About this role
Pay is based on several factors which vary based on position. These include labor markets and in some instances may include education, work experience and certifications. In addition to your pay, Target cares about and invests in you as a team member, so that you can take care of yourself and your family. Target offers eligible team members and their dependents comprehensive health benefits and programs, which may include medical, vision, dental, life insurance and more, to help you and your family take care of your whole selves. Other benefits for eligible team members include 401(k), employee discount, short term disability, long term disability, paid sick leave, paid national holidays, and paid vacation. Find competitive benefits from financial and education to well-being and beyond at https://corporate.target.com/careers/benefits.
JOIN TARGET AS A PRINCIPAL ENGINEER – DATA PLATFORM
About us:
Working at Target means helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. We bring that vision to life through our values and culture. Learn more about Target here.
The Principal Engineer – Data Platform is responsible for shaping the technical direction of Target’s enterprise data platform. This role operates with broad scope and high impact across data platform engineering, AI/ML infrastructure, and modern data consumption experiences.
You will be a hands-on engineer who designs, builds, and evolves scalable platform capabilities while influencing architectural decisions across teams. Your work will span large-scale data processing, GPU-enabled AI/ML infrastructure on Kubernetes, and emerging GenAI and agentic AI approaches to data access, automation, and insight generation.
Success is defined by technical excellence, system-level thinking, and the ability to turn ambiguity into durable, extensible platform solutions.
About this team:
The Enterprise Data Platform Engineering team builds the foundational capabilities that power data engineering, data analytics, AI/ML, and operational use cases across Target. We are evolving toward a highly automated, self-service, and AI-enabled platform that supports enterprise scale and rapid innovation.
As a Principal Engineer, you will…
- Provide technical leadership and design: Act as a technical authority for the data platform, shaping scalable, secure, and reliable architectures and influencing design decisions across multiple teams.
- Drive platform scalability and reliability: Design and operate large-scale distributed data systems with a focus on performance, cost efficiency, observability, and operational automation across hybrid (cloud and on-prem) infrastructure.
- Lead AI/ML and GPU infrastructure: Architect and evolve Kubernetes-based AI/ML platforms, including GPU-enabled workloads, and ensure strong integration with the broader data and AI / ML Platform.
- Advance agentic AI innovation: Explore and productionize GenAI capabilities for data-centric use cases such as SQL generation, data discovery, troubleshooting, and platform automation, with appropriate guardrails.
- Shape next-generation data consumption: Define modern data access patterns including semantic modeling, visualization, APIs, and seamless integration with data consumers.
- Lead through hands-on engineering and influence: Write production-quality code and infrastructure, mentor through design and review, and partner closely with product and engineering stakeholders.
Core responsibilities of this job are described within this job description. Job duties may change at any time due to business needs.
About you:
- 4-year degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience
- 10+ years of experience building large-scale software, data, or distributed systems
- Deep expertise in distributed data platforms and modern data architectures
- Strong hands-on experience operating data platforms in both cloud and on-prem environments, with a focus on reliability, scalability, and operational excellence
- Proven experience with query engines and query optimization, including performance tuning, cost optimization, and scaling analytical workloads
- Strong background in cloud-native architectures and Kubernetes-based infrastructure
- Hands-on experience with AI/ML infrastructure, including GPU-enabled workloads
- Experience designing high-performing APIs, platform abstractions and self-service data capabilities
- Proven ability to influence technical direction without direct authority
- Passion for emerging technologies and how they are applied to solve real-world data problems
- Strong communication skills and a systems-thinking mindset
- Team player who understands concepts of teamwork and team effectiveness
- Has excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills to convey complex technical solutions clearly to an organization
This position will operate as a Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement based on Target’s needs. A Hybrid/Flex for Your Day work arrangement means the team member’s core role will need to be performed both onsite at the Target HQ MN location the role is assigned to and virtually, depending upon what your role, team and tasks require for that day. Work duties cannot be performed outside of the country of the primary work location, unless otherwise prescribed by Target. Click here if you are curious to learn more about Minnesota.
Benefits Eligibility
Please paste this url into your preferred browser to learn about benefits eligibility for this role: https://tgt.biz/BenefitsForYou_FAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
In compliance with state and federal laws, Target will make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please reach out to [email protected]. Non-accommodation-related requests, such as application follow-ups or technical issues, will not be addressed through this channel.
Application deadline is : 03/26/2026Other facts
About Target
Target is one of the world’s most recognized brands and one of America’s leading retailers. We make Target our guests’ preferred shopping destination by offering outstanding value, inspiration, innovation and an exceptional guest experience that no other retailer can deliver. Target is committed to responsible corporate citizenship, ethical business practices, environmental stewardship and generous community support. Since 1946, we have given 5 percent of our profits back to our communities. Our goal is to work as one team to fulfill our unique brand promise to our guests, wherever and whenever they choose to shop.
For more information, visit corporate.target.com.
Beware of Hiring Scams:
Target will never ask you to submit personal information via a text message for a position. Target will only ask you to apply for positions through corporate.target.com/careers, or Workday, our applicant tracking system.
What you'll do
- The Principal Engineer is responsible for shaping the technical direction of Target’s enterprise data platform, focusing on scalable platform capabilities and influencing architectural decisions. This role involves hands-on engineering, designing large-scale data systems, and leading AI/ML infrastructure efforts.
Ready to join Target?
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