Currently Engaged — Considering Select Future Opportunities

Ken Whiteside

AI-Augmented Data Engineering

I help data teams work 10x faster by integrating AI into every step — from Jira ticket to production deployment. 30+ years in data. Snowflake. CI/CD. The future of how work gets done.

Ken Whiteside — Principal Data Engineer
30+Years in Data
60%Cycle Time Reduction
4Industries

The Short Version

I've spent 30 years building data systems — from SQL Server 6.0 in 1996 to Snowflake + AI-automated pipelines today.

Currently a Principal Data Engineer at a leading fintech, where I've transformed how our team works by integrating AI into every phase of the software development lifecycle. The result: tickets that took days now take hours. Processes that required 3 hours of manual work get done in 30 minutes. Deployments that used to need tribal knowledge now flow through documented, automated CI/CD pipelines.

I'm not an AI researcher. I'm a practitioner who makes AI work in the real world — in regulated industries, with production data, through established change management processes. And I teach others to do the same.

Snowflake

SnowPro Certified. DDL, stored procedures, Streamlit, ELT patterns. Led migration of hundreds of objects from SQL Server.

AI Integration

End-to-end AI workflows using Kiro & Claude. Jira → Code → Test → Deploy, fully AI-augmented with human validation gates.

CI/CD

GitLab pipeline architecture across Snowflake and Talend platforms. Versioned migrations, merge request workflows, automated deployment.

Team Enablement

Mentoring teams on AI adoption. Training sessions, mindset coaching, and building repeatable patterns others can follow.

What I Do

01

AI Workflow Transformation

Take your existing development process — Jira tickets, code reviews, testing, deployment — and integrate AI at every step. Reduce cycle times by 50-70% while maintaining quality and compliance.

  • AI-augmented development lifecycle design
  • Prompt engineering patterns for data teams
  • Human-in-the-loop validation frameworks
  • Tool selection and integration (Kiro, Claude, etc.)
02

Snowflake & Data Platform Engineering

Design, build, and optimize Snowflake environments. Migrate from legacy platforms. Implement modern ELT patterns that scale.

  • SQL Server → Snowflake migration
  • ELT/ETL architecture (Talend, SSIS, native)
  • Stored procedures, Streamlit apps, data modeling
  • Performance optimization and cost management
03

CI/CD Pipeline Architecture

Build automated deployment pipelines for data artifacts — Snowflake migrations, Talend packages, and everything in between. From Git to production with proper gates.

  • GitLab CI/CD for Snowflake (versioned migrations)
  • Cross-platform deployment patterns
  • Environment promotion (DEV → UAT → PROD)
  • Merge request workflows and gating
04

AI Adoption & Team Coaching

Help your team shift their mindset and adopt AI-augmented practices. Not a one-day workshop — embedded coaching that creates lasting change.

  • 1:1 and team coaching on AI tools
  • Mindset transformation for experienced engineers
  • Pattern documentation and playbooks
  • 6-18 month embedded engagements

What This Looks Like in Practice

3 hrs → 30 min

Emergency ETL Build

A teammate estimated 3 hours to create error handling, audit logging, and orchestration for a Talend ETL process. Using AI, I completed all three tasks and the deployment plan in 30 minutes. Ran in UAT — worked on first execution.

Zero Training

Cross-Team CI/CD Deployment

During an emergency, deployed through an unfamiliar team's CI/CD pipeline with no prior training. Used AI + steering documentation to generate the required Python and YAML configuration files. Merged to production successfully on the first attempt.

60%+ Faster

Ticket-to-Production Automation

Implemented end-to-end AI-augmented workflow: Jira ticket analysis → code generation → automated test case creation → CR documentation → GitLab CI/CD deployment. Tickets that took days now complete in hours.

12 FTE → 1

National Support System

Implemented and maintained a national support system solo that had an equivalent 12-person offshore support team. Reduced delivery cycles from 6 months to 1 month through rapid application development.

Experience

2024 – Present

Principal Data Engineer

GreenSky

AI-augmented development workflows, CI/CD pipeline architecture, Snowflake Streamlit, cross-team leadership, AI mentoring. Retained at senior IC level following Goldman Sachs divestiture.

2017 – 2024

Sr. SQL Developer (VP)

GreenSky / Goldman Sachs

Promoted to Vice President. Led SQL Server → Snowflake migration (hundreds of objects). Converted Credit Bureau Reporting (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). Talend enterprise integration.

2016 – 2017

Sr. SQL Developer / BI Architect

USAN, Inc.

Cloud BI on AWS/Exasol. Multi-tenant SaaS security. Near-real-time ETL. Exasol certified.

2007 – 2015

SQL BI Developer / DW Architect

AT&T (8 years, multiple contracts)

National support systems, $250K savings through automation, 12 FTE → 1 FTE. Teradata, Oracle, DB2, SQL Server.

2005 – 2010

BI Developer / Lead ETL / DBA

CDC, BearingPoint, Cap Gemini

Data warehouse lifecycle. Mainframe migrations. GA Retirement System (66 agencies). Performance tuning.

1988 – 2005

IT Director / DBA / Systems Analyst / Owner

LDC Direct, Jacada, San Joaquin Public Health, Auto Magic

IT leadership, staff management, software product development, public health systems, SQL Server from v6.0.

SnowPro Core Certified
MCITP DBA
MCTS SQL 2005
MCDBA
MCSE

Thoughts on AI & Data

Part 1 — July 2026

I Asked AI to Write SQL After 30 Years of Doing It Myself

I know what "early" feels like. Novell replacing the VAX room. SQL Server on command line. Now AI. But this time, being early is humbling in a way I didn't expect.

Read More →
Part 2 — July 2026

AI Broke My Code. Then I Learned to Coach It.

AI "optimized" a working stored procedure and the results went wrong. Here's the framework that prevents it from happening again...

Read More →
Part 3 — July 2026

The Hardest Part of Using AI Isn't the Tech — It's Your Own Brain

After 30 years of doing things by hand, muscle memory is your biggest obstacle. The daily discipline that changes everything...

Read More →
See All Posts →

Let's Talk

I'm available for contract engagements (6-18 months) and select full-time opportunities. If you're looking to transform how your data team works with AI, or need senior Snowflake/data engineering expertise, let's have a conversation.

Contract Engagements

AI workflow transformation, Snowflake architecture, CI/CD pipeline design, team coaching. Corp-to-corp. Remote preferred.

Full-Time Opportunities

Open to the right role — where I can drive AI adoption, have autonomy, and make a measurable impact. Remote or Atlanta-area hybrid.

Based in Lilburn, Georgia (Atlanta metro). Available for remote work nationwide.