Principal Data Engineer

The Gig:

Virgin Voyages is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to provide technical leadership across the data engineering landscape, with primary responsibility for data platform architecture, pipeline design, platform modernization, reliability, and data quality. This is a principal-level individual contributor role with no formal people management responsibilities. The successful candidate will operate with a high degree of autonomy and will play a key role in shaping and advancing technical direction across Data Engineering, MLOps, and DataOps. This individual will partner closely with Data Engineering, Analytics Engineering, machine learning partners, and other cross-functional stakeholders to deliver scalable, reliable, and modern data solutions that support both analytics and AI enablement. This gig is based at VVHQ - our swanky Virgin Voyages Head Office in Plantation, FL where we follow a hybrid work environment. We can't wait to 'sea' you in person during our Collaboration Days, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while you enjoy Mondays and Fridays' as remote days. Key Responsibilities Own and evolve technical direction for the data engineering platform, including architecture, standards, and long-term platform evolution. Design and guide the development of scalable, reliable data pipelines and platform capabilities that support analytics and AI use cases. Contribute to the modernization and evolution of the data platform toward more scalable and managed solutions. Define and enhance engineering standards, architecture patterns, reusable frameworks, and best practices across the data engineering function. Improve platform reliability, observability, testing practices, and data quality across production data environments. Partner with machine learning and related technical teams to support AI platform enablement and help shape MLOps practices where appropriate. Support broader adoption of AI tools in engineering workflows and day-to-day productivity, including familiarity with tools such as Claude Code and Codex. Collaborate with Data Engineering, Analytics Engineering, and stakeholders outside the core data organization to align technical solutions with business and platform needs. Provide selective hands-on technical contribution, particularly in the establishment of foundational services, frameworks, and platform capabilities. Superpowers Required 10+ years of experience in data engineering or related data platform roles. Demonstrated experience designing and evolving modern data platforms, pipelines, and architecture. Strong SQL and Python skills. Experience working across a modern data technology stack. Experience with cloud-based data platforms and managed services. Proven ability to operate independently and lead technical direction with a high degree of autonomy. Strong experience improving reliability, observability, testing, and data quality within production data environments. Experience establishing engineering standards, architecture patterns, and reusable technical frameworks. Experience enabling AI use cases through strong data engineering foundations. Familiarity with AI-assisted engineering workflows and tools. Preferred Experience with GCP, including BigQuery. Experience with dbt or other modern data transformation frameworks. Exposure to MLOps concepts and collaboration with machine learning engineers. Experience with DataOps practices and modern platform operating models. Ops or DevOps knowledge. Experience supporting adoption of AI tools for code generation and day-to-day engineering productivity. Experience in travel, hospitality, consumer platforms, or recommendations and personalization use cases. Strong stakeholder communication and cross-functional collaboration skills. What Matters to

Us:

At Virgin, your personality matters as much as how good you are at what you do. We want you to bring it to our hangout spot and help make the place even better. So, we won't be surprised to hear that when people talk about you they say you are clever, on top of it, able to think ahead, intuitive, passionate and someone people respect and enjoy working with because you make things happen. Virgin Voyages is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified, eligible applicants regardless of their sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy and maternity. Our greatest strength comes from our ability to come together as unique individuals -- we seek to always embrace and celebrate our differences, providing an inclusive workplace environment that allows you to be your best self. Virgin Voyages is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Virgin Voyages via-email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from Virgin Voyages HR/Recruitment will be deemed the sole property of Virgin Voyages. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Virgin Voyages as a result of the referral or through other means. "I'm often asked what it is that makes Virgin different. The simple answer is — our people" Sir Richard Branson Our people are the heart and soul of our business. We are a passionate lot, united in our desire to create something really special for our sailors.