Principal Data Engineer - CX Analytics

Unum Group is hiring a Principal Data Engineer to lead CX Analytics data engineering efforts focused on BI/reporting and advanced analytics.

Responsibilities

• Partner with business teams to deliver development, construction, testing, and maintenance of data pipelines that support business needs.
• Ingest and integrate large volumes of highly complex data from multiple sources, including DB2, SQL Server, Web API, and Teradata.
• Apply validation, aggregation, and reconciliation techniques to build a rich data framework.
• Collaborate with data scientists and business partners to understand business problems and analytics plans, then design data structures aligned to those use cases.
• Establish and maintain best practices for the team’s data engineering strategy; track best practices across industries and drive innovation and efficiency.
• Contribute to the evolution of enterprise data architecture, including adoption of current and emerging frameworks and tools (example: hosting data in Cloud).
• Prepare results for interpretation and/or visualization and communicate potential value to influence strategic decision-making.
• Support integration of solutions into existing business processes using automation techniques.
• Continuously research and build expertise in current and emerging software and data engineering practices.
• Provide support, training, and/or mentorship to lower-level Data Engineer peers.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field is required.
• 8 years of professional experience (or equivalent relevant work experience) preferred.
• Expertise in at least one object-oriented programming language: Java/Scala or Python.
• DevOps best practices experience including CI/CD, process automation, and optimization.
• Strong understanding of data architecture principles and infrastructure requirements across on-prem and Cloud platforms.
• Ability to understand and present data in context, including how data will build toward a business solution.
• Preferred: expertise writing complex SQL queries joining multiple tables and databases.
• Independently explore databases/tables or other legacy data to identify best data sources for business problems.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex SQL queries with limited guidance.
• Demonstrated ability to create logical data models combining data from multiple sources, including internal and external data.
• Demonstrated communication skills; experience in financial services.
• Leadership experience working with senior management and executive leadership; attention to detail while independently prioritizing work and managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Ability to understand and explain a problem and identify and communicate an appropriate solution.
• Leader within the field, internally and externally.
• Effective coach and mentor; actively engages peers and team members within areas of expertise.
• Viewed as a leader in change management.
• Maintains depth of technical understanding of third-party and cloud solutions.
• People management: participates in determining staffing needs, including hiring and development.
• Leads assigned team activities and projects to completion.
• Engineering strategic and program management for the organization: coaches, mentors, and helps build team.
• Proactively identifies and researches new approaches and skills needed for data science and advanced analytics.
• Entrepreneurial self-starter.
• Thorough, results-oriented problem-solver and lifelong learner with strong curiosity.
• Deep expertise in their organization.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and development of techniques that may be shared internally and externally.

Core Data Engineer Capabilities

• Software Engineering: Expertise in at least one object-oriented language (Java/Scala or Python) plus DevOps best practices (CI/CD, automation, optimization).
• Data Architecture and Infrastructure: Understanding of data architecture principles and related infrastructure requirements for on-prem and Cloud.
• Holistic Data Preparation: Ability to frame and present data in the appropriate context for business use.
• Data Extraction, Transform & Load: Complex SQL (multi-table/database joins), independent exploration of legacy data sources, troubleshooting complex SQL with limited guidance, and building logical data models from internal and external sources.
• Core business capabilities: Communication skills, financial services experience, leadership exposure with senior/executive leaders, and ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects.
• Leadership capabilities: Field leader (internal/external), coaching and mentoring, change management leadership, and maintained technical understanding of third-party/cloud solutions.

Technologies

• Java
• Scala
• Python
• CI/CD
• SQL
• DB2
• SQL Server
• Web API
• Teradata
• Cloud

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• Short & Long-Term Disability
• Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)
• Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution
• Mental health support
• Career advancement opportunities
• Student loan repayment options
• Tuition reimbursement
• Flexible work environments
• Performance-based incentive plans
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match up to 5% and an additional 4.5% contribution whether you contribute to the plan or not

General Summary

• Principal Data Engineer role on the CX Analytics team within Unum’s Customer Experience Organization.
• Lead design and implementation of data solutions enabling BI/reporting and advanced analytics with data that is accessible, reliable, and structured for use.
• Build and maintain scalable data pipelines, optimize data models, and integrate new structured and unstructured sources across the ecosystem.
• Enable analytics through automation and advance AI usage, including pipelines that incorporate unstructured data and LLM-based workflows to extract signal from sources such as raw text.
• Define data engineering standards and best practices while mentoring engineers and partnering with BI Analysts and Data Scientists.
• Shape how data flows through the team to ensure environments, pipelines, and datasets emphasize quality, scalability, and usability.
• Campus-based role; current remote and field-based Unum employees may apply and will be considered per company policy.