Data Engineer II - QuantumBlack, AI McKinsey; Critical Industries

Do you want to do work that matters, alongside supportive leaders who will help you grow faster than you ever thought possible? Are you a creative problem‑solver who is energized by challenges? You've come to the right place.

As a Data Engineer II, you will design, build, and optimize modern data platforms that power advanced analytics and AI solutions.

You’ll collaborate with clients and interdisciplinary teams to architect scalable pipelines, manage secure and compliant data environments, and unlock the value of complex datasets across industries. You’ll sharpen your expertise by working on innovative projects, contributing to R&D, and learning from top‑tier talent in a dynamic, global environment.

Your work will drive lasting impact. By ensuring data is accurate, accessible, and production‑ready, you’ll enable clients to accelerate digital transformations, adopt AI responsibly, and achieve measurable business outcomes.

• Develop a streaming data platform to integrate telemetry for predictive maintenance in aerospace systems
• Implement secure data pipelines that reduce time‑to‑insight for a Fortune 500 utility company
• Optimize large‑scale batch and streaming workflows for a global financial services client, cutting infrastructure costs while improving performance.
• Develop pipelines for embeddings and vector databases to enable retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) for a global defense client.

You’ll work in cross‑functional Agile teams with Data Scientists, Machine Learning Engineers, Designers, and domain experts to deliver high‑quality analytics solutions. Partnering closely with clients—from data owners to C‑level executives—you’ll shape data ecosystems that drive innovation and long‑term resilience.

In addition to critical industries such as Government, Defense, Aerospace, Utilities, Oil and Gas, you will also have the ability to serve other industries.

We foster a high‑performance culture that rewards determination, curiosity, and resilience. In return for your drive, we provide resources, mentorship, and opportunities that accelerate your development into a stronger leader.

You will experience continuous learning, a voice that matters, a global community, and world‑class benefits in a structured, feedback‑rich environment.

• U.S. Citizenship is required for this role (you must be able to be staffed on Critical Industries work which includes Government, Defense, Aerospace, Utilities, etc.)
• Degree in Computer Science, Business Analytics, Engineering, Mathematics, or related field
• 2+ years of professional experience in data engineering, software engineering, or adjacent technical roles
• Proficiency in Python, Scala, or Java for production‑grade pipelines, with strong skills in SQL and Py Spark
• Hands‑on experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle and modern data storage/warehouse solutions such as Snowflake, Big Query, Redshift, and Delta Lake
• Practical experience with Databricks, AWS Glue, and transformation frameworks like dbt, Dataform, or Databricks Asset Bundles
• Knowledge of distributed systems such as Spark, Dask, Flink and streaming platforms such as Kafka, Kinesis, Pulsar for real‑time and batch processing
• Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools such as Airflow, Dagster, Prefect, CI/CD for data workflows, and infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform, Cloud Formation)
• Understanding of Data Ops principles including pipeline monitoring, testing, and automation, with exposure to observability tools such as Datadog, Prometheus, and Great Expectations
• Exposure to ML platforms such as Databricks, Sage Maker, Vertex AI, MLOps best practices, and GenAI toolkits (Lang Chain, Llama Index, Hugging Face)
• Willingness to travel as required
• Strong communication, time management, and resilience, with the ability to align technical solutions to business value

FOR U.S. APPLICANTS:
McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action 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 applicable law.

FOR NON‑U.S. APPLICANTS:
McKinsey & Company is an Equal Opportunity employer. For additional details regarding our global EEO policy and diversity initiatives, please visit our McKinsey Careers and Diversity & Inclusion sites.