Principal Data Engineer
About this opportunity
Career Category
Information Systems
Job Description
ABOUT AMGEN
Amgen harnesses the best of biology and technology to fight the world’s toughest diseases, and make people’s lives easier, fuller and longer. We discover, develop, manufacture and deliver innovative medicines to help millions of patients. Amgen helped establish the biotechnology industry more than 40 years ago and remains on the cutting-edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what’s known today.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Role Description:
We are seeking a seasoned Principal Data Engineer to lead the design, development, and implementation of our data strategy. The ideal candidate possesses a deep understanding of data engineering principles, coupled with strong leadership and problem-solving skills. As a Principal Data Engineer, you will architect and oversee the development of robust data platforms, while mentoring and guiding a team of data engineers.
Roles & Responsibilities:
Possesses strong rapid prototyping skills and can quickly translate concepts into working code.
Provide expert guidance and mentorship to the data engineering team, fostering a culture of innovation and best practices.
Design, develop, and implement robust data architectures and platforms to support business objectives.
Oversee the development and optimization of data pipelines, and data integration solutions.
Establish and maintain data governance policies and standards to ensure data quality, security, and compliance.
Architect and manage cloud-based data solutions, leveraging AWS or other preferred platforms.
Lead and motivate a high-performing data engineering team to deliver exceptional results.
Identify, analyze, and resolve complex data-related challenges.
Collaborate closely with business stakeholders to understand data requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
Stay abreast of emerging data technologies and explore opportunities for innovation.
Functional Skills:
Demonstrated proficiency in leveraging cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) for data engineering solutions. Strong understanding of cloud architecture principles and cost optimization strategies.
Proficie n t on experience i n Python, PySpark , SQL. Handon e xperience with bid data ET L performance tuning .
Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing data engineering teams.
Strong problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills to address complex data challenges.
Good-to-Have Skills:
E xperience d with data modeling and performance tuning for both OLAP and OLTP databases
Experience d with Apache Spark, Apache Airflow
Experience d with software engineering best-practices, including but not limited to version control (Git, Subversion, etc.), CI/CD (Jenkins, Maven etc.), automated unit testing, and Dev Ops
Experience d with AWS, GCP or Azure cloud services
Education and Professional Certifications
Bachelor’s degree and 12 to 17 years' experience
AWS Certified Data Engineer preferred
Databricks Certifi cate preferred
Soft Skills:
Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills.
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Ability to work effectively with global, virtual teams
High degree of initiative and self-motivation.
Ability to manage multiple priorities successfully.
Team-oriented, with a focus on achieving team goals
Strong presentation and public speaking skills.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
Amgen is an Equal Opportunity employer and will consider you without regard to your race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or disability status.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation .
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Job details
How this role compares
Computed from every other active Data & Digital role in our database, not just this employer's listings.
We currently track 88 comparable Principal Data & Digital roles across 23 biopharma companies.
Salary context
18 of 88 peers report a salary range (USD, annualized)
Peers share this role's job function and a matching or adjacent seniority level -- not necessarily the same therapeutic area or country.
Where these roles are based
Top locations among the 88 comparable roles
+ 5 more countries
Seniority mix
88 of 88 peers have a known seniority level
Therapeutic area mix
2 of 88 peers have a known therapeutic area; the rest are genuinely unlabeled, not hidden
Similar opportunities
The closest matches from our peer group, ranked by how similar they are, not how well you'd qualify for them -- treat this as market context, not a guaranteed shortlist; a weak match is labeled as one below.
How we calculate "similar"
No black box, no LLM guesswork: a deterministic score built from four normalized attributes. Here's this role's own peer group at different match levels, so you can see the mechanism, not just the result.
Every comparison starts from the same 100-point budget: 25 for working in the same function, 40 for the same therapeutic area, 20 for the same or adjacent seniority, 15 for the same country. A dimension we can't confirm on both sides contributes nothing, never a guess, never a free pass.
0 points, never a partial guess. A role we know almost nothing about beyond its function bottoms out at 25%; it never inflates to 100% just because there's little to compare against. Seniority uses a defined ladder (Associate → Manager → Associate Director → Senior → Principal → Director → Senior Director → Executive/VP) so "Director" and "Senior Director" count as adjacent, but "Director" and "Executive/VP" do not.