Principal Data Engineer

What makes us Qlik? A Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Leader for 15 years in a row, Qlik transforms complex data landscapes into actionable insights, driving strategic business outcomes. Serving over 40,000 global customers, our portfolio leverages pervasive data quality and advanced AI/ML capabilities that lead to better decisions, faster. We excel in integration and governance solutions that work with diverse data sources, and our real-time analytics uncover hidden patterns, empowering teams to address complex challenges and seize new opportunities. The Principal Data Engineer Role - Building the AI Backbone We are seeking a Principal Data Engineer to join our small, agile AI "special ops" team in São Paulo. This is a mission-critical role reporting to our Manager of Enterprise AI Acceleration. You will work alongside our Principal Applied AI Engineer, focusing on the "last mile" of data delivery, the high-performance, governed, and context-rich foundation that makes agentic AI possible. This isn't a role for a "maintainer." We are looking for a builder. You will be tasked with building from scratch the internal infrastructure for Qlik's 2026 AI roadmap, transitioning our data from legacy silos to a modern, open, and high-performance Lakehouse. What makes this role interesting? This role places you at the center of a major AI transformation where data engineering directly shapes how AI systems operate at scale. You'll be part of a small, high-impact engineering team responsible for building the infrastructure that enables AI agents to securely access and reason over enterprise data. Some of the projects you'll tackle include: Building the modern Lakehouse foundation: Design and implement a next-generation data platform using technologies like Apache Iceberg to replace legacy data silos and support scalable AI workloads. Designing data pipelines for AI systems: Create high-performance pipelines that feed vector databases, knowledge graphs, and other AI infrastructure to ensure models are grounded in reliable enterprise data. Standardizing AI access to enterprise data: Build and deploy MCP servers that allow AI agents to interact with complex enterprise systems in a secure, scalable way. Working on cutting-edge AI data architectures: Collaborate directly with applied AI engineers on technologies such as RAG pipelines, vector indexing, and agentic AI workflows. Influencing the future of enterprise AI infrastructure: Work at the intersection of data engineering and AI platform architecture, helping define how enterprise data powers next-generation AI systems. Here's how you'll be making an impact: Your work will directly enable the company's transition from traditional data infrastructure to an AI-ready enterprise platform. The Big Migration: Lead enterprise data migration from Salesforce and other applications into Apache Iceberg. Build CDC and incremental pipelines, optimize compute, and prepare AI-ready datasets for RAG and multi-step agentic workflows The AI Bridge (MCP): Design and deploy MCP servers using Docker and Kubernetes (Amazon EKS). Standardize AI agent access to enterprise data, abstract complex APIs, and ensure secure, scalable communication. RAG & Knowledge Delivery: Build data pipelines feeding vector databases and knowledge graphs. Collaborate with Applied AI Engineers and Data Scientists to reduce model hallucinations and improve grounding accuracy. Feeding the Brains: Design seamless data pipelines for RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), populating Vector Databases and Knowledge Graphs to ground AI in verifiable facts. Trust & Governance: Implement Qlik Trust Score, enforce row- and column-level security, protect PII/CRM data, and comply with global data regulations Global Collaboration: Mentor engineers, align local execution with global AI standards, and champion enterprise-wide best practices in Lakehouse and AI data engineering. We're looking for a teammate with: Required A "Trailblazer" mentality: Technically curious, collaborative, and ready to solve complex AI infrastructure challenges. Deep technical expertise: Apache Iceberg, Qlik Open Lakehouse, MCP, Docker, Kubernetes, Amazon S3, EC2, Python, PySpark, SQL. Enterprise integration experience: Migrating Salesforce and other enterprise apps using APIs, bulk exports, and CDC streams. AI/ML data experience: Knowledge Graphs (Neo4j), vector indexing, RAG pipelines, and AI-ready dataset prep. Leadership & collaboration skills: Ability to mentor Senior Engineers, translate CIO-level strategy into scalable, high-performance engineering solutions, and partner effectively with Applied AI Engineers and Data Scientists while influencing global AI strategy. Professional English: Proficiency and a passion for working in a fast-paced, high-innovation environment. Preferred Experience with Qlik products (Qlik Sense, Qlik Cloud, Talend) Real-time streaming and CDC experience (Kafka, Flink, or similar) Prior Snowflake-to-Iceberg migration experience The location for this role is: Office Location, São Paulo, Brazil LI-Hybrid Apply now and help change how the world transforms complex data landscapes into actionable insights and turns complex data challenges into new opportunities! More about Qlik and who we are: Find out more about ‘Life at Qlik' on social: Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X/Twitter, and to see all other opportunities to join us and our values, check out our Careers Page. What else do we offer? Genuine career progression pathways and mentoring programs. Culture of innovation, technology, collaboration, and openness. Flexible, diverse, and international work environment. Giving back is a huge part of our culture. Alongside an extra “change the world” day plus another for personal development, we also highly encourage participation in our Corporate Responsibility Employee Programs If you need assistance applying for a role due to a disability, please submit your request via email to accessibilityta@qlik.com. Any information you provide will be treated according to Qlik's Recruitment Privacy Notice. Qlik may only respond to emails related to accommodation requests. Qlik is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Qlik via-email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Qlik. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Qlik as a result of the referral or through other means.