Principal Data Platform Engineer

Job description

Role: Principal Data Platform Engineer Location: US Remote (Preference given to Dallas, TX or Scottsdale, AZ candidates) Synonymous Business Title (s): Business Analytics Director Overview: Blue Yonder is seeking a Principal Data Platform Engineer to own the platforms our data and AI capabilities run on, Power BI, AtScale, and Databricks. As Blue Yonder deploys an AI-first operating model, these platforms are the critical foundation for how the enterprise sees, decides, and acts. Their performance, reliability, and accessibility are functions this role owns outright. This is a deeply technical senior individual contributor role . The successful candidate pairs hands-on platform administration and engineering depth with the judgment to make architecture, cost, and governance decisions that hold up at enterprise scale, and the credibility to set standards across a large data organization without formal authority. Outcomes in this role are visible to executive leadership and felt by every user of the platform. Technical Stack: Databricks: Expert-level administration; Unity Catalog, cluster policies, SQL warehouses, identity and workspace configuration, and cost controls Power BI: Deep tenant and capacity administration experience, including capacity management, gateways, workspace architecture, and deployment pipelines Semantic Layers: Hands-on experience administering a semantic layer platform; AtScale strongly preferred Cloud Infrastructure: Strong working knowledge of Azure; Identity (Entra ID), networking, storage, private endpoints, and cost management SQL: Expert-level SQL for troubleshooting, performance tuning, and usage analysis Automation: Python and/or PowerShell for platform automation, API-driven administration, and reporting; comfort with version control, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code Identity & Security: SSO, SAML/OAuth, service principles, role-based access control, and data-level security models AI Platform Tooling: Practical experience configuring and governing enterprise AI tooling, connectors, MCP server connections, agent and assistant configuration, and the access boundaries around them What You’ll Be Doing: Platform Management & Administration Own the day-to-day administration, configuration, and health of the enterprise data and AI platform estate: Power BI, AtScale, Databricks, Microsoft Copilot, and Claude Administer Databricks workspaces, cluster policies, SQL warehouses, Unity Catalog, service principals, and workspace-level security Manage the Power BI tenant end to end—tenant settings, capacity, workspace architecture, data gateways, and deployment pipelines Administer AtScale, including semantic model deployment, catalog and environment management, aggregate strategy, and query engine tuning Manage the enterprise AI platform layer—entitlement and seat administration, workspace and project structure, and enablement of new capabilities as they ship Define and run upgrade, patch, and release management processes; test and roll out platform changes without disrupting users Reliability, Performance & Support Own platform availability and performance; serve as the senior escalation point for platform-level incidents Establish monitoring, alerting, and observability across the estate, including performance baselines and capacity headroom tracking Diagnose complex problems that span identity, network, compute, and semantic layers, driving them to root cause rather than symptom relief Act as the key point of contact for the data team and business end users across all platforms—triage, resolution, and follow-through Build runbooks, self-service documentation, and enablement material that reduce recurring support demand Cost Optimization Own the cost model for the platform estate: capacity sizing, compute policies, autoscaling behavior, SKU selection, licensing, and consumption-based AI spend Identify and eliminate waste—idle compute, oversized capacity, unused licenses, inefficient queries, and redundant refresh schedules Build showback and chargeback reporting so business units can see and be accountable for their own consumption Forecast platform spend, partner with Finance on budget planning, and quantify the return on platform investment Governance & Security Implement and enforce governance across platforms: access models, role-based and row-level security, workspace and catalog standards, and content certification processes Own governance of the AI layer—which data AI tools may reach, which connectors and integrations are approved, and how usage is logged, retained, and audited Partner with Security, IT, and Legal on data residency, data loss prevention, audit, and regulatory requirements Maintain the authoritative documentation set for the platform: standards, architecture decisions, and configuration baselines Configuration & Integration Configure and maintain integrations across the estate, including MCP server connections, cross-platform connectivity, single sign-on, service principals, and API and gateway configuration Evaluate, pilot, and productionize new platform capabilities, connectors, and integration patterns, including the AI tooling that increasingly depends on them Manage environment promotion across development, test, and production, applying infrastructure-as-code and version control where practical Usage Analytics & Reporting Instrument and report on platform usage—active users, workload patterns, adoption by team, AI tool utilization, and license efficiency Convert usage data into recommendations: where to invest, where to consolidate, and where enablement is needed Deliver recurring reporting on platform health, cost, adoption, and risk to data leadership and executive stakeholders Vendor Relationships Serve as the primary technical relationship owner for platform vendors, including Microsoft, Databricks, AtScale, and Anthropic Manage support escalations, roadmap reviews, and participation in early-access and preview programs Provide the technical input that shapes renewals, licensing structures, and commercial negotiations Hold vendors accountable to service levels, defect resolution, and committed roadmap Technical Leadership & Influence Advise the leader of Enterprise Data Engineering on platform strategy, build-versus-buy decisions, and multi-year architecture direction Set the technical standards other engineers work too, influencing through demonstrated expertise rather than reporting lines Represent the platform in enterprise architecture, security review, and AI governance forums Mentor engineers, analysts, and business users on getting the most out of the platform What We’re Looking For: Required Qualifications 8+ years in data platform engineering, platform administration, analytics engineering, or a closely related discipline. 5+ years of hands-on experience administering and engineering enterprise cloud data platforms, including Databricks and Azure, with demonstrated responsibility for production environments, security, performance, reliability, and cost optimization. 5+ years of hands-on experience administering enterprise analytics and semantic platforms, including Power BI and comparable semantic layer technologies, supporting hundreds of production assets and 1,000+ users. Demonstrated ownership of production data platforms serving a large, distributed user base where downtime is immediately visible Proven track record of delivering measurable cost optimization on cloud data and analytics platforms Experience establishing governance and technical standards across multiple tools and competing stakeholder groups Experience managing enterprise software vendors, including support escalation and input into renewals History of operating as the most senior technical authority on a platform without direct reports Preferred Qualifications Microsoft Fabric: Experience with Fabric architecture, capacity models, and migration from standalone Power BI Premium FinOps: Formal FinOps practice experience or certification, applied to cloud data platform spend AI Governance: Experience standing up governance for enterprise AI tooling—acceptable use, data access boundaries, logging, and retention Agentic Integration: Hands-on experience building or operating MCP servers and agent integrations against enterprise data sources (significant advantage) Observability: Experience with platform observability tooling such as Azure Monitor, Grafana, or Datadog Certifications: Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional, Azure Solutions Architect Expert, or equivalent Transformation Experience: Experience supporting an organization through an AI-first transformation, where adoption grew faster than the platform was originally sized for Industry: Prior experience in supply chain, logistics, or enterprise software Work Environment & Communication Travel: Minimal (occasional team, vendor, or company on-sites) Availability: Primarily US business hours, with occasional after-hours work for changing windows, upgrades, and critical incidents Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication—able to justify a capacity decision to a finance leader and a query plan to an engineer in the same afternoon Collaboration: Proven effectiveness in distributed, cross-time zone teams, including regular collaboration with colleagues based in India Visibility: Comfort presenting to executive stakeholders and being personally accountable for platform outcomes ------------------------------------------- The annual base salary range for this position is $155,000.00 - $172,873.06 The salary range information provided, reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual salary will be commensurate with skills, experience, certifications or licenses and other relevant factors. In addition, this role will be eligible to participate in either the annual performance bonus or commission program, determined by the nature of the position. At Blue Yonder, we care about the wellbeing of our employees and those most important to them. This is reflected in our robust benefits package and options that includes: Comprehensive Medical, Dental and Vision 401K with Matching Flexible Time Off Corporate Fitness Program A variety of voluntary benefits such as; Legal Plans, Accident and Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance and much more At Blue Yonder, we are committed to a workplace that genuinely fosters inclusion and belonging in which everyone can share their unique voices and talents in a safe space. We continue to be guided by our core values and are proud of our diverse culture as an equal opportunity employer. We understand that your career search may look different than others, and embrace the professional, personal, educational, and volunteer opportunities through which people gain experience. Our Values If you want to know the heart of a company, take a look at their values. Ours unite us. They are what drive our success – and the success of our customers. Does your heart beat like ours? Find out here: Core Values All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.