Technology
A data engineer builds and maintains the pipelines, warehouses and storage that move data from source systems to the people who use it. The role matters because analytics and machine learning are only as reliable as the data infrastructure beneath them.
Ways to hire
4options
contract, contract-to-hire, full-time and executive search
The role
Companies hire one when analysts spend more time wrangling data than analyzing it, or when data volume outgrows existing databases and manual processes.
Typical responsibilities
Core skills
Tools and systems
Related titles
Typical background
Typically 3 to 7 years in software or data work, with a computer science degree and cloud data platform experience.
At a glance
The essentials for planning the hire: level, background, how you can hire and what the role typically pays.
Request talent
Share a few details and a technology recruiter will be in touch. There is no obligation and no cost to talk.
What happens next
Request talent
Takes about two minutes. A specialist recruiter will call you back within one business day.
By submitting, you agree that RUS Recruiting may contact you about this request. Read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Send your resume once and a technology recruiter will match you to data engineer roles that fit your experience, pay expectations and the way you want to work. We only put you forward for roles you have said yes to, and it is always free.
FAQ
Straight answers to the questions employers and candidates ask about this role.
Still have a question?
Talk to a recruiter about your role or your search. We reply within one business day.
A data engineer builds and maintains the pipelines, warehouses and storage that move data from source systems to the people who use it. The role matters because analytics and machine learning are only as reliable as the data infrastructure beneath them. Typical responsibilities include: build and maintain data pipelines from source systems to warehouses; design data models and storage for analytics workloads; monitor pipeline jobs and fix failures and data quality issues.
Look for SQL, python, ETL and ELT, data warehousing, pipeline orchestration and cloud data platforms. Experience with Snowflake, Apache Spark, Airflow, dbt and Databricks is common in this role.
Yes. A data engineer is one of the roles employers most often hire on contract, for projects, busy periods, leave cover and vacancies. Contract-to-hire is also an option if you want to work together before making a permanent offer.
A data engineer builds the ingestion pipelines and infrastructure that move and store data. An analytics engineer works closer to the business, modeling warehouse data into clean tables for analysts, often with SQL and dbt. Small teams may need one person who does both.
Match your platform: Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery or Redshift. Core skills in SQL, Python and pipeline design transfer, so an engineer from a similar stack can ramp up quickly. List the tools you run in production as requirements and others as nice to have.
Related roles
Every role in the practice is recruited by the same specialist team.
