AI Lead Data Engineer

At Virtusa (former ITMAGINATION), the AI Lead Data Engineer acts as the technical lighthouse for data squads, responsible for the technical design and delivery of robust AI data platforms. The role bridges Data Science and Data Engineering, supporting advanced MLOps and LLM requirements while leading a team to maintain coding and governance standards.

• 8–10 years of experience with at least 3 years in a lead role managing technical delivery.
• Expert-level Python, SQL, and PySpark optimization for distributed environments.
• Deep experience with AI platform services such as Amazon SageMaker, Azure ML, or Vertex AI.
• Hands-on experience implementing enterprise observability with Monte Carlo or Datadog.
• Experience with data governance platforms (Collibra/Alation) and implementing Responsible AI guardrails.
• Deep understanding of modern data patterns (Medallion architecture, Data Mesh, Lakehouse).
• Advanced knowledge of security frameworks, including PII masking, data lineage, and HIPAA/GDPR compliance.
• Exceptional ability to mentor junior engineers and communicate complex data strategies to business stakeholders.

• Lead a squad of data engineers in the design and execution of end-to-end AI data architectures.
• Build frameworks for bias detection, ethical AI considerations, and auditability using platforms like Collibra or Alation.
• Lead the transition to Data Lakehouse architectures and implement feature stores for enterprise-wide model reuse.
• Work with stakeholders to manage project milestones, technical risks, and on-time delivery.
• Implement enterprise-grade CI/CD for ML workflows using MLflow or Kubeflow.
• Design specialized pipelines for LLM evaluation frameworks and prompt-tuning datasets.