Data Scientist. Data Architect. Data Engineer. With so many professional titles in the Data and Technology space, it can be difficult to distinguish one from another. You may have an interest in Data, but aren’t sure which field you’d like to move into, and as things become more specialized, it adds another layer of education and experience required to make the move.Every one of the titles above has a place and a responsibility along the Data chain. But some may be more well-known than others. In order to wrangle Data, clean and analyze it, or develop programming from it, you need someone to build and maintain the pipeline systems that give Data Scientists a map to follow when collecting, cleaning, and analyzing the data.Though not interchangeable, the Data Scientist and the Data Engineer work together as two halves of a whole on the Data team. One role crafts the roadmap or blueprint for others to follow while the other gathers insights from the data based on specific datasets requested and designed by the Data Engineer.So, let’s look first at what a Data Engineer does and the skillsets required for the role.WHAT IS A DATA ENGINEER?A Data Engineer takes the blueprints from the Data Architect and creates the pipelines. It sounds simple. But it isn’t. A Data pipeline is just like it sounds. It is the process Data goes through from inception to implementation, and the technologies and frameworks involved at an in-depth level which can involve up to 30 different technologies. So, a Data Engineer is responsible for developing, testing, and maintaining the data pipeline. That’s a lot of wrangling, cleaning, and prepping to ensure reliable information is filtered to the Data Scientist. 3 TYPES OF DATA ENGINEER ROLES1. Generalist – This role is often found on small teams, and though this role may understand processes, but not necessarily systems, it’s a good place to begin if you’re a Data Scientist interested in stepping into a Data Engineer role. The focus here is end-to-end collection to processing of Data.2. Pipeline – You’ll find this role conquering more complicated projects on midsize Analytics team. The Pipeline focused Data Engineer is found in medium to larger-size businesses.3. Database – The Database focused engineer is found most often in larger businesses with distributed systems across several databases. These individuals are responsible for implementing what the Data Architect has created, and collecting the information to inform analytics databases.7 SKILLS REQUIRED FOR DATA ENGINEERData Engineers are the ones who keep everything running smoothly. Even if a technology doesn’t necessarily fall within their scope of responsibilities, they should still understand it, and be able to prepare Data for it. This is particularly the case when it comes to Machine Learning. Though it’s more aligned with Data Scientist, a Data Engineer should know enough about it craft algorithms and gather insights.Below are a few more technical skills a Data Engineer should have to be successful in their role.1. Know and understand the right tools for the job2. Technical Skills include:3. Linux4. SQL5. Python6. Kafka, Flink, and Kudu languages for processing frameworks and storage engines, and which tool is best for which task.7. General understanding of distributed systems and how they’re different from traditional systems.The role of the Data Engineer is unique in that how this person thinks depends on what needs to be done. In some cases, you’ll need to think like an engineer, and in other cases, you’ll need to think like a product manager. This is one of the reasons it’s important to have such deep knowledge of systems, processes, and knowing the right tool, and the right person for the job.If you’re looking for your next role in Big Data, Analytics, Software Engineering, or Computer Vision, Harnham may have a role for you. Check out our current vacancies or contact one of our expert consultants to learn more.For our West Coast Team, contact us at (415) 614 – 4999 or email sanfraninfo@harnham.com.For our Mid-West and East Coast teams, contact us at (212) 796-6070 or email newyorkinfo@harnham.com.
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