I’m Tom Olson, a Senior Data Engineer with 11+ years of experience building reliable data platforms, distributed processing systems, and production ETL/ELT pipelines.

About

I’m Tom Olson, a Senior Data Engineer with 11+ years of experience building reliable data platforms, distributed processing systems, and production ETL/ELT pipelines. My background includes progressive roles at Apple and Shazam, where I designed both batch and streaming workflows using technologies like Apache Spark, Kafka, Airflow, and Apache Beam—focused on delivering consistent downstream data availability at scale.

I enjoy turning complex data and analytical requirements into maintainable solutions, and I place a strong emphasis on operational reliability. I’ve also led containerized deployments with Docker and Kubernetes, automated infrastructure with Terraform, and improved observability using Prometheus so teams can troubleshoot faster and keep pipelines healthy.

  • 14 years' experience
  • Joined September 2026

Industry experience

  • Computers & Electronics
  • Software & Internet
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Professional Services
  • Financial Services

Work experience· 11 roles

Senior Data Engineer · AppleOct 2021 – Jun 2026 · 4 yrs 9 mos

Designed and developed scalable data engineering pipelines for high-volume workloads using Apache Spark, Kafka, and Airflow. Built batch and streaming, event-driven processing workflows with reliable execution, fault tolerance, and consistent downstream data availability. Implemented reusable Airflow DAGs with dependency management, scheduling, retries, and operational controls. Containerized data services and workloads with Docker and Kubernetes, and automated platform infrastructure with Terraform. Added production monitoring and operational visibility using Prometheus, and supported data access patterns across Redshift, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Redis.

Data Engineer · Data EngineerNov 2018 – Oct 2021 · 3 yrs

Developed scalable data pipelines to ingest and transform application, event, and behavioral data using Kafka, Apache Spark, Hive, and Presto. Built batch processing workflows across distributed datasets, implemented reusable transformation logic, and supported reliable data movement to analytics and engineering consumers. Supported Spark-based processing jobs and large-scale querying with Hive and Presto, and assisted with troubleshooting for Kafka-based ingestion and event-driven workflows.

Data EngineerNov 2018 – Oct 2021 · 3 yrs

Developed scalable data pipelines for ingesting and transforming application, event, and behavioral data. Built batch-processing workflows using Apache Spark, Hive, and Presto, creating reusable transformation logic and efficient data movement patterns for analytics and engineering consumers. Supported Kafka-based ingestion and event-driven data workflows, troubleshooting failures and data-flow issues while maintaining reliable end-to-end movement of data through pipeline components. Collaborated with software and data teams to integrate pipelines with application systems and deliver dependable datasets while meeting performance and operational standards.

Data Engineer · AppleNov 2018 – Oct 2021 · 3 yrs
Data Engineer · ShazamAug 2017 – Nov 2018 · 1 yr 4 mos
Data Engineer · Mar 2016 - Aug 2017Mar 2016 – Aug 2017 · 1 yr 6 mos
Data EngineerMar 2016 – Aug 2017 · 1 yr 6 mos
Data Engineer · ShazamMar 2016 – Aug 2017 · 1 yr 6 mos

Education

Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign2011 – 2014
Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign2011 – 2014
Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering · University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign2011 – 2014

Hire Tom today

Post a job and invite Tom, or contact them directly. No hidden commission.

Post a job