The data engineering lifecycle is a method for overseeing data engineering processes, including data acquisition, integration, storage, processing, and analysis. This lifecycle aims to consistently deliver high-quality data sets that can aid in business decision-making. Understanding the lifecycle helps stakeholders better collaborate with data engineers to deliver outstanding data products. Data engineers face two major challenges: communication and holistic thinking. Effective communication ensures that data engineers understand what data is needed, while holistic thinking considers the big picture and maintaining quality throughout the pipeline. The lifecycle stages include generation, ingestion, transformation, and serving, each with its unique challenges and requirements. Six foundational concepts flow across these stages, including security, data management, DataOps, data architecture, orchestration, and software engineering. Ultimately, data engineering is not a mystical art but a mechanism that enables data science to produce insights, requiring collaboration between stakeholders and engineers.