Snowflake Data Engineer

Job Title: Snowflake Data Engineer

Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada

Job Description:

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Snowflake Data Engineer with strong expertise in cloud-based data warehousing, data engineering, ETL/ELT development, and SQL programming. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining scalable data pipelines and modern data warehouse solutions using Snowflake and cloud technologies.

The candidate should have hands-on experience with Snowflake architecture, data ingestion, data transformation, performance optimization, and integration with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable data pipelines and data warehouse solutions using Snowflake.
• Develop complex SQL queries, stored procedures, functions, views, and performance-optimized database objects.
• Build and maintain ETL/ELT pipelines for extracting, transforming, and loading data from multiple sources into Snowflake.
• Implement data ingestion processes using Snowflake Snowpipe, Snowpipe Streaming, COPY INTO, and external stages.
• Work with Snowflake features such as Virtual Warehouses, Time Travel, Zero-Copy Cloning, Streams, Tasks, and Dynamic Tables.
• Develop data transformation workflows using SQL, Python, and Snowpark.
• Integrate Snowflake with cloud storage services such as AWS S3, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Google Cloud Storage.
• Implement data modeling techniques, including Star Schema, Snowflake Schema, Fact and Dimension modeling.
• Optimize Snowflake queries, warehouse utilization, clustering, and resource consumption to improve performance and reduce costs.
• Implement data security, role-based access control (RBAC), masking policies, row access policies, and data governance standards.
• Develop automated data quality checks, validation processes, and error-handling mechanisms to ensure data accuracy and consistency.
• Collaborate with data architects, business analysts, data scientists, and application teams to understand data requirements.
• Monitor data pipelines, troubleshoot production issues, and ensure data availability and reliability.
• Participate in code reviews, technical design discussions, and Agile/Scrum development activities.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong hands-on experience with Snowflake Data Cloud and Snowflake architecture.
• Excellent SQL programming skills, including complex queries, joins, CTEs, window functions, and stored procedures.
• Experience developing ETL/ELT pipelines and data integration solutions.
• Strong experience with Python programming and Snowpark.
• Knowledge of Snowflake components such as:
• Virtual Warehouses
• Snowpipe and Snowpipe Streaming
• Streams and Tasks
• Time Travel and Zero-Copy Cloning
• Stages and File Formats
• Dynamic Tables
• Secure Views and Materialized Views
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Experience with cloud storage services such as AWS S3, Azure Data Lake, or Google Cloud Storage.
• Strong understanding of data warehousing concepts, data modeling, and database design.
• Experience with Git, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or other CI/CD tools.
• Knowledge of data security, governance, access management, and performance tuning.

Preferred / Nice-to-Have Skills

• Experience with ETL tools such as Informatica, Matillion, Fivetran, dbt, Talend, or Azure Data Factory.
• Experience with Apache Spark, PySpark, Databricks, or Apache Airflow.
• Knowledge of Kafka and real-time data ingestion.
• Experience with data lakehouse architecture and big data technologies.
• Familiarity with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
• Experience with BI tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker.
• SnowPro Core or SnowPro Advanced certification.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in Data Engineering, Data Warehousing, or ETL development.
• 4+ years of hands-on experience with Snowflake.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple technical deliverables.

Key Skills

Mandatory Skills:

• Snowflake
• SQL
• Python
• ETL/ELT
• Data Warehousing
• Data Pipeline Development

Good-to-Have Skills:

• AWS S3 / Azure Data Lake / GCP
• Snowpipe
• Snowpark
• dbt
• Apache Airflow
• PySpark
• Kafka
• Data Modeling
• CI/CD