Software/Data Engineer - Spark, AWS EMR & AI

We are seeking an experienced Software/Data Engineer to design and deliver scalable data processing systems and AI-enabled workflows. This contract role sits at the intersection of software engineering and data engineering, with a strong focus on Spark, cloud-based distributed processing, production reliability, and data preparation for analytics and machine learning use cases. Key Responsibilities - Design and develop scalable data processing solutions using Spark and Amazon EMR or comparable cloud-based data processing platforms. - Build and maintain batch and distributed data pipelines. - Develop software components for data transformation, feature preparation, and AI or machine learning workflow integration. - Collaborate with engineering, AI, and product teams to operationalize data-driven and model-enabled use cases. - Optimize data pipeline performance, cost efficiency, scalability, and production reliability. - Troubleshoot data and application issues across development and production environments. - Contribute to architecture discussions, technical documentation, and engineering standards. - Ensure solutions align with data quality, governance, and security expectations. Must-Have Skills - 4+ years of software engineering or data engineering experience. - Strong experience with Spark and distributed data processing. - Experience with Amazon EMR or similar cloud-based data processing platforms. - Proficiency in Java, Python, or a related programming language. - Exposure to AI or machine learning workflows, model integration, or data preparation for intelligent systems. - Strong understanding of scalable data architecture and performance optimization. - Strong debugging and collaboration skills. - Comfortable delivering in evolving, data-intensive environments. - Ability to bridge software engineering and data engineering responsibilities. - Strong execution focus with practical architecture judgment. Nice-to-Have Skills - Experience with Kafka, Airflow, data lakes, or data warehouse ecosystems. - Familiarity with MLOps, feature stores, or AI platform integration. - Experience with AWS-native services and observability tooling. - Enterprise experience strongly preferred. Required Tools & Platforms - Apache Spark. - Amazon EMR or a comparable cloud-based distributed data processing platform. - Java, Python, or a related programming language. Location, Time & Engagement - Remote contract role. - Candidates must be located in LATAM, excluding Mexico. - U.S. Central Time coverage is required. - Full-time allocation of approximately 40 hours per week. - Current contract end date is March 31, 2027.