Data Engineer

Data Engineer

In this role, you will:

• Experience with using AI-assisted development tools (Cursor, Claude Code, Databricks Genie, OpenRouter, or similar) to accelerate coding, troubleshooting, and documentation, while reviewing and testing all AI-generated output before it reaches production.
• Develop new data pipelines in Azure Databricks, and contribute to the enterprise data lakehouse.
• Enhance and extend existing SQL Server Agent jobs, stored procedures, views, functions and SSIS packages, including the surrounding schema changes each enhancement requires.
• Develop, enhance and extend data integrations with external systems and APIs using Salesforce MuleSoft
• Write and tune complex T-SQL against large data volumes; analyze execution plans and apply indexing and statistics strategies to resolve performance problems.
• Build and maintain data models and datasets that support Power BI reporting, including publishing, scheduled refresh and gateway configuration.
• Perform data validation, reconciliation and data-quality checks across source and target systems.
• Provide production support for approximately 300 data integration jobs: monitor, triage, diagnose and resolve failures, and drive root-cause analysis so the same failure does not recur.
• Partner in person with team members, application developers, and business stakeholders across academic and administrative departments to gather requirements and deliver solutions.
• Communicate status, root causes and business impact clearly to non-technical stakeholders in written and verbal English.

At Cognizant, we strive to provide flexibility wherever possible, and we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs. Based on this role's business requirements, this is an onsite position requiring 5 days a week in a client or Cognizant office in Irvine, CA.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you're engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

What you need to have to be considered

• 5+ years of hands-on Microsoft SQL Server and T-SQL development experience.
• Advanced set-based T-SQL. Fluency with window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, DENSE_RANK), common table expressions, deduplication and latest-record-per-key patterns, and conditional aggregation. Candidates should expect a hands-on exercise in this area - see the selection process below.
• SQL Server Agent - building, scheduling, monitoring and troubleshooting job chains in a production environment.
• SSIS - developing and maintaining packages, including debugging failures in deployed packages.
• Azure Databricks - demonstrable hands-on experience. Notebooks, jobs and workflows, Spark SQL and/or PySpark, and Delta Lake. This is a firm requirement, not a nice-to-have.
• MuleSoft - hands-on development of API integrations, including Mule flows, DataWeave transformations, error handling, deployment, and production monitoring.
• AI-assisted development ("vibe coding"). Demonstrated productive use of agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, Databricks Genie, OpenRouter, or Cursor to write, refactor, troubleshoot and document code - together with the engineering judgment to review, test and validate AI-generated output before it reaches production. Given how much of this role involves working inside unfamiliar inherited code, we regard this as a genuine productivity multiplier and we will ask candidates how they use these tools.
• Performance tuning - execution plan analysis, index design, statistics maintenance, and diagnosing queries that regress in production.
• Production support discipline - working incidents to resolution against service-level expectations, and communicating clearly while an issue is open.
• Professional written and spoken English sufficient to explain a technical problem, its cause and its business impact to a non-technical stakeholder such as a dean or department head.
• Ability to work 100% on site in Irvine, California during standard Pacific business hours. Remote work is not available for this position.

Salary and Other Compensation

Applications will be accepted until December 2, 2016.

The annual salary for this position is between $64,000 - $94,500 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant's discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant's applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.