Lead Database Developer - AI/ML Focus

DESCRIPTION

Michael Baker International is seeking a skilled Lead Database Developer with AI/ML expertise to architect, build, and scale intelligent, data-driven applications across our enterprise ecosystem. As the Lead Database Developer, you will architect, build, and optimize enterprise-grade data platforms that power AI/ML products, analytics, and automation initiatives. You will lead database developers, partner with data scientists, and own the roadmap for scalable data systems that enable real-time insights and model-driven decision-making. This position reports to VP of Data and AI in the CTO Organization at Michael Baker International.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Data Architecture & Leadership

• Lead design of scalable data pipelines, ingestion frameworks, and distributed processing systems.
• Architect enterprise data lake/lakehouse/warehouse solutions (Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift).
• Guide data engineers on best practices, code quality, and scalable data engineering patterns.
• Own end-to-end execution of data engineering initiatives, including estimation, delivery, and performance optimization.

AI/ML Engineering Enablement

• Build ML-ready data environments, feature stores, and training pipelines.
• Partner with data scientists to productionize ML models with CI/CD/CT.
• Implement model monitoring, data quality, feature versioning, and automated retraining.
• Support real-time and batch feature engineering and inference pipelines.

Data Development Excellence

• Develop scalable ELT/ETL pipelines using Spark, PySpark, SQL, Airflow, DBT, Kafka, Kinesis.
• Build high-quality data models (dimensional, data vault, lakehouse).
• Implement observability, lineage, and data quality frameworks across all pipelines.

MLOps & Cloud Engineering

• Architect MLOps pipelines using Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, MLflow, SageMaker, or Vertex AI.
• Optimize cloud cost, performance, and reliability for large-scale AI/ML workloads.
• Drive standards for cloud data infrastructure and reusable data engineering components.

Governance, Security & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with SOC2, GDPR, PII standards based on company needs.
• Implement secure data-sharing, encryption, IAM, tokenization, and access patterns.
• Maintain metadata, cataloging, governance processes (Collibra, Alation, Unity Catalog).

Innovation & GenAI Readiness

• Champion emerging technologies including GenAI, vector databases, and LLM-based pipelines.
• Drive innovation in AI/ML data engineering and real-time analytics.

Team Development and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead and mentor data engineering teams.
• Collaborate with data scientists, ML engineers, and business stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions.
• Translate business requirements into scalable data strategies.

PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field, or similar, or equivalent experience.
• Any Data or AI/ML related certifications.
• 6–12+ years of data engineering experience with 2–5+ years in a lead role.
• Strong programming in Python, SQL; deep expertise in Spark/Databricks.
• Experience building ML-ready architectures, feature stores, and MLOps pipelines.
• Expertise with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Proven ability to lead engineering teams, mentor junior engineers, and drive architectural decisions.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience implementing vector databases (Pinecone, FAISS, Milvus) and LLM-based pipelines including RAG.
• Background in real-time analytics and low-latency ML inference.
• Experience in highly regulated industries (healthcare, fintech, retail, AEC, manufacturing).
• Ensure quality, compliance, and security across all data platforms while implementing observability, lineage, and governance frameworks.
• Define and execute enterprise data strategies aligned with AI/ML initiatives while championing best practices in data engineering, MLOps, and cloud optimization.

COMPENSATION

The approximate compensation range for this position is $130,000 to $170,000. This compensation range is a good-faith estimate for the position at the time of posting. Actual compensation is dependent upon factors such as education, qualifications, experience, skillset, and physical work location.

BENEFITS​

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including: ​

• Medical, dental, vision insurance ​
• 401 (k) Retirement Plan ​
• Health Savings Account (HSA) ​
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) ​
• Life, AD&D, short-term, and long-term disability ​
• Professional and personal development ​
• Generous paid time off​
• Commuter and wellness benefits

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