Senior Data Engineer - RAG & Snowflake Cortex
Work Model: Remote (United States)
Job Type: Full-time
Category: Data Engineering / AI Systems
Job Summary
We are seeking a highly technical, hands-on Senior Data Engineer to architect, build, and scale chat-with-data capabilities for an enterprise-grade, customer-facing platform. The ideal candidate has deep experience with production-ready Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, Snowflake Cortex, vectorization techniques, and reliability frameworks that ensure trustworthy, explainable AI responses across structured and unstructured data environments. This is a fully remote U.S.-based role.
Key Responsibilities
· Develop and scale RAG-based workflows powering chat-with-data and conversational analytics experiences.
· Build and operationalize Snowflake Cortex Agents, Analysts, and Search solutions.
· Design ingestion, preprocessing, embedding, and vector search pipelines supporting large-scale datasets.
· Implement guardrails, evaluation metrics, and automated testing frameworks for trustworthy AI.
· Optimize performance across embedding models, vector indexes, and LLM inference layers.
· Ensure secure handling, governance, and monitoring of structured and unstructured data assets.
· Collaborate with cross-functional engineering, ML, and product teams to deliver scalable AI-driven capabilities.
· Drive continuous improvement in retrieval quality, latency, observability, and failure handling.
Required Skills & Qualifications
· Hands-on expertise with RAG architectures, embedding models, chunking, and retrieval optimization.
· Strong experience with Snowflake Cortex (Agents, Analysts, Search, vector functions).
· Proficiency in Python and SQL with experience building scalable data pipelines.
· Solid knowledge of vector databases and indexing strategies.
· Experience with unstructured data processing and document intelligence workflows.
· Familiarity with LLM orchestration tools (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, Guardrails).
· Experience building testing, observability, reliability, and guardrail frameworks for AI systems.
· Strong system design, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Compensation (U.S.)
The annual salary range for this position is $110,000 - $120,000 USD, depending on experience, technical depth, and geographic considerations. This position may also qualify for annual performance bonuses and discretionary incentive programs aligned with company policy.
Benefits (U.S.)
· Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
· Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
· 401(k) retirement savings plan with company match
· Paid time off (PTO), paid holidays, and wellness days
· Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability insurance
· Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with mental health support
· Professional development, certification reimbursement, and learning resources
· Remote work flexibility with home office support
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
