Principal Data Engineer at Dragos
$225,000from the description
Jul 20, 2026
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Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A principal-level data engineering role focused on redesigning and modernizing core data pipelines — including real-time processing and cloud/on-premises deployments — within a cybersecurity company protecting industrial and critical infrastructure networks. The work centers on building scalable, governed data systems that surface indicators of compromise on operational technology assets, collaborating across product and engineering teams. Suits a seasoned data engineer with a background in cybersecurity or industrial data environments.
Senior level · 10+ years · Remote · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 290 people nationally plausibly meet what this posting asks for (database architects). range 60–430
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $142,568 (middle half $111,775–$173,013). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (9)
The title is 'Principal Data Engineer' but the requirements (10+ years, cross-functional scope within a matrix org, no explicit org-wide technical authority) are consistent with a Senior-level role on a normal career ladder. 'Principal' here reads as a title convention rather than a true top-of-ladder, org-wide authority position.
The SOC is a close call between 15-1243 (Database/Data Architects — pipeline design, data modeling, data contracts, observability frameworks) and 15-1252 (Software Developers — Rust/Go/Python software development, real-time processing, Kubernetes deployments). The role's primary emphasis on data architecture, modeling, and pipeline design tips it to 15-1243, but the software development requirements are substantial.
The software language requirement lists 'Rust, Go, JVM-family, Python, and/or Node.js' as a group with 'and/or' — the JD gates on proficiency in at least one of these. Rust and Go are emitted as separate skills with the others as alternatives to reflect the most commonly demanded options; the JVM family (Java/Kotlin/Scala) is captured implicitly under the alternatives framing.
Compensation is stated as a single salary figure ($225,000) with no range; min and max are set to the same value.
The posting mentions a competitive equity package and comprehensive benefits but provides no further compensation detail.
'Cybersecurity experience' appears as a standalone minimum qualification — it is a hard gate on domain familiarity, not a named tool, but is included as a skill given its explicit gating role in this security-focused role.
ICS/OT and threat intelligence appear under 'especially relevant if' framing in the minimum qualifications block — treated as preferred given the conditional language, even though the surrounding section is otherwise required.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): data pipeline design.
Caller marked this a fully-remote role — scored against the national candidate pool.
Read the full posting
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