Sr Principal Data Engineer

Why UKG:

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That's what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you'll get flexibility that's real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters-and so do you.

Senior Principal Data Engineer, Enterprise Data & Analytics Office) - P6

About the Role
As a Senior Principal Data Engineer (P6) within the Enterprise Data & Analytics Office (EDAO), you will play a strategic leadership role in shaping UKG's enterprise data ecosystem. You will architect next-generation data platforms and solutions that advance EDAO's mission - empowering every decision-maker with the right insights at the right time through a connected data ecosystem and trusted autonomous agents.

This role spans data strategy, architecture, and delivery, with responsibility for designing scalable, governed, and AI-ready data capabilities across UKG. You will collaborate with enterprise and domain teams to deliver strategic initiatives such as the Nexus Unified Data Platform, Data Mesh enablement, and governed analytics modernization.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Architecture
• Define and drive the enterprise data architecture strategy, aligning with EDAO's vision, UKG's business imperatives (Growth, Innovation, IPO Readiness), and cloud modernization goals.
• Architect and evolve data mesh and medallion frameworks (Bronze-Silver-Gold) across domains, enabling scalable, federated, and governed data products.
• Partner with Enterprise Architecture (EA) and AI teams to align platform modernization, AI enablement, and integration strategies.
• Evaluate emerging technologies (Databricks, BigQuery, Vertex AI, Atlan, Dataplex) and guide adoption to ensure UKG's data landscape remains modern, compliant, and future-ready.
Solution Architecture & Delivery
• Translate business strategies and analytics needs into reference architectures and technical blueprints.
• Oversee design and implementation of complex data solutions - from ingestion to curation to consumption - that are performant, secure, and compliant (SOX, PCI).
• Ensure architectural alignment across Data Platform Simplification, Customer 360, Metrics Operationalization, and AI/ML enablement initiatives.
• Standardize data modeling practices (conceptual, logical, physical) across EDAO and business domains.

Governance, Quality & Standards
• Lead definition and adoption of enterprise standards for data modeling, lineage, and metadata management.
• Partner with the Data Governance Office to embed governance-by-design principles into data pipelines and platforms.
• Establish frameworks for data quality, policy enforcement, and metadata traceability using Unity Catalog, Atlan, and Dataplex.
• Promote security-first architecture ensuring protection of sensitive data (PII, financial, regulatory).

Thought Leadership & Collaboration
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership, influencing strategic data decisions and investment priorities.
• Act as a thought leader within EDAO, driving innovation in cloud data engineering, self-service analytics, and AI adoption.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leaders in Finance, CX, GTM, and Engineering to operationalize data-driven decision-making.
• Represent UKG in external architecture, governance, and analytics communities as an ambassador for excellence.

Mentorship & Organizational Impact
• Mentor and coach architects, engineers, and analysts, fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.
• Build architecture capability maturity across teams through reusable patterns, design reviews, and governance forums.
• Drive continuous improvement in platform performance, cost optimization, and architectural simplicity.

Qualifications
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 12+ years in enterprise data architecture, engineering, and analytics roles with progressive leadership.
• Deep expertise in cloud data ecosystems - especially GCP (BigQuery, Dataplex, Pub/Sub, Dataflow, Vertex AI) and Databricks (Delta Lake, DLT, Unity Catalog).
• Proven experience with data lakehouse architectures, and governance frameworks.
• Mastery in data modeling (star, snowflake, 3NF, denormalized, semantic models).
• Strong understanding of AI/ML lifecycle, MLOps, and data science enablement.
• Demonstrated success leading complex cross-functional programs with measurable business impact.
• Experience building SOX- and PCI-compliant data solutions with enterprise-level auditability.