Senior Data Platform Engineer
Salary$130k – $165k
LocationDenver, CO, 80205; Minneapolis, MN, 55401; Eau Claire Skypark; 790 Buchanan
Work modehybrid
Typefull-time
SenioritySenior
Experience10+ yrs
DepartmentEngineering
Company size10,000+ people
PostedOct 7, 2026 · 6d ago
Verified live1d ago
At a glanceSummarised by Seekless from the posting.
Ten years of related functional experience
Bachelor's degree in Technology, Science, Business or related field, or 4 years of experience equivalent to the position
Excellent communication skills, effective with varying organizational levels and skill set, and able to translate between technical and non-technical concepts
Excellent Relationship Management and collaboration skills, with a track record of working as one team cross-organizationally to drive innovation and business results
Expertise managing the lifecycle of technical solutions
Deep Subject Matter Expertise within the respective system domain products, platforms, processes and architecture
Broad and deep knowledge of technology architecture, infrastructure, network, security and software principles and models
Experience working in partnership with internal and external vendors
Excellent analytical, problem-solving and troubleshooting skills
Extensive knowledge of future technology trends within area of expertise
Demonstrated leadership on technical aspects of large scale projects
Experience coaching other developers in system deployment or operational troubleshooting
Experience with delivery methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, Scrum) and operational models (ITIL)
Experience and understanding of core IT Service Management functions, such as Change Management and Incident Management
Five or more years of hands-on experience administering and supporting the Databricks Lakehouse Platform in AWS and/or GCP environments
Experience with AWS and GCP cloud services, including IAM roles and policies, service accounts, networking, storage, security integration, and resource governance
Experience administering Unity Catalog and enterprise identity, access, security, and data governance controls
Experience developing and supporting scalable data ingestion solutions using Databricks Lakeflow, ZeroBus, and other Databricks-native ingestion capabilities
Experience integrating Databricks with external applications, BI tools, databases, data warehouses, data lakes, ingestion platforms, and ETL/ELT technologies
Experience with Databricks Lakebase, including connectivity, security, administration, and application integration
Experience designing and supporting Lakehouse Federation and secure federated data access across platforms and data sources
Experience configuring, deploying, and maintaining Databricks workspaces, clusters, and associated cloud resources using infrastructure as code, preferably Terraform
Strong working knowledge of SQL, Python, Apache Spark, GitLab CI/CD pipelines, MLOps, and Databricks Asset Bundles
Experience monitoring and optimizing Databricks performance, reliability, scalability, security, compliance, and cloud costs
Experience managing platform releases, upgrades, backup strategies, and disaster recovery capabilities
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with data engineering, data science, BI, infrastructure, architecture, security, operations, and business teams to deliver enterprise Databricks solutions
Experience in the utility or energy industry is a plus
Skills
Databricks Lakehouse Platform
AWS
GCP
Unity Catalog
Databricks Lakeflow
ZeroBus
Databricks Lakebase
Lakehouse Federation
Terraform
SQL
Python
Apache Spark
GitLab CI/CD
MLOps
Databricks Asset Bundles
Benefits
Annual incentive program
Medical/pharmacy plan
Dental
Vision
Life insurance
Dependent care reimbursement account
Health care reimbursement account
Health savings account (hsa)
Limited purpose FSA
Transportation reimbursement account
Short term disability (std)
Long term disability (ltd)
Employee assistance program (eap)
Fitness center reimbursement
Tuition reimbursement
Transit programs
Employee recognition program
Pension
401(k) plan
Paid time off (pto)
Holidays
Volunteer paid time off (vpto)
Parental leave
About the company
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider and Fortune 500 company, dedicated to serving millions of electricity and natural gas customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico and Texas. We make energy work better for our customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar - delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy.
Xcel Energy is a place where you’ll have opportunities to grow, expand your skills, and help lead the clean energy transition. We offer meaningful rewards, recognition, and support to help you build your career and make an impact - both on the job and beyond. Most importantly, it means you’ll be joining a company that knows employees are the driving force behind its success and is committed to helping you be your best.
Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model to enable collaboration and flexibility. Many roles are expected to work onsite three days per week (Tuesday–Thursday); however, work location expectations vary based on role, team, and business needs.
Position Summary
This senior Data Platform Engineer is responsible for the design, administration, security, governance, and support of Xcel Energy’s enterprise Databricks Lakehouse Platform across AWS and GCP. This role provides technical leadership for cloud-based data platform services, including platform operations, Unity Catalog, identity and access management, automation, monitoring, disaster recovery, and cost optimization. Working across data engineering, infrastructure, architecture, security, and business teams, the engineer ensures the platform is scalable, reliable, secure, and capable of supporting enterprise analytics, reporting, and AI/ML initiatives.
Essential Responsibilities
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Solution Delivery: Lead and support solution lifecycle technical activities. Ensure solutions are designed for great user experience and operational performance. Lead design, ensuring Enterprise Architecture, Security, Audit, Operations and Compliance aspects are continuously integrated into solutions. Provide input to cost and schedule estimation. Responsible for overall integrity of system design and operation.
•
Relationship Management: Conduct peer reviews and approve system changes and technical solution design. Coach and mentor less experience team members. Partner cross-organizationally to drive minimal costs on optimal solutions. Provide in-depth technical information to stakeholders as needed.
•
Strategy & Planning: Innovate through usage of industry emerging capabilities and evolving customer needs. Provide input to strategic roadmap and technical dependencies.
•
Subject Matter Expertise: Continuously stay current on, and apply, technical industry knowledge pertaining to the respective domain
•
Operations: Review solution performance and continually assess health of systems. Track and drive awareness to operational and technical debt risks. Provide escalated support to incident and problem management with vendors and internal teams. Utilize analytics to improve availability, reliability, efficiency, and capacity.
Minimum Requirements
•
Ten years of related functional experience.
•
Bachelor’s degree in Technology, Science, Business or related field, or 4 years of experience equivalent to the position.
•
Excellent communication skills, effective with varying organizational levels and skill set, and able to translate between technical and non-technical concepts.
•
Excellent Relationship Management and collaboration skills, with a track record of working as one team cross-organizationally to drive inovation and business results.
•
Expertise managing the lifecycle of technical solutions.
•
Deep Subject Matter Expertise within the respective system domain products, platforms, processes and architecture.
•
Broad and deep knowledge of technology architecture, infrastructure, network, security and software principles and models.
•
Experience working in partnership with internal and external vendors.
•
Excellent analytical, problem-solving and troubleshooting skills.
•
Extensive knowledge of future technology trends within area of expertise. Demonstrated leadership on technical aspects of large scale projects.
•
Experience coaching other developers in system deployment or operational troubleshooting.
•
Experience with delivery methodologies (Waterfall, Agile, Scrum) and operational models (ITIL).
•
Experience and understanding of core IT Service Management functions, such as Change Management and Incident Management.
Preferred Requirements
•
Five or more years of hands-on experience administering and supporting the Databricks Lakehouse Platform in AWS and/or GCP environments.
•
Experience with AWS and GCP cloud services, including IAM roles and policies, service accounts, networking, storage, security integration, and resource governance.
•
Experience administering Unity Catalog and enterprise identity, access, security, and data governance controls.
•
Experience developing and supporting scalable data ingestion solutions using Databricks Lakeflow, ZeroBus, and other Databricks-native ingestion capabilities.
•
Experience integrating Databricks with external applications, BI tools, databases, data warehouses, data lakes, ingestion platforms, and ETL/ELT technologies.
•
Experience with Databricks Lakebase, including connectivity, security, administration, and application integration.
•
Experience designing and supporting Lakehouse Federation and secure federated data access across platforms and data sources.
•
Experience configuring, deploying, and maintaining Databricks workspaces, clusters, and associated cloud resources using infrastructure as code, preferably Terraform.
•
Strong working knowledge of SQL, Python, Apache Spark, GitLab CI/CD pipelines, MLOps, and Databricks Asset Bundles.
•
Experience monitoring and optimizing Databricks performance, reliability, scalability, security, compliance, and cloud costs.
•
Experience managing platform releases, upgrades, backup strategies, and disaster recovery capabilities.
•
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with data engineering, data science, BI, infrastructure, architecture, security, operations, and business teams to deliver enterprise Databricks solutions.
•
Experience in the utility or energy industry is a plus.
Our culture is grounded in shared values and employee commitments that guide how we work, support one another, and grow together.
Our Values
Connected, Committed, Trustworthy, Safe
Our Employee Commitments
•
Work that makes a difference
•
A team you can count of
•
Opportunities to grow
•
Rewards that help you thrive
Legal
Xcel Energy provides job applicants reasonable accommodations for disabilities throughout the application process. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form.
Benefits
Non-BargainingThe anticipated starting base pay for this position is: $130,000.00 to $165,000.00 per yearThis position is eligible for the following benefits: Annual Incentive Program, Medical/Pharmacy Plan, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, Health Care Reimbursement Account, Health Savings Account (HSA) (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Limited-Purpose FSA (if enrolled in eligible health plan and HSA), Transportation Reimbursement Account, Short-term disability (STD), Long-term disability (LTD), Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Fitness Center Reimbursement (if enrolled in eligible health plan), Tuition reimbursement, Transit programs, Employee recognition program, Pension, 401(k) plan, Paid time off (PTO), Holidays, Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO), Parental Leave
Benefit plans are subject to change and Xcel Energy has the right to end, suspend, or amend any of its plans, at any time, in whole or in part.
In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information including but not limited to dates of school attendance and graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.
Deadline to Apply: 10/20/26
EEO is the Law (PDF) | Equal Opportunity Statement (PDF) | Employee Rights (PDF)
All Xcel Energy employees and contractors share responsibility for protecting the company’s information and systems by adhering to cybersecurity policies, standards, and best practices, recognizing that cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.
Accessibility Statement
Xcel Energy endeavors to make https://www.xcelenergy.com and https://jobs.xcelenergy.com accessible to any and all users. If you are in need of an accommodation to complete the application process, now or at any time in the future, please complete the Applicant Accommodation Request Form. For any other application related questions, including application follow-ups or technical issues, please use our Recruiting Assistance, Electra, for assistance. Electra can be found in the lower right-hand corner of our Xcel Energy Careers site.