Tallgrass · 1 day ago
IT Data Engineer
Lakewood, CO
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$126K/yr - $164K/yr
7+ years expTallgrass is a leading energy infrastructure company focused on safely, reliably, and sustainably delivering energy and services. The AI Data Engineer will bridge traditional database administration with emerging AI data infrastructure, designing scalable pipelines and managing database performance, security, and governance.
Energy
Responsibilities
Design, build, and maintain scalable data pipelines connecting enterprise systems to AI and analytics platforms
Develop retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows and vectorized data models to improve AI information access
Build and maintain connectors and APIs for secure, high-performance data retrieval across on‑prem and cloud environments
Orchestrate large-scale data movement using cloud data platforms to ensure availability for AI and business applications
Monitor and optimize data flows for consistency, scalability, latency, and data integrity across the ecosystem
Serve as lead administrator for enterprise databases, overseeing performance, clustering, backup, and recovery
Manage database upgrades, tuning, capacity planning, and storage optimization for transactional and analytical workloads
Plan and execute the transition from external DBA vendor support to internal management within 12 months
Implement and enforce database security controls, patching, access management, and encryption standards
Support application integrations, data migrations, and deployment of new data environments with minimal disruption
Define and maintain data models, schema standards, and metadata to support analytics and AI use cases
Collaborate with security, compliance, and governance teams to ensure pipelines and databases meet corporate and regulatory requirements
Document data lineage, architecture diagrams, interfaces, and operational runbooks; keep documentation current
Apply and maintain best practices for high availability, disaster recovery, and change management
Evaluate emerging technologies in data engineering, vector search, and graph-based relationships and recommend adoption where appropriate
Recommend and implement process automation to reduce manual database and integration tasks and improve operational efficiency
Support ongoing AI and data modernization strategies by ensuring infrastructure, pipelines, and models are production-ready for next‑generation workloads
Troubleshoot production incidents, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence
Provide guidance, mentoring, and knowledge transfer to operations and development teams to improve reliability and performance
Track and report key operational metrics and continuously drive improvements to meet SLA and business objectives
Collaborate with a variety of people with tact, courtesy, and professionalism
Maintain regular, dependable attendance and a high level of performance
Maintain a high regard for personal safety, the safety of company assets and employees, and the general public
Other daily, weekly, monthly, or special projects may be assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Computer Science, Data Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems or a related discipline, or five years equivalent experience
Minimum of 7 years of experience in database administration or data engineering within complex enterprise environments
Advanced knowledge of administering and optimizing enterprise relational and analytical databases (performance tuning, backup/recovery, replication/clustering, and capacity planning)
Strong technical foundation in SQL, data modeling, and performance optimization
Experience designing or supporting data pipelines that feed AI or advanced analytics platforms
Familiarity with cloud-based data ecosystems and large-scale data orchestration
Must have hands‑on experience with retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG), vectorization/embeddings, and vector stores (or equivalent AI data modeling)
Working understanding of vectorization, embeddings, and retrieval-based AI concepts
Proficiency in one or more scripting or automation languages (e.g., Python, PowerShell)
Must have experience leading vendor-to-internal transitions or similar projects, including planning, knowledge transfer, and operationalizing in‑house support within defined timelines
Proficiency in MS Office applications that may include but are not limited to Excel, Word, SharePoint, PowerPoint, and Outlook
Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license and a driving record satisfactory to the company and its insurers (for travel)
Ability to design, build, and operate scalable batch and streaming data pipelines, connectors, and APIs that reliably serve AI and analytics workloads
Must have strong cloud and infrastructure skills, including infrastructure-as-code and container/orchestration familiarity
Must have demonstrated competency in data governance and security, including metadata, data lineage, IAM, encryption, auditing, and regulatory/compliance alignment
Must have the ability to implement automation, monitoring, and observability (CI/CD, scripting, Prometheus/Grafana or similar) and maintain runbooks to improve reliability and incident response
Strong documentation skills
Must have strong analytical troubleshooting and root‑cause analysis skills to resolve production incidents and drive corrective actions
Must have excellent communication, collaboration, and coordination skills to work cross‑functionally with security, development, and business stakeholders and to mentor peers
Must have effective time management and prioritization skills to handle multiple projects, meet deadlines and deliverables
Must be able to work with a team, take direction from management, adhere to required work schedules, and follow company policies
Preferred
Experience integrating enterprise systems such as ERP or document repositories into data platforms
Knowledge of data governance frameworks and regulatory compliance related to data access and storage
Understanding of semantic data modeling, graph relationships, or AI-driven retrieval architectures
Experience modernizing or migrating traditional database workloads to cloud environments
Benefits
Industry competitive pay
Health insurance package options that include Flexible Spending & Health Savings Accounts
Infertility Coverage
Parental Leave
401(k) with up to a 6% match that vests immediately plus an employer discretionary contribution of up to 4%
Wellness Programs and Mental Health Resources
Employer-paid life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage
Critical Illness & Accident Insurance
Vacation, sick days, paid caregiver leave, volunteer and bereavement paid time off
Identity theft protection
Annual discretionary bonus
Generous Tuition Reimbursement Program
Company-paid holidays and floating holidays
Company vehicle (if applicable)
Employee discounts; vehicles, tires, cellular plans, and more
Networking and employee engagement events
Personal development to grow your career with us based on your strengths and interests
Company
Tallgrass
Tallgrass is a leading energy infrastructure company focused on safely and reliably delivering energy.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Public CompanyTotal Funding
$2.74BKey Investors
CPP InvestmentsBlackstone Group
2024-08-13Private Equity· $843M
2024-07-10Secondary Market· $1.1B
2024-01-17Debt Financing· $800M
Leadership Team
Sally Sun
SVP, International Business Developmet
Recent News
2025-11-11
EIN Presswire
2025-09-02
Company data provided by crunchbase