Principal Data Engineer

Job Description

The Data & Analytics (D&A) team at NBCUniversal is looking for a passionate problem solver who will be an outstanding addition to our team.

As the Principal Engineer, you'll be driving the overall delivery and support of data and AI applications including designing and building net new while also enhancing the existing tech stack. You will be responsible for multiple systems that support the analytics needs of various stakeholders. This will include developing and maintaining the applications, identifying resource constraints, project risks and mitigations, and development timelines.

You'll also have the opportunity to partner with internal stakeholders, data engineers, and product teams to design and build the next generation of data applications. If you're an individual who is capable of managing large-scale software engineering initiatives, coaching junior engineers, interfacing with product and business stakeholders and a passion for solving challenging problems, then this role is for you! Join us!

Core Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and scale data pipelines across a variety of source systems and streams (internal, third-party, and cloud-based), distributed/elastic environments, and downstream applications and self-service solutions.
• Deep understanding of Machine Learning best practices (e.g., training/serving, feature engineering, feature/model selection, imbalance data, RAG patterns) and algorithms (e.g., deep learnings, optimization)
• Solid understanding of data modeling, warehousing, and architecture principles.
• Implement appropriate design patterns while optimizing performance, cost, security, and scale and end-user experience.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand data requirements and develop efficient data acquisition and integration strategies.
• Interface with other technology teams to extract, load, and transform data from a wide variety of data sources using cloud-native data engineering principles.
• Become a subject matter expert for data engineering-related technologies and designs.
• Coach and guide others within the organization to build scalable pipelines based on foundational data engineering principles.
• Participate in development sprints, demos, and retrospectives alongside releases and deployment.
• Build and manage relationships with supporting engineering teams to deliver work products to production effectively.
• Have worked well with data scientists, business analysts, and machine learning infrastructure to connect the dots between business and technology partners.
• Develop automated tests for your code, ensuring every function, service, and object is compatible with your team's work and with the many systems within the NBCUniversal system portfolio and cross-device and browser compatibility.
• Create documentation for developers and business users to help them understand our products.
• Work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team within a matrixed organization, leveraging strong interpersonal skills to navigate system complexities and deploy solutions efficiently.
• Deploy to cloud-based platforms and troubleshoot application, cloud, and configuration issues when necessary.
• Utilize tools for code & test generation to dramatically accelerate the delivery of features and components you create.

Qualifications

• 13+ years of experience in a data engineering role, with a strong emphasis on leading data engineering teams
• Ability to think critically about problems, decipher user preferences versus challenging requirements, and effectively use online and onsite resources to find appropriate solutions.
• Proven experience designing and deploying large-scale AI systems.
• Deep understanding of data structures, algorithms, and system architecture.
• Proven ability to thrive in an agile development environment, adept at incorporating feedback and adjusting to changing priorities.
• Understanding REST-based APIs, vectorized embeddings, and other Retrieval Augmented Generation AI workload components.
• Direct experience with data modeling, ETL/ELT development principles, cloud development, and data warehousing concepts
• Knowledge of cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure, GCP
• Knowledge of data management fundamentals and data storage principles
• Experience in building data pipelines using Python/SQL or similar programming languages.
• General understanding of cloud data engineering design patterns and use cases
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Data Science, Statistics, Informatics, Information Systems or related field.

Desired Characteristics:

• Familiarity with integrating large language models and AI-generated content technologies into applications.
• Familiarity with the development ecosystem evolving around LLM integration, such as Langchain, Claude Agent SDK.
• Proven adaptability in a fast-paced, evolving technology landscape, with a strong problem-solving ability and quick learning curve.
• Effective communication skills, capable of working collaboratively across diverse teams and navigating a large, matrixed organization efficiently.
• Ability to translate business needs into clear technical requirements.
• Analytical – You have experience in delivering self-service analytics solutions that promote data discovery.
  • Experience with Snowflake, Amazon Web Services, or related cloud platforms a plus
  • Experience moving on prem technologies to the cloud is a plus
• Action-oriented – You're constantly figuring out new problems and are regularly showing results with a positive attitude, always displaying ethical behavior, integrity, and building trust
  • Strong understanding of Agile principles and best practices
  • You’ve dealt with ambiguity and can make quality decisions in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
• Ability to lead multiple projects simultaneously and communicate effectively with all stake holders

Additional Requirements:

Fully Remote: This position has been designated as fully remote, meaning that the position is expected to contribute from a non-NBCUniversal worksite, most commonly an employee’s residence.

This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits, including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Learn more about the benefits offered by NBCUniversal by visiting the Benefits page of the Careers website. Salary range: $160,000 - $200,000 (bonus eligible)

We are accepting applications for this position on an ongoing basis.

Additional Information

As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with an NBCUniversal employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. NBCUniversal's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. 

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access nbcunicareers.com as a result of your disability. You can request reasonable accommodations by emailing [email protected].

For LA County and City Residents Only:  NBCUniversal will consider for employment  qualified applicants with criminal histories, or arrest or conviction records, in a manner  consistent with relevant legal requirements, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative For Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, where applicable.

Compensation: 160000 to 200000 (USD) (YEARLY)