Lead Data Engineer

Who We Are 

At 8th Light, we bring life to the best ideas.

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Chicago, we are a technology solutions consultancy that partners with organizations from early-stage startups to the world's largest companies. We take on hard software challenges and turn them into durable results. We build agentic products, the platforms they run on, and the engineering and design at every layer.

Our commitment to quality means we deliver solutions we’re truly proud of, while our curiosity sparks innovation and breakthrough thinking. 8th Lights thrive in an environment that champions continuous education, fueling our growth through mentorship and hands-on work. We foster an open, collaborative culture grounded in honesty that builds trust, and believe true success is measured by the outcomes we create for our clients.

If this kind of work and our kind of people energizes you, you’ve found the right place.

Who You Are

You've built a track record of data engineering work others rely on, typically over the course of 6 or more years. You own the data layer of an engagement, from raw and messy sources to analytics-ready data, and you like being handed problems you haven't solved before. More than any single tool, you bring the drive to pick up unfamiliar technology and make it work. In your previous experience, you have:

• Designed and built scalable data pipelines that ingest, transform, and move data from sources like EHRs, claims, APIs, and CRMs
• Worked hands-on with at least one cloud data platform (Snowflake, Databricks, Azure Data Factory, AWS Redshift, or Google BigQuery)
• Written and tuned production SQL, including query optimization and debugging
• Used Python or another language like Scala or Java to automate data workflows
• Applied ETL/ELT principles, data warehousing, and data modeling to real client problems
• Delivered projects on AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Picked up new and unfamiliar tools quickly, treating unknown challenges as part of the work rather than a blocker
• Shipped high-quality, maintainable software collaboratively and incrementally, tailored to the needs of the clients you've served
• Collaborated with teams using Git and CI/CD
• Communicated clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders about data decisions and tradeoffs
• Mentored teammates and shared what you know
• Actively sought out and given feedback

What You’ll Do At 8th Light

As a data engineering lead on client projects, you'll work with a variety of clients, typically one to two a year, across a range of technologies over the course of your career with us. You'll set the direction for how data gets modeled and moved on your engagements. You'll be responsible for:

• Making immediate contributions to projects and rapidly building trust with clients
• Designing and building data pipelines and schemas that hold up as data volume and complexity grow
• Leading data architecture and modeling discussions, weighing tradeoffs and documenting the reasoning
• Working pragmatically to balance technology choices while delivering high-quality work within deadlines
• Generating new solutions to technical and non-technical challenges alongside teammates and clients
• Leading or initiating retrospectives and feedback conversations with teams and clients
• Clearly articulating and documenting outcomes and driving action items forward
• Contributing to the health of your team and 8th Light's culture by modeling our Values
• Maintaining relationships with client technical leaders
• Identifying, mitigating, and resolving blockers to team progress
• Contributing to 8th Light by mentoring, leading workshops, representing us in the tech community, or supporting our hiring process

Strongly Preferred Skills

We work across many areas, and encourage anyone with the experience above to apply. We'd particularly like to hear from applicants with experience in:

• Healthcare data: Epic, HL7, FHIR, and claims
• CI/CD pipelines, Git, and DevOps workflows
• Infrastructure as Code with tools like Terraform or CloudFormation
• Real-time and streaming data tools such as Kafka, Kinesis, or Pub/Sub
• Containerization with Docker and Kubernetes
• Cloud or data platform certifications

Building a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is an ongoing journey, and we're excited to keep learning and growing together. We have a proud tradition of hiring talented colleagues with real-world career experiences. 

How You’ll be Supported

At 8th Light, we believe our people are our greatest asset. Their growth, well-being, and success shape our future. 

Our wellness package is designed with the Whole YOU in mind and includes:

• A robust L&D program featuring unlimited access to thousands of books, courses, and expert-led training on the O'Reilly learning platform.
• Annual financial stipend and time allotment for learning & development
• Coworking support for our global team
• Flexible PTO 
• 12 weeks of new parent leave available for eligible employees

See our full list of Benefits. 

A Note on Compensation

At 8th Light, we are committed to a compensation philosophy that is transparent, fair, and also helps us attract and retain top talent in alignment with our company’s strategic growth goals and clients’ needs.

We benchmark our salaries using Geographic Structures to establish competitive pay ranges within the regions where 8th Lights live. Our pay ranges for our Lead Engineer position within our four US structures are as follows:

• Structure 1 (Tampa Metro, Ohio, Tennessee, Wisconsin)
  RANGE: $126,279-$157,849 USD
• Structure 2 (Chicago Metro, Miami Metro, Philadelphia Metro, Raleigh Metro )
  RANGE: $132,700-$165,875 USD
• Structure 3 (Austin Metro, Boston Metro, DC Metro)
  RANGE: $141,261-$176,576 USD
• Structure 4 (Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City)
  RANGE: $147,254-$184,068 USD

Reach out to [email protected] for more relevant information about your local market.

8th Light Hubs and Geographies

As a remote-first company, 8th Light's culture is rooted in strong connections that extend across our teams, regions, and beyond client work. We are a distributed team across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, with hubs in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. 

If you are hired into a hub, you will be a part of a team with regular rituals around co-working and community building. For team members outside of those cities, we offer access to coworking spaces to foster continued collaboration and connection across our global team. 

In most cases, our consulting engagements do not require travel.

We hope to see you apply!

#LI-Remote