Our vision for the future is based on the idea that transforming financial lives starts by giving our people the freedom to transform their own. We have a flexible work environment, and fluid career paths. We not only encourage but celebrate internal mobility. We also recognize the importance of purpose, well-being, and work-life balance. Within Empower and our communities, we work hard to create a welcoming and inclusive environment, and our associates dedicate thousands of hours to volunteering for causes that matter most to them.

Chart your own path and grow your career while helping more customers achieve financial freedom. Empower Yourself.

The Lead Engineer Data Streaming is a technical leadership (individual contributor) role responsible for setting technical direction and standards for real-time and near–real-time data streaming solutions. This role ensures teams follow approved streaming and data platform architectures while designing, developing, and improving scalable, reliable data pipelines. The Lead Engineer will establish best practices for streaming design, CDC, schema evolution, reliability, testing, and operational readiness. This role is hands-on and is expected to deliver complex streaming and integration components while acting as the technical anchor for the team.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Understand the end-to-end data streaming and CDC flow from source systems through Kafka and Striim pipelines to analytical and operational targets.

• Collaborate with business partners, data architects, and platform teams to design and implement real-time data integration solutions aligned with enterprise architecture.

• Lead technical design for streaming use cases including event-driven architectures, CDC, and hybrid batch/streaming patterns.

• Influence and guide technical solutions by sharing knowledge, reviewing designs, and facilitating technical brainstorming within the team.

• Establish and enforce best practices for Kafka topic design, partitioning, schema management, and Striim pipeline configuration.

• Perform code and configuration reviews and enforce standards for testing, documentation, and deployment.

• Serve as the go-to engineer for proof-of-concepts and evaluation of new streaming technologies.

• Mentor engineers and raise the maturity of streaming engineering practices.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent experience.

• 7-10 years of software or data engineering experience.

• Hands-on experience with Kafka and Striim.

• Experience integrating Oracle, PostgreSQL, Redshift, and Snowflake.

• Strong understanding of distributed systems and streaming architectures.

• Excellent communication and technical leadership skills.

Disclaimer

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications. The employer may revise this description at any time.

We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity. All individuals, regardless of personal characteristics, are encouraged to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, pregnancy, religion, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable state or local law.