Senior Data Engineer

Collectors is building a data platform that powers analytics, reporting, and AI agents. In this hybrid role in Los Angeles, CA, you will work as a hands-on senior individual contributor, designing and owning reliable platform foundations that go well beyond the warehouse.

What you’ll build and own

• Own key data platform components across ingestion (Hevo, Estuary), the Google BigQuery warehouse, and the dbt transformation layer, delivering scalable, secure pipelines.
• Design, build, and maintain ingestion pipelines with both batch and CDC patterns across operational databases, SaaS applications, and ERP systems.
• Improve end-to-end outcomes for data reliability by implementing testing, monitoring, alerting, and on-call practices so data lands on time and issues are detected before stakeholders notice.
• Implement governance and controls for pipelines and datasets, including access models, auditability, and operational rigor to protect data trust.
• Engineer tooling and services outside the warehouse by building APIs, automated jobs, and internal Python tools that expand what data consumers can do.
• Support agentic analytics by delivering well-modeled, well-governed data that agents and MCP connections can rely on for trustworthy answers.
• Explore what’s next for the warehouse through hands-on POCs on lakehouse patterns, open table formats, and alternative query engines.

How you’ll work

• Contribute to architecture and technical direction by writing design docs and participating in design reviews with senior technical leaders.
• Develop end-to-end workflows with AI coding agents, using tools such as Claude Code and helping refine practices and guardrails for fast, safe, high-quality delivery.
• Partner with analytics engineers, analysts, and stakeholders to understand data needs and turn business requirements into durable platform capabilities.
• Mentor engineers through thoughtful code review, pairing, and knowledge sharing to raise team quality and consistency.

What you bring

• 5+ years building data platforms and pipelines in production, with a history of independently owning and delivering complex initiatives.
• Deep, hands-on experience across the modern data stack, including cloud data warehousing (BigQuery or equivalent), dbt, and modern ingestion tooling, with the ability to weigh build vs. buy trade-offs.
• Strong design thinking for scale, failure modes, and change, with clear communication in writing and in-person.
• Real experience developing with Claude Code or a similar coding agent, treating AI-assisted development as a core engineering workflow.
• A reliability mindset with proven experience implementing testing, observability, and operational practices.
• Governance-aware execution: understanding access controls, auditability, and data-quality safeguards.
• Technical fluency in SQL and Python, comfortable with version control, CI/CD, and testing workflows, and able to explain work to technical and non-technical partners.
• Comfort extending beyond the warehouse, managing serverless compute, storage, and secrets on GCP or AWS.
• Curiosity about where the data stack is heading, including lakehouse patterns and query engines.

Technologies you’ll work with

Hevo, Estuary, Google BigQuery, dbt, Claude Code, Python, SQL, CI/CD, lakehouse patterns, open table formats, MCP, GCP, AWS

Salary and work schedule

$135,549 - $220,067 per year. Compensation varies based on location, job level, experience, and skill set. This role may be eligible for bonuses, commissions, or other compensation; ask your recruiter for details.

This is a hybrid role. If you live within a 1 hour commuting distance to a Collectors office, you will be required to be onsite most of the time.

Benefits

• Health Insurance: Medical, Dental, and Vision for full-time employees
• Additional Benefits: Fertility, commuter, and educational assistance benefits
• 401(K) Matching Plan
• Vacation: Flexible time-off for salaried employees
• Holiday Pay: Ten company paid holidays for regular full-time employees
• Employee Discounts: Discounts on select grading services for approved submissions
• Flexible Hours: Flexible schedules with varying shifts, with accommodations for needs
• Fun Working Environment: Participation in celebrations, holiday events, and team building activities

Interview process and accommodations

• Candidates are requested to have their cameras on during video interviews.
• Certain interview steps may take place by phone.
• Remote or hybrid candidates will also be considered.
• Certain candidates may be asked to participate in an on-site interview during final stages at Collectors’ discretion.
• Occasional accommodations for disability or special needs are available. Email [email protected].
• Your recruiter can clarify expectations and answer questions.

Additional employment-related information

• Collectors uses e-Verify to validate eligibility to work legally in the United States.
• If you suspect job offer fraud, reach out to [email protected].
• Collectors does not ask for personal information such as bank account details, Social Security numbers, or National IDs, and does not request payments to purchase business-related equipment.
• U.S. applicants: see the Privacy Notice for disclosures relating to personal information collected during the application and recruitment process.
• New York residents: Collectors Universe, Inc. uses an automated employment decision tool (Brighthire) to assist in evaluating candidates, which began in September 2026. A summary of the most recent independent bias audit is available from Brighthire.
• To request information about the type of data collected, its source, and retention policy, contact [email protected].