Principal Data Engineer

About this role:

Wells Fargo is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to modernize the Data Platform supporting Enterprise Risk, Audit, and Finance Technology. This role is responsible for designing and building foundational data infrastructure that enables both AI agents and users to seamlessly access, enrich, and discover multi-modal data at scale.

The position serves as a critical bridge between source systems and AI-driven workloads, ensuring reliability and consistency across multi-agent environments. It will drive the evolution of the platform into an AI-native, semantic data foundation with robust APIs and self-service capabilities, making enterprise data secure, accessible, and optimized for autonomous, long-running AI workflows.

Success in this role requires deep technical acumen, hands-on engineering expertise, strong cross-functional collaboration, and a commitment to modern engineering and AI-driven practices that deliver measurable business impact.

In this role, you will:

• Act as an advisor to leadership to develop or influence applications, network, information security, database, operating systems, or web technologies for highly complex business and technical needs across multiple groups
• Lead the strategy and resolution of highly complex and unique challenges requiring in-depth evaluation across multiple areas or the enterprise, delivering solutions that are long-term, large-scale and require vision, creativity, innovation, advanced analytical and inductive thinking
• Translate advanced technology experience, an in-depth knowledge of the organizations tactical and strategic business objectives, the enterprise technological environment, the organization structure, and strategic technological opportunities and requirements into technical engineering solutions
• Provide vision, direction and expertise to leadership on implementing innovative and significant business solutions
• Maintain knowledge of industry best practices and new technologies and recommends innovations that enhance operations or provide a competitive advantage to the organization
• Strategically engage with all levels of professionals and managers across the enterprise and serve as an expert advisor to leadership

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years of Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education
• 7+ years architecting, designing and leading the delivery of large-scale solutions
• 4+ years' experience presenting technology strategy and concepts to C-level executives and large audiences
• 2+ years' experience delivering cloud ready and cloud native solutions

Desired Qualifications:

• 4 + years of Financial Services industry
• 7+ years' experience with Java/Python/PySpark full stack development
• 2+ years' experience AI utilization and agentic development
• Preferred experience with Google Cloud Compute (GCP) or Microsoft Azure
• Experience with Open Table formats, Trino/Presto
• Experience with building agentic data platforms replacing ETL with autonomous, LLM-driven ingestion agents 
• Experience with designing runtime governance with agents enforcing security, lineage, and data quality at execution 
• Experience with implementing agent observability & audit trails capturing decisions, context, and policy state
• Experience with Wells Fargo application delivery and application management processes and standards
• Experience mentoring others and leading informally in matrixed organizational structures
• Current ability and desire to continue developing solutions personally, "hands on keyboard", for the hardest problems facing the product

Job Expectations:

• Ability to work on-site at approved location listed
• Relocation assistance is not available for this position

Posting End Date: 

*Job posting may come down early due to volume of applicants.

We Value Equal Opportunity

Wells Fargo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other legally protected characteristic.

Employees support our focus on building strong customer relationships balanced with a strong risk mitigating and compliance-driven culture which firmly establishes those disciplines as critical to the success of our customers and company. They are accountable for execution of all applicable risk programs (Credit, Market, Financial Crimes, Operational, Regulatory Compliance), which includes effectively following and adhering to applicable Wells Fargo policies and procedures, appropriately fulfilling risk and compliance obligations, timely and effective escalation and remediation of issues, and making sound risk decisions. There is emphasis on proactive monitoring, governance, risk identification and escalation, as well as making sound risk decisions commensurate with the business unit’s risk appetite and all risk and compliance program requirements.

Candidates applying to job openings posted in Canada: Applications for employment are encouraged from all qualified candidates, including women, persons with disabilities, aboriginal peoples and visible minorities. Accommodation for applicants with disabilities is available upon request in connection with the recruitment process.

Applicants with Disabilities

To request a medical accommodation during the application or interview process, visit Disability Inclusion at Wells Fargo.

Drug and Alcohol Policy

Wells Fargo maintains a drug free workplace.  Please see our Drug and Alcohol Policy to learn more.

Wells Fargo Recruitment and Hiring Requirements:

a. Third-Party recordings are prohibited unless authorized by Wells Fargo.

b. Wells Fargo requires you to directly represent your own experiences during the recruiting and hiring process.