical analyses to identify recurring defects, process variation, escape trends, and leading indicators of risk.
Conduct risk assessments to prioritize Quality Engineering resources toward the highest-impact opportunities.
Develop predictive metrics and leading indicators to support proactive quality management.
Partner with Program Quality Engineers, Manufacturing Quality, Supplier Quality, Mission Assurance, and Engineering organizations to investigate trends and recommend corrective actions.
Evaluate enterprise quality data to identify opportunities for process improvements and standardization.
Support executive leadership by preparing data-driven reports, presentations, and recommendations.
Develop and maintain automated reporting solutions using business intelligence and analytics tools.
Assist with root cause investigations by identifying data patterns and contributing analytical support.
Ensure data integrity by validating data sources and improving quality data management processes.
Support continuous improvement initiatives through measurement, analysis, and performance tracking.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related STEM discipline and 8 years of relevant experience; or a Master's degree and 6 years of relevant experience or PhD and 4 years of relevant experience.
Experience analyzing large datasets to identify trends and support decision making.
Experience with data visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar platforms.
Experience using Microsoft Excel for advanced data analysis (Power Query, Pivot Tables, formulas, etc.).
Experience presenting technical information to various levels of leadership.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, or other highly regulated industries.
Experience with SQL or database querying.
Familiarity with statistical analysis techniques and process capability.
Knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, or other Quality Management Systems.
Understanding of risk management methodologies including FMEA, PFMEA, DFMEA, and FRACAS.
Experience developing executive-level dashboards and KPIs.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification.
ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) certification.
Senior Principal Data Engineer Jobs by Experience Level
See All 66 Senior Principal Data Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsSenior Principal Data Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Northrop Grumman18N
- Dell Technologies3

- General Dynamics Information Technology3

- AIG2

- Google2

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
- Insurance
- Electronics & Hardware
- Media & Entertainment
- Artificial Intelligence
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in senior principal data engineer jobs.
- 8 or more years of experience designing and operating large-scale data platforms
- Expert-level proficiency in distributed processing frameworks such as Spark or Flink
- Deep experience with cloud data platforms including AWS, GCP, or Azure data services
- Demonstrated ability to define data architecture standards across multiple engineering teams
- Strong command of data modeling, warehousing concepts, and lakehouse patterns
- Experience mentoring senior engineers and influencing technical roadmaps at the organizational level
Tips for Your Senior Principal Data Engineer Job Search
Quantify pipeline scale on your resume
Senior principal roles attract scrutiny on scope, so replace vague language with concrete scale. Cite data volumes processed, latency targets hit, and the number of downstream teams your platform served. Reviewers at this level compare systems impact, not job duties.
Highlight cross-functional technical leadership
At the senior principal level, hiring managers want architects who align engineering, product, and analytics roadmaps. Your resume should show specific decisions you made that shaped org-wide data strategy, not just projects you delivered as an individual contributor.
Filter openings by architecture ownership signals
Job postings that mention 'define data platform strategy' or 'set engineering standards' are principal-track roles. Postings that say 'implement' or 'maintain' often get relabeled at lower levels. Read the responsibilities section carefully before investing time in an application.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists senior principal data engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Prepare a system design narrative for interviews
Senior principal interviews almost always include an open-ended system design round where you defend architectural tradeoffs. Prepare a walkthrough of one real platform you designed from scratch, covering why you chose your storage layer, processing model, and observability approach.
Negotiate scope before you negotiate compensation
At this seniority, reporting structure and technical scope erode faster than base pay. Ask explicitly what the role owns versus advises, whether the principal track has a defined promotion criteria, and how many engineers will be direct or indirect stakeholders of your decisions.
Senior Principal Data Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most senior principal data engineers?
The companies hiring the most senior principal data engineers right now include Northrop Grumman, Dell Technologies, and General Dynamics Information Technology, with the largest share of openings in California, Florida, and Virginia, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Demand is strongest at companies running large internal data platforms that serve multiple product lines.
How many senior principal data engineer jobs are remote?
About 48% of senior principal data engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting the hands-off-keyboard nature of architecture and strategy work at this level. Roles focused on platform governance, data mesh design, and cross-team technical standards tend to be the most remote-friendly, while roles with heavy hands-on infrastructure ownership often require on-site presence.
How do you become a senior principal data engineer?
You typically reach the senior principal level by first mastering end-to-end data platform ownership as a staff or principal engineer, then demonstrating that your architectural decisions influenced outcomes beyond your immediate team. Building a portfolio of platform designs you can defend technically, developing a reputation for cross-functional alignment, and publishing or presenting on data engineering problems accelerates recognition at this level.
Can you get hired as a senior principal data engineer with limited experience?
Direct hiring into a senior principal role with limited experience is uncommon because most job descriptions require a verified history of platform-scale ownership. The realistic path is to target principal or staff engineer roles first, take on architecture initiatives that give you cross-team scope, and build a paper trail of design decisions. Internal promotions from staff to senior principal are far more common than external hires at this level.
What does the senior principal data engineer interview process look like?
The process typically begins with a recruiter screen focused on scope and level, followed by a technical phone interview covering distributed systems and data modeling depth. Onsite or virtual rounds usually include a system design session where you architect a platform end to end, a behavioral round probing technical leadership and stakeholder influence, and a hiring manager conversation about roadmap priorities and org fit.
Where can I find and apply to senior principal data engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to senior principal data engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Find the roles that fit your experience and target industries, then apply directly to each listing from the page.
See All 66 Senior Principal Data Engineer Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Jobs