Sr Data Engineer, Specialist

Vanguard Group, Inc.

$90K — $140K *
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in data engineering or large-scale distributed data systems.
  • Expert-level knowledge of AWS, GCP, or Azure for data management.
  • Hands-on expertise with Databricks, specifically PySpark and Delta Lake.
  • Strong understanding of data modeling techniques.
  • Proven ability to generate high-quality solutions with minimal guidance.

Responsibilities

  • Design and optimize scalable data pipelines leveraging AWS and Databricks.
  • Act as a technical leader for data ingestion and modeling.
  • Implement and uphold data modeling principles for analytics.
  • Ensure adherence to enterprise data architecture standards.
  • Conduct deep investigations to solve data issues with business needs in mind.
  • Engage stakeholders to clarify requirements and translate them to technical designs.
  • Lead the development process, mentoring teams and guiding best practices.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health insurance options.
  • Accident and life insurance coverage.
  • Retirement savings plans.
  • Performance-based incentives and discretionary bonuses.
Full Job Description
We are looking for a Sr Data Engineer with in-depth expertise in AWS, Databricks, and modern data
architecture and data modeling to help build the next generation of our data foundation , including data
platforms such as Advisor360, CRM integrations, ETF/MF data pipelines, and other enterprise analytics assets.

This is a senior, highly autonomous role. You will operate as a technical consultant and data architecture
thinker, working closely with stakeholders to understand ambiguous business needs, conduct independent
investigations, and design solutions that are scalable, reliable, and aligned to both business and technology
goals.

Ideal candidates have 5+ years of data engineering experience and thrive in environments where they drive
clarity, define standards, and elevate engineering best practices across the team

Responsibilities:

Data Engineering & Architecture:

  • Design, build, and optimize scalable, secure, and repeatable data pipelines using AWS (S3, Glue, Lambda, Step Functions, Redshift, IAM) and Databricks (PySpark,Lakeflow,Delta Lake, Unity Catalog).

  • Serve as the technical leader for data ingestion pipelines, modeling new datasets such as Advisor360, CRM, ETF, and Mutual Fund platforms.

  • Apply strong data modeling (dimensional, canonical, and domain-driven) principles to support analytics, reporting, and AI/ML use cases.

  • Ensure alignment with enterprise data architecture standards, promoting reusability, governance, and long-term maintainability.

Consultative Problem Solving:

  • With limited guidance, independently perform deep investigations, identify data issues, and propose solutions that balance performance, cost, risk, and business needs.

  • Engage business stakeholders to gather ambiguous requirements, ask the right questions, and translate them into clear technical designs.

  • Provide thought leadership and recommend technical patterns, frameworks, and toolsets.

Data Quality, Reliability & Operations:

  • Implement robustdata quality frameworks, monitoring, and alerting to ensure high trust in business-critical data assets.

  • Troubleshoot data inconsistencies and ensure proper logging, testing, and recovery mechanisms across pipelines.

  • Lead regression testing, software upgrades, and production deployments with strong change control discipline.

Collaboration & Leadership:

  • Lead all phases of solution development—from design to deployment and operationalization.

  • Mentor and guide other engineers in coding standards, architecture patterns, Databricks best practices, and AWS platform usage.

  • Partner with Data Architecture, Analytics, Product, and Business teams to deliver solutions that improve decision-making.

  • Provide training sessions and documentation to uplift the data engineering maturity across the organization.

Special Projects:

  • Participate in strategic initiatives such as AI readiness, data unification efforts, metadata strategy, and enterprise integration roadmaps.

  • Drive continuous improvement in engineering frameworks, onboarding workflows, and platform capability.

RequiredSkills:

  • 5+ years of experience in data engineering, data architecture, or large-scale distributed data systems.

  • Expert-level experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure, leveraging services for data storage, ingestion, pipeline orchestration, database or lakehouse management,data transformation.

  • 5+ years of hands-on experience designing, developing, and supporting enterprise-scale data pipelines on the Databricks Lakehouse platform usingPySpark, Delta Lake, Databricks Workflows, andLakeflowDeclarative Pipelines

  • Strong background in data modeling (dimensional, canonical, data vault, or domain-driven).

  • Proven ability to work independently with minimal direction and deliver high-quality solutions in ambiguous environments.

  • Demonstrated experience translating complex business problems into scalable technical solutions.

  • Strong SQL and Python skills, with emphasis on ETL/ELT pipeline development.

  • Experience with CI/CD, GitHub, DevOps workflows, and automated testing.

Preferred Skills:

  • Experience in asset management, wealth management, or financial services (ETF, Mutual Funds, CRM, Advisor analytics).

  • Experience with enterprise data quality tools and metadata management concepts.

  • Familiarity with modern semantic layers,dbt, or domain-oriented data mesh concepts.

  • Undergraduate degree or equivalent professional experience in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.

Pay Transparency

Expected Salary Range:$90,000-$140,000

Our compensation ranges are based on role, level, and local market. Individual pay within the range is determined by factors such as job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. For part-time roles, pay will be pro-rated based on regularly scheduled hours.

In addition to the range above, Vanguard99s total compensation package may include performance-based incentives, discretionary bonuses, and other perks. We also offer comprehensive benefits such as health insurance, accident and life insurance, and retirement savings plans. Your recruiter will be able to provide additional details on the total compensation offering during the hiring process.

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