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Core Data Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Senior Data Engineer

Denver, CO · On-site

$170K - $220K/yr

As a Sr. Data Engineer on our data team, you will be building out the core data asset that everything else at Windfall is built on top of. Communication and collaboration are at the heart of Windfall ...

Senior Data Engineer

San Francisco, CA · On-site

$170K - $220K/yr

As a Sr. Data Engineer on our data team, you will be building out the core data asset that everything else at Windfall is built on top of. Communication and collaboration are at the heart of Windfall ...

Data Engineer

Chapel Hill, NC · On-site

$115K - $145K/yr

Data Engineer Reporting To: Manager, Data Engineering Location: Chapel Hill, NC; Minneapolis, MN ... Configure, maintain, and extend core data platform and internal data administration tools.

Sr. Data Engineer

Washington, DC · On-site

$129K - $156K/yr

Details: Sr. Data Engineer Location: Washington DC (1-2 days/month onsite) / 100% remote is also ok ... Lead and participate in troubleshooting and fixing major system problems in core data systems and ...

Data Engineer

Glendale, CA · On-site

$121K - $145K/yr

Work with product managers, architects, and engineers to support the Core Data Platform roadmap. * Follow established standards and best practices for data pipelines, naming conventions, and platform ...

DataBricks Data Engineer

New York, NY

$125K - $150K/yr

Strong experience with core data engineering practices including data ingestion, transformation (ETL/ELT), data modeling, and pipeline orchestration. * Functional and technical experience with Sales ...

Sr Data Engineer

Fort Lauderdale, FL · On-site

$109K - $131K/yr

Senior Data Engineer Role Details: We are looking for a talented senior data engineer specializing ... core sports GraphQL subgraphs and services within a federated architecture. • Participate in ...

DataBricks Data Engineer

New York, NY · On-site

$125K - $150K/yr

Strong experience with core data engineering practices including data ingestion, transformation (ETL/ELT), data modeling, and pipeline orchestration. * Functional and technical experience with Sales ...

Databricks Data Engineer

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$126K - $151K/yr

Strong experience with core data engineering practices including data ingestion, transformation (ETL/ELT), data modeling, and pipeline orchestration. * Functional and technical experience with Sales ...

Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and core data engineering principles. * Detail-oriented with the ability to maintain accurate technical documentation, data lineage, and metadata.

Sr. Data Engineer

Richardson, TX · Remote

$104K - $124K/yr

Core Data Quality & Automated Validation (QA Ownership) * Own end-to-end data validation and QA by ... Engineer ML-ready datasets and manage Feature Stores to support the Data Science team.

Lead Data Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site +1

$140K - $180K/yr

This role owns core data pipelines, data models, and production data operations, and establishes engineering standards that improve reliability, data quality, and delivery speed. The Lead Data ...

Showing results 21-40

Core Data Engineer information

See salary details

$44.5K

$129.7K

$177.5K

How much do core data engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 11, 2026, the average yearly pay for core data engineer in the United States is $129,716.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $114,500.00 and $137,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges core data engineers face when optimizing data pipelines?

Core Data Engineers often encounter challenges such as handling large volumes of data, ensuring data quality, and minimizing pipeline latency. Balancing data consistency with system performance can be complex, especially as data sources and user demands scale. Collaboration with data analysts, data scientists, and other engineers is crucial to ensure that data pipelines align with business goals and remain efficient. Adapting to evolving technologies and troubleshooting unexpected bottlenecks are also regular parts of the role.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a core data engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Core Data Engineer, you need expertise in data modeling, database management, and programming languages such as SQL, Python, or Java, often supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with big data technologies like Hadoop, Spark, and cloud platforms, along with certifications in data engineering or cloud services, is typically required. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective communication help you excel in collaborating with cross-functional teams and addressing complex data challenges. These skills and qualities are crucial for designing scalable data solutions and ensuring reliable, high-quality data infrastructure that supports business objectives.

What is a core data engineer?

Core Data Engineers are technology professionals who design, build, and maintain the foundational data infrastructure within an organization. They focus on developing data pipelines, ensuring data integrity, and optimizing systems for collecting, storing, and processing large volumes of data. Their work enables data scientists, analysts, and other teams to access reliable, high-quality data for decision-making. Core Data Engineers often work with big data technologies, databases, and cloud platforms to support scalable data solutions.

What is the difference between Core Data Engineer vs Data Engineer?

AspectCore Data EngineerData Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field; experience with data pipelines and databasesBachelor's in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field; strong programming and database skills
Work EnvironmentFocus on building and maintaining core data infrastructure, ETL processes, and data storage systemsDesigning, developing, and managing data pipelines, analytics, and data integration across systems
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, finance, healthcare, and any industry with large-scale data needsSimilar industries, often overlapping with core data roles but broader in scope

Core Data Engineers specialize in developing and maintaining the foundational data infrastructure, while Data Engineers may have a broader role including data analysis and pipeline development. Both roles require similar skills and often work in the same industries, but Core Data Engineers focus more on the core systems that support data analytics and storage.

More about Core Data Engineer jobs
Infographic showing various Core Data Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $129,716 per year, or $62.4 per hour.

Senior Data Engineer

Windfall

Denver, CO • On-site

$170K - $220K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 10 days ago


Job description

Windfall is seeking a Sr. Data Engineer to join our data team. As a Sr. Data Engineer on our data team, you will be building out the core data asset that everything else at Windfall is built on top of. Communication and collaboration are at the heart of Windfall, and you will work closely with our product, data science, and other engineering teams. You will personally design and build the pipelines for massive datasets, taking them all the way from inception to exploration to production and customer use.
 
We’re on a mission to change how organizations perceive and use people data. And we hold true to our core values of: (1) Be an excellent communicator; (2) Operate with transparency; (3) Provide leverage, not optimization; (4) Win When Our Customers Win; and (5) Act with integrity and trust.
Responsibilities:
  • Construct data pipelines to ingest and merge billions of individual entities into Windfall’s core data asset
  • Work closely with our data science team to run ML models on top of billions of data points
  • Build supporting data services and applications to orchestrate and monitor our data systems
Some technology you will use:
  • Cloud platform - GCP
  • Programming languages - Java, Python, and Kotlin
  • Data warehouse & databases - BigQuery, Postgres, Scylla/Cassandra
  • Distributed processing frameworks - Dataflow (Apache Beam) and Apache Spark
  • Orchestration - Airflow
Requirements:
  • 4-8 years of professional data engineering experience
  • Significant experience working with Apache Beam/Spark/Flink or MapReduce
  • Strong Object-oriented programming ability in a JVM language
  • Expert knowledge of distributed data processing
  • Familiarity with different datastores, their differences, and appropriate usages
  • Experience at a sub-200 person company
  • You communicate as well as you code
  • You can simplify complex problems into simple solutions
  • You balance a strong sense of ownership and responsibility in your work with collaboration and team alignment
  • You are comfortable making trade-offs between quality, complexity, and speed-of-delivery
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Proven experience taking a large project from ideation to production
  • Experience leading greenfield projects
  • Working knowledge of cloud-native data engineering infrastructure
About Windfall
Windfall is a people intelligence and AI company that gives go-to-market teams actionable insights. By democratizing access to people data, organizations can intelligently prioritize go-to-market resources to drive greater business outcomes. Powered by best-in-class machine learning and artificial intelligence, Windfall activates insights into workflows that engage the right people for each respective organization. More than 1,500 data-driven organizations use Windfall to power their business. For more information, please visit www.windfall.com.
 
We comply with CCPA. For more information on how we comply, review our privacy notice.
 
Windfall is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. 
 
We may use AI tools to assist parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications or analyzing resumes. These tools assist our team and do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are made by people.