Risk Technology - Lead Data Platform Engineer

Chicago 8 days agoFull-time External
1.2m - 2m / yr
Data Platform Engineering Lead - Role Overview We are seeking an experienced technical leader to drive the design and development of our next‑generation Data Platform-a core strategic asset enabling scalable data onboarding, processing, and transformation across the organization. The ideal candidate combines deep engineering expertise, hands‑on distributed systems experience, and a proven record of managing high‑performing teams. Candidates from financial services-especially hedge funds or similarly data‑intensive trading environments-are strongly preferred. This role is hands‑on. Whether operating as a manager or as an IC technical lead, the candidate must actively contribute to architecture, coding, design reviews, and technical problem‑solving. The position requires onsite presence in Chicago or New York at least four days per week; candidates must be open to relocating. What You'll Do • Build and enhance systems, tools, and frameworks supporting data engineers, analysts, and scientists. • Architect and evolve distributed data systems to support enterprise‑scale workloads. • Lead, manage, and mentor a team of developers while remaining deeply hands‑on in technical design and implementation. • Plan, organize, and deliver development initiatives using Agile methodologies. • Utilize AWS services for logging, monitoring, orchestration, and data storage. • Investigate and resolve time‑critical production issues in a fast‑paced environment. Minimum Qualifications • 6+ years of hands‑on Python development experience. • 6+ years of experience working with SQL databases. • 5+ years building distributed systems with web‑service or event‑driven architectures. • 5+ years managing engineering teams, with demonstrated hands‑on technical involvement. • 3+ years of AWS development experience. • Strong written and verbal communication skills. • Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science or another STEM field. • Willingness to work onsite in Chicago or New York at least four days per week and relocate if needed. Preferred Qualifications • Experience in financial services-ideally within a hedge fund or similar data‑intensive environment. • 5+ years working with big data technologies (e.g., Snowflake, Trino, Iceberg, DataHub, Airflow). • Prior experience developing large‑scale, data‑centric systems.