Staff Data Engineer

What if the work you did every day could impact the lives of people you know Or all of humanity

At Illumina we are expanding access to genomic technology to realize health equity for billions of people around the world. Our efforts enable life-changing discoveries that are transforming human health through the early detection and diagnosis of diseases and new treatment options for patients.

Working at Illumina means being part of something bigger than yourself. Every person in every role has the opportunity to make a difference. Surrounded by extraordinary people inspiring leaders and world changing projects you will do more and become more than you ever thought possible.

The Staff Data Engineer is a seasoned hands-on engineer who designs builds and scales data products on our cloud lakehouse powering analytics reporting and AI/ML across Illumina. We are looking for someone with strong proficiency in Python SQL and data modeling a solid understanding of distributed systems and system design who has built and scaled data products on modern cloud platforms such as Databricks and Snowflake.

This is a hands-on senior individual-contributor role with end-to-end ownership and leadership spanning multiple domains such as Supply Chain Manufacturing and Quality including mentoring engineers on our global (India-based) team.

• Partner across business AI and platform teams translating domain needs (e.g. SAP Manufacturing Quality) into well-modeled governed and scalable data products.
• Design build and scale end-to-end data products on Databricks (and interoperating with Snowflake) from ingestion through curated analytics-ready datasets following a medallion (Bronze/Silver/Gold) architecture.
• Develop reusable frameworks libraries and standardized patterns in Python (functional and OOP as appropriate) for ingestion transformation validation and publishing.
• Design robust data models (relational dimensional and lakehouse) and apply strong system-design judgment to build performant reliable distributed data pipelines using Spark Delta Lake / open table formats dbt and SQL.
• Embed data quality reconciliation validation and governance into pipelines (Unity Catalog: lineage RBAC masking PII handling.
• Monitoring alerting troubleshooting root-cause analysis and SLA adherence for business-critical datasets.
• Adopt AI in day-to-day data and analytics engineering to accelerate development testing and optimization.
• Act as a technical leader set standards lead code reviews contribute to architecture decisions mentor engineers and communicate trade-offs to peers and stakeholders.

• 10 years of professional data engineering experience building and scaling data products on cloud platforms such as Databricks and/or Snowflake.
• Strong proficiency in Python including reusable framework development using functional and object-oriented programming.
• Advanced SQL and strong data modeling skills (relational dimensional and lakehouse).
• Solid understanding of distributed systems and system design for large-scale data processing.
• Hands-on experience with open table formats (Delta Lake and/or Apache Iceberg ) and big-data file formats (Parquet).
• Experience with Spark and modern ELT tooling (e.g. dbt).
• Experience with data observability governance security and compliance practices (RBAC PII SOX).
• Demonstrated adoption of AI in data and analytics engineering workflows.
• Solid software engineering foundation Git REST APIs JSON CI/CD on at least one cloud environment (AWS preferred).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work effectively across business AI and platform teams and lead technical discussion.
• Bachelors degree in Computer Science Data Science Information Systems Engineering Mathematics or a related field or equivalent demonstrable experience.

• Strong plus with domain knowledge of SAP Manufacturing and/or Quality data and processes.
• Experience delivering in GxP / 21 CFR Part 11 or comparable regulated environments (life sciences pharma medical devices).
• Experience with Unity Catalog and lakehouse governance at scale.
• Snowflake-to-Databricks migration experience.
• Exposure to SAP data (ECC / S/4HANA CDS views) and SAP data integration patterns (e.g. SAP Business Data Cloud). Bonus if candidate have additional domain knowledge such as Commercial and Finance.
• Databricks and/or dbt certifications.
• Familiarity with Power BI / Tableau and enabling BI and conversational-analytics.

• Ownership: End-to-end accountability for data products from design through production support.
• Engineering Craft: Clean reusable well-designed code and pride in auditable reliable data.
• System Thinking: Sound design judgment across scale performance and cost.
• Technical Leadership: Raising the bar through standards reviews and mentorship.
• Learning Velocity: Quick to adopt new tools including AI and applying them pragmatically.
• Cross-Functional Communication: Partnering effectively with business AI and platform teams and explaining trade-offs clearly.

The estimated base salary range for the Staff Data Engineer role based in the United States of America is: $141600 - $212400. Should the level or location of the role change during the hiring process the applicable base pay range may be updated accordingly. The range reflects longterm growth in the role; therefore most candidates are hired between the minimum and middle of the range. Placement depends on experience skills location and internal equity. Additionally all employees are eligible for one of our variable cash programs (bonus or commission) and eligible roles may receive equity as part of the compensation package. We offer a wide range of benefits as innovative as our work including access to genomics sequencing family planning health/dental/vision retirement benefits and paid time off.

We are a company deeply rooted in belonging promoting an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. Built on a strong foundation Illumina has always prioritized openness collaboration and seeking alternative perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay regardless of gender ethnicity or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences increase cultural awareness and offer opportunities to engage in social responsibility. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex race creed color gender religion marital status domestic partner status age national origin or ancestry physical or mental disability medical condition sexual orientation pregnancy military or veteran status citizenship status and genetic information. Illumina conducts background checks on applicants for whom a conditional offer of employment has been made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable local state and federal laws. Background check results may potentially result in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. The background check process and any decisions made as a result shall be made in accordance with all applicable local state and federal laws. Illumina prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the application and interview process. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process please contact To learn more visit: The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants.