Principal Platform Engineer

About the Role

As a Senior/Principal Platform Engineer, you will serve as the technical authority for Harman's BI, AI, and Data platforms — owning both the architecture and hands-on development of scalable data pipelines, platform components, and infrastructure that enable reliable analytics and AI capabilities.

You will operate at the intersection of architecture and execution, personally designing and building complex SQL and Python-based data pipelines while setting the technical direction for the broader platform. You will define architectural patterns, drive engineering excellence, and remain deeply embedded in the codebase — writing production-grade code that sets the standard for the team.

This role requires exceptional technical depth, architectural vision, and the ability to lead through both design authority and hands-on contribution. You will shape platform strategy, drive cross-team alignment, and ensure the long-term scalability, reliability, and evolution of the data platform.

What You Will Do

1. Platform Architecture & Technical Authority

• Architectural Ownership: Define and own the end-to-end architecture of data pipelines, platform services, and infrastructure — making binding technical decisions on design, tooling, and patterns.

• Hands-On Development: Personally architect and build complex SQL and Python-based data pipelines, writing production-grade code that serves as the reference implementation for the team.

• Technical Vision: Set the long-term technical direction for the platform, evaluating emerging technologies and defining the roadmap for platform evolution.

2. Data Pipeline Development & Engineering Excellence

• Pipeline Architecture & Development: Design, architect, and personally build high-complexity data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, and processing at scale — using Python, PySpark, and SQL as primary development languages.

• SQL & Transformation Development: Author advanced SQL transformation logic, complex query patterns, and performant data models aligned with enterprise data architecture. Establish SQL development standards and reusable patterns for the team.

• Python & Framework Development: Build and maintain Python-based pipeline frameworks, utilities, and reusable components that accelerate team delivery and enforce consistency.

• Code Quality & Standards: Define and enforce coding standards for SQL and Python development across the team. Conduct deep code reviews and establish patterns for testability, maintainability, and performance.

• Performance Engineering: Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex pipeline failures, performance bottlenecks, and data inconsistencies — applying deep expertise in query optimization and distributed processing.

3. Data Platform & Infrastructure Engineering

• Data Architecture Ownership: Architect and enforce structured data layers (e.g., Bronze/Silver/Gold), defining schemas, data contracts, and quality gates that ensure scalability and governance.

• Integration Architecture & Development: Design and build complex integrations with internal and external data sources, including APIs, streaming pipelines, and event-driven architectures.

• Infrastructure as Code Leadership: Architect and implement Infrastructure as Code strategies using best-in-class tools, defining patterns and modules that enable repeatable, scalable provisioning.

• Environment Strategy: Own the strategy for environment consistency and reliability across Dev, QA, and Production — designing promotion workflows and environment parity standards.

4. Deployment, DevOps & Infrastructure as Code

• Release Strategy: Define and own the deployment strategy for data pipelines, infrastructure, and platform components across all environments.

• Infrastructure as Code Architecture: Architect enterprise-grade infrastructure provisioning using tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, or similar — defining module structures, state management, and governance patterns.

• Cloud & Platform Architecture: Drive architectural decisions across modern cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Databricks), designing scalable, cost-effective, and secure data solutions.

• CI/CD Architecture: Architect end-to-end CI/CD pipelines for automated testing, validation, and deployment of both application code and infrastructure.

• Source Control & Engineering Practices: Define and enforce Git workflows, branching strategies, code review practices, and version control standards across the team.

5. Technical Leadership, Standards & Mentorship

• Engineering Leadership: Provide deep technical mentorship to Senior and Junior Platform Engineers — elevating team capabilities through pairing, design reviews, and hands-on guidance.

• Standards & Governance: Define and enforce coding standards, architectural guidelines, data governance policies, and engineering best practices across the platform.

• Cross-Team & Stakeholder Alignment: Partner with System Architects, Engineering Managers, and senior stakeholders to align platform implementation with enterprise strategy and business objectives.

• Documentation & Knowledge Sharing: Drive creation of architectural decision records, design documents, and comprehensive technical documentation that enables team autonomy.

6. AI-Assisted Development & Platform Evolution

• AI-Driven Engineering: Leverage and champion AI-assisted tools to accelerate development, debugging, testing, and documentation across the team.

• Platform Innovation: Identify and drive opportunities to improve platform efficiency through automation, reusable frameworks, and self-service capabilities.

• Continuous Improvement & Industry Leadership: Stay at the forefront of modern data platform, AI, and engineering trends — evaluating and introducing technologies that advance platform maturity.

What Success Looks Like

• Platform architecture is well-defined, scalable, and consistently implemented across all components

• Complex SQL and Python pipelines you build serve as reference implementations and team standards

• Architectural decisions accelerate team delivery and reduce technical debt

• Complex issues are resolved permanently through architectural fixes, not workarounds

• Data flows efficiently through well-governed, well-structured architecture layers

• Infrastructure is robust, scalable, and fully automated through Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

• CI/CD and infrastructure processes are architected for reliability, speed, and auditability

• Senior and Junior engineers grow under your mentorship and adopt your engineering standards

• Platform capabilities continuously evolve in performance, maturity, and self-service enablement

What You Need to Be Successful

• Expert-level SQL development skills — capable of authoring complex transformations, performance-tuning queries, and defining SQL development standards for the team

• Expert-level Python development skills — capable of building production-grade pipeline frameworks, utilities, and data processing logic

• Deep experience with PostgreSQL, relational databases, and SQL-based transformation logic

• Extensive experience architecting and building data pipelines, ETL/ELT, and data processing workflows end-to-end

• Experience architecting, implementing, and governing Infrastructure as Code using tools such as Terraform, Pulumi, ARM/Bicep, CloudFormation, or similar

• Deep experience with PySpark, Spark, Databricks, or distributed data processing at scale

• Extensive hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Databricks) at an architectural level

• Proven ability to design, implement, and govern CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices at enterprise scale

• Strong experience with Git workflows, branching strategies, and source control governance

• Advanced troubleshooting, performance engineering, and optimization skills

• Deep experience designing, building, and troubleshooting APIs and complex data integration patterns

• Experience designing highly available, fault-tolerant distributed systems at enterprise scale

• Strong understanding of data governance, metadata management, lineage, and data quality architectures

• Experience with streaming and event-driven architectures

• Demonstrated ability to mentor, lead, and elevate engineering teams through technical authority and hands-on contribution

Bonus Points if You Have

• Experience architecting enterprise-scale Lakehouse platforms using Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, and Delta Live Tables (DLT)

• Experience with real-time and event-driven data architectures using Kafka, Event Hubs, Kinesis, or similar streaming technologies

• Experience implementing data observability, lineage, and monitoring platforms (e.g., Monte Carlo, Datafold, OpenLineage, Unity Catalog)

• Experience designing and enforcing DataOps practices, data contracts, and domain-oriented data ownership models

• Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes

• Experience building platform engineering capabilities including self-service infrastructure, reusable platform components, and internal developer platforms

• Experience implementing enterprise security architectures including RBAC, secrets management, encryption, and zero-trust principles

• Experience optimizing cloud cost, performance, and capacity planning for large-scale data platforms

• Experience supporting AI/ML platforms, feature stores, model deployment infrastructure, or MLOps tooling

• Experience with modern software engineering practices including test automation, platform reliability engineering, and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles

• Experience with metadata management, data catalogs, lineage, and governance frameworks

• Experience leading large-scale platform modernization, cloud migration, or data platform transformation initiatives

• Experience working in manufacturing, automotive, supply chain, IoT, or other data-intensive enterprise environments

• Contributions to open-source projects, technical publications, conference presentations, or recognized industry thought leadership

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related field; Master's degree preferred

What we offer

• Work in international teams with the world’s largest automotive manufacturers.

• Use HARMAN Flex – choose the right working model fitting their job (Hybrid or Office)

• Access career development opportunities and get both on the job training on high-end automotive projects, as well as extensive technical trainings.

• Access HARMAN Webshop with large employee discounts for audio products (JBL, HARMAN Kardon, AKG)

• Are encouraged to a healthy work/life balance with a progressive holiday plan based on total work experience, 2 sick days, 3 days off compensation for weekend legal holidays and flextime.

• And of course, enjoy meal tickets, a premium medical subscription, fitness discounts and other corporate perks.

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