Staff Data Engineer

Staff Data Engineer** This role is not eligible for sponsorship AND is four days onsite hybrid at our N. Scottsdale office **Who Are We Looking For?Choice Hotels has an exciting new opportunity as a Staff Data Engineer in the SkyTouch Technology division. SkyTouch Technology, is an independently operated division of Choice Hotels that provides the most widely used cloud-based (SaaS) hotel property management system. As a key member of our SkyTouch Software Engineering - Data, you will drive enterprise-wide impact by shaping scalable, reliable data architectures and standards that enable teams to deliver trusted data, accelerate innovation, and support long-term business strategy.Are you a systems-level data engineer who thinks beyond individual pipelines to shape enterprise-wide data architecture and standards? Do you thrive on influencing technical direction and enabling multiple teams to succeed at scale? The #SkysTheLimit when you #MakeItYourChoice! We encourage you to apply today!Your ResponsibilitiesDefine and evolve the long-term data architecture and technical standards across teams and platformsDesign and oversee highly scalable, resilient, and cost-efficient data systems using cloud technologies (e.g., AWS)Make principled tradeoffs between AWS-managed services and open technologies (e.g., Spark, Flink, Iceberg) to ensure long-term scalability and maintainability.Lead complex, cross-domain data initiatives that span multiple teams, systems, and business functionsServe as a technical authority and escalation point for complex data engineering challenges and architectural decisionsEstablish best practices for data quality, reliability, observability, security, and governance across the organizationDrive alignment on data modeling, batch and real-time integration patterns, and platform usage to reduce duplication and technical debtPartner with engineering, analytics, and business leaders to translate strategic goals into technical data solutionsMentor senior engineers and influence technical growth through design reviews, architecture forums, and technical guidanceUse an AI-first approach to mitigate systemic risks, improve engineering productivity focusing on automation and operational efficiencyBalance near-term delivery with long-term platform health, scalability, and sustainabilityYour Experience, Skills & CompetenciesBachelor's degree in related field Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering or equivalent experienceMinimum of 8+ years of experience in data engineering, software engineering, or platform engineering roles.Proven experience designing and evolving large-scale, cloud-based data platforms in AWS.Experience leading cross-team, multi-system data initiatives with long-term architectural impactDemonstrated ownership of mission-critical production data systemsExperience influencing technical direction across teams without direct people managementExpert-level knowledge of cloud data architectures and AWS data servicesAdvanced data modeling and data warehousing design expertise.Acts as a trusted technical authority, guiding architectural decisions, mentoring senior engineers, and influencing outcomes across teams.Strong programming skills (Python, SQL, and/or Spark)Deep understanding of distributed systems, performance tuning, and scalabilityInfrastructure-as-code, CI/CD, and automation expertise.Ability to design scalable, fault-tolerant, and cost-efficient data architecturesStrong understanding of distributed systems, data partitioning, and performance tuningExpertise in data quality, observability, and reliability practicesKnowledge of data governance, security, and compliance best practicesStrong debugging and root-cause analysis skills across data pipelines and cloud infrastructure.Designing for reliability, observability, fault tolerance, and cost efficiency at scaleImplementing organization-wide standards for data quality, security, and governanceIdentifying and reducing technical debt across data platformsExperience applying AI/GenAI in production to engineering workflows, automation, data quality, or developer productivityDemonstrates key competencies to include managing complexity, valuing differences, and cultivating innovationThis is an individual contributor role that will report to the Manager of Software Engineering - Data. You will have 14 peer teammates and collaborate with cross functional departments on a regular basis.**This role is not eligible for sponsorship**