Lead Data Engineer - Hybrid (Houston or Dallas, TX)

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world’s most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of over 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

We are seeking a Lead Data Engineer with deep AWS expertise to guide the design, development, and optimization of our enterprise-scale data pipelines and products. In this role, you will not only contribute technically but also provide leadership to a team of data engineers, partner closely with data architects, and play a key role in planning, estimating, and resourcing major data initiatives. You’ll work on high-impact projects that integrate and transform large volumes of data from multiple enterprise systems into reliable, accessible, and high-quality data products that power analytics, reporting, and decision-making across the organization. 

This position will offer flexibility for hybrid work schedules to include both in-office presence and telecommute/virtual work, to be based from either Houston or Dallas, TX.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end design, development, and optimization of scalable data pipelines and products on AWS, leveraging services such as S3, Glue, Redshift, Athena, EMR, and Lambda.

• Provide day-to-day technical leadership and mentorship to a team of data engineers—setting coding standards, reviewing pull requests, and fostering a culture of engineering excellence.

• Partner with data architects to define target data models, integration patterns, and platform roadmaps that align with AECOM’s enterprise data strategy.

• Own project planning, estimation, resourcing, and sprint management for major data initiatives, ensuring on-time, on-budget delivery.

• Implement robust ELT/ETL frameworks, including orchestration (e.g., Airflow or AWS Step Functions), automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid, reliable deployments.

• Champion data quality, governance, and security; establish monitoring, alerting, and incident-response processes that keep data products highly available and trustworthy.

• Optimize performance and cost across storage, compute, and network layers; conduct periodic architecture reviews and tuning exercises.

• Collaborate with analytics, reporting, and business teams to translate requirements into reliable, production-ready data assets that power decision-making at scale.

• Stay current with the AWS ecosystem and industry best practices, continuously evaluating new services and technologies to enhance AECOM’s data platform.

• Provide clear, concise communication to stakeholders at all levels, articulating trade-offs, risks, and recommendations in business-friendly language.

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related discipline plus at least 8 years of hands-on data engineering experience, or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education

• 3+ years in a technical-lead or team-lead capacity delivering enterprise-grade solutions.

• Deep expertise in AWS data and analytics services: e.g.; S3, Glue, Redshift, Athena, EMR/Spark, Lambda, IAM, and Lake Formation.

• Proficiency in Python/PySpark or Scala for data engineering, along with advanced SQL for warehousing and analytics workloads.

• Demonstrated success designing and operating large-scale ELT/ETL pipelines, data lakes, and dimensional/columnar data warehouses.

• Experience with workflow orchestration (e.g.; Airflow, Step Functions) and modern DevOps practices—CI/CD, automated testing, and infrastructure-as-code (e.g.; Terraform or CloudFormation).

• Experience with data lakehouse architecture and frameworks (e.g.; Apache Iceberg).

• Strong communication, stakeholder-management, and documentation skills; aptitude for translating business needs into technical roadmaps.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Solid understanding of data modeling, data governance, security best practices (encryption, key management), and compliance requirements.

• Experience working within similarly large, complex organizations

• Experience building integrations for enterprise back-office applications

• AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty or AWS Solutions Architect certification (or equivalent) preferred; experience with other cloud platforms is a plus.

• Proficiency in modern data storage formats and table management systems, with a strong understanding of Apache Iceberg for managing large-scale datasets and Parquet for efficient, columnar data storage.

• In-depth knowledge of data cataloging, metadata management, and lineage tools (AWS Glue Data Catalog, Apache Atlas, Amundsen) to bolster data discovery and governance.

• Knowledge of how machine learning models are developed, trained, and deployed, as well as the ability to design data pipelines that support these processes.

Additional Information

Additional Information:

• Relocation assistance is not available for this position
• Sponsorship for US work authorization is not available for this position, now or in the future.

Why You’ll Love Working Here:

• Leadership Impact: Shape the direction of our enterprise data platform and mentor the next generation of data engineers.

• Enterprise Reach: Work with diverse, large-scale datasets from critical business systems.

• Modern Tech Stack: AWS-first environment with continuous improvement and best-practice adoption.

• Career Growth: Opportunities to advance into architecture or senior leadership roles.

Join us in shaping the future of data engineering and contribute to the development of innovative data solutions that drive business success.

About AECOM

AECOM is proud to offer comprehensive benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees. Depending on your employment status, AECOM benefits may include medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, disability benefits, paid time off, leaves of absences, voluntary benefits, perks, flexible work options , well-being resources, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, service recognition awards, retirement savings plan, and employee stock purchase plan.

AECOM is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients’ complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2024. Learn more at aecom.com.

What makes AECOM a great place to work

You will be part of a global team that champions your growth and career ambitions. Work on groundbreaking projects - both in your local community and on a global scale - that are transforming our industry and shaping the future. With cutting-edge technology and a network of experts, you’ll have the resources to make a real impact. Our award-winning training and development programs are designed to expand your technical expertise and leadership skills, helping you build the career you’ve always envisioned. Here, you’ll find a welcoming workplace built on respect, collaboration and community—where you have the freedom to grow in a world of opportunity.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in your potential and are here to help you achieve it. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.