SQL for Data Engineering

SQL for Data Engineering - ETL, Warehousing, Cloud Platforms & AI Workflows

Most SQL books teach you to write queries. This one teaches you to build systems.

If you know basic SQL but struggle to apply it in production environments, or you are preparing for data engineering interviews and want experience beyond simple SELECT statements, this book was written for you.

SQL for Data Engineering bridges the gap between tutorial SQL and the skills that data engineering roles actually demand — ETL pipelines, warehouse design, query optimization, and the architectural thinking that separates engineers who build reliable data systems from those who only query them.

What you will learn:

• Advanced querying — joins, CTEs, subqueries, window functions, and analytical SQL patterns
• Data transformation — cleaning, standardisation, safe casting, and deduplication techniques
• ETL architecture — incremental loading, staging patterns, Slowly Changing Dimensions, and idempotent pipeline design
• Warehouse design — star schemas, dimensional modelling, partitioning, indexing, and materialised views
• Performance optimisation — EXPLAIN ANALYZE, execution plans, query tuning, and production-grade optimisation
• Semi-structured data — JSON and JSONB processing, schema drift handling, and event pipeline patterns
• Cloud platforms — Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, and Databricks with practical SQL for each
• AI workflows — prompt engineering for SQL tasks, AI-assisted debugging, and the risks of generated code

Four industry projects you will build:

• E-Commerce Analytics Warehouse
• SaaS Subscription Metrics Platform
• Banking Transaction Fraud Monitoring System
• Food Delivery ETL and Operations Pipeline

Each project covers a realistic business problem, complete ETL pipeline, warehouse schema, KPI queries, and interview preparation — designed to go directly into your portfolio.

You also get:

• Integrated interview Q&A in every chapter drawn from real hiring panels
• Resume bullet points after every chapter and project
• A complete career roadmap for aspiring data engineers
• Appendices covering SQL functions, data types, troubleshooting, glossary, and a tool landscape guide