Data Engineer Career in 2026: Roles, Specializations, and What Companies Look for - Slawomir Tulski скачать в хорошем качестве

Data Engineer Career in 2026: Roles, Specializations, and What Companies Look for - Slawomir Tulski

In this talk, Slawomir Tulski, Data Leadership Consultant and former Meta Data Engineering Manager, shares his ten-year journey through the evolution of data systems—from researching glaciers in Poland to scaling the ads ranking infrastructure at one of the world's largest tech giants. We explore the shifting definition of the Data Engineer, the "Actionable Data" philosophy, and how to navigate the 2026 hiring market amidst the rise of AI. You’ll learn about: How to distinguish between Platform DE, Product DE, and Analytics Engineering. Why most teams over-engineer their stacks and how to build "Value-First" instead of "Tool-First." Why being "cloud-cost-conscious" is the most underrated competitive advantage in modern data teams. How to identify "Legacy Traps" and choose a company culture that fosters growth. Why strategic builders will thrive while "DBT Monkeys" and manual triaging roles are at risk of automation. How to frame side projects and end-to-end "Toy Platforms" to stand out to recruiters without a Big Tech pedigree. TIMECODES: 00:00 From Measuring Glaciers to London’s Tech Scene 06:47 Hadoop vs. AI: Lessons from the Original Big Data Hype 11:54 The Data Identity Crisis: Platform vs. Product Engineering 17:29 Tech-Native vs. Tech-by-Necessity Company Cultures 25:33 The Competitive Advantage of Cost-Aware Engineering 30:56 Avoiding Over-Engineered Platforms and Modern Data Stacks 38:01 The Real-Time Myth: When to Use Kafka and Spark 42:08 Breaking into Data Engineering: 2026 Market Reality 51:04 AI Automation: Why Strategic Builders Outlast "DBT Monkeys" 57:35 Portfolio Strategy: Framing Side Projects for Maximum Impact 1:04:42 The Ultimate Portfolio Project: Building End-to-End Platforms 1:07:49 Networking Advice and Local Gdansk Culture This talk is designed for ambitious data professionals including engineers, analysts, and career-switchers who want a pragmatic, "fluff-free" roadmap for surviving and thriving in the 2026 data landscape. It is particularly valuable for hiring managers and senior leaders looking to audit their recruitment processes, as well as those in traditional corporate environments seeking to implement the agile, high-impact engineering cultures found in Big Tech giants like Meta. Connect with Slawomir: Linkedin -   / slawomir-tulski-091611116   Form for DE role Ebook - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA... Connect with DataTalks.Club: Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/... Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub LinkedIn -   / datatalks-club   Twitter -   / datatalksclub   Website - https://datatalks.club/ Connect with Alexey Twitter -   / al_grigor   Linkedin -   / agrigorev   Check our free online courses: ML Engineering course - http://mlzoomcamp.com Data Engineering course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/data... MLOps course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/mlop... LLM course - https://github.com/DataTalksClub/llm-... Open-source LLM course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/open... AI Dev Tools course: https://github.com/DataTalksClub/ai-d... 👉🏼 Read about all our courses in one place - https://datatalks.club/blog/guide-to-... 👋🏼 Support/inquiries If you want to support our community, use this link - https://github.com/sponsors/alexeygri... If you’re a company, reach us at alexey@datatalks.club #dataengineering #dataleadership #metatech #bigdata #modernstack #analyticsengineering #careeradvice #techhiring2026 #aiimpact #dataarchitecture #cloudcosts #platformengineering #dataregistry #softwareengineering #metaads #dataengineercareer #techstrategy #gdansktech #failfast #datatalksclub