Distinguished Data Engineer

DescriptionKforce has a client that is seeking a Distinguished Data Engineer in Chicago, IL.Key Tasks:* Play a defining role in shaping our data platform strategy and enabling the delivery of critical data and analytics capabilities across domains; You are a deep AWS data platform expert and thought leader who accelerates the adoption of modern data engineering practices while staying current on industry innovations, emerging tooling, and evolving cloud-native data patterns* Be a visionary, role model, mentor, and evangelist for data platform excellence* Coach and strengthen the technical expertise of our engineering and product community, establishing yourself as the go-to authority on AWS data architecture, Lakehouse design, streaming data pipelines, and the data infrastructure required to power reliable analytics and AI-driven logistics outcomes* Leverage AI as a force multiplier in your own work and in the work of the teams you lead - accelerating data pipeline development, improving data quality analysis, and enabling faster, higher-confidence architectural decisions* Drive adoption of modern AWS data technologies, promote a culture of engineering excellence, and effectively communicate with and influence key stakeholders across the enterprise at all levels of the organization* Strike the right balance between lending deep expertise and providing an inclusive environment where others' ideas can be heard and championedRequirements* Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field* 10+ years of experience in software or data engineering utilizing languages such as Python, GoLang, SQL, or Java* 5+ years of hands-on experience driving enterprise data platform architecture at scale on AWS* 3+ years of experience defining data platform architecture standards, data governance frameworks, and engineering practices adopted across a large engineering organization* Proven experience designing and operating production-grade data ingestion pipelines including CDC based patterns (Debezium, DMS) and streaming architectures (Kafka, Kinesis)* Deep, demonstrated expertise in AWS data services: Glue, Athena, S3, Lake Formation, SageMaker, Kinesis, DMS, Redshift, or equivalent* Active, hands-on proficiency with AI coding assistants (GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Cursor, or equivalent) applied to data engineering and infrastructure work* Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop senior technical talent in data platform disciplinesJob TypeContractCompensation90 - $100