Sr./Staff Data Engineer

Firework seeks a Senior/Staff Data Engineer to design and scale data infrastructure that powers event ingestion, stream processing, warehousing, and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement backend and machine learning data infrastructure, including event-based data ingestion, stream processing, data warehousing, data pipelines, visualization, analytics, and applications
• Build analytics tools that leverage the data pipeline to deliver actionable insights across customer acquisition, operational efficiency, and other key business performance metrics
• Develop and maintain distributed data pipelines for ETL, feature engineering, and model running
• Create data tools that support the analytics and data science teams in building and optimizing product capabilities
• Keep data separated and secure across national boundaries using multiple data centers and AWS regions
• Collaborate with data and analytics experts to improve end-to-end data processing functionality
• Troubleshoot and diagnose issues across pipelines, perform performance benchmarking and load balancing, and conduct code reviews
• Mentor data engineers by providing technical guidance, sharing best practices, and supporting professional development

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience in data engineering, software engineering, or a closely related field
• Significant experience designing and maintaining production data or machine learning systems
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL, including advanced querying, data transformations, and performance optimization
• Experience building and maintaining large-scale ETL/ELT pipelines and distributed data processing systems
• Hands-on experience with modern data warehousing technologies such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or open table formats such as Iceberg
• Experience with data processing frameworks such as Apache Spark, Flink, or equivalent technologies
• Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow, Dagster, or Prefect
• Cloud infrastructure experience, preferably AWS or GCP
• Strong understanding of data modeling, database design, and data architecture principles
• Experience implementing data quality, monitoring, and reliability practices in production environments
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to independently drive complex technical projects
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non-technical teams
• Leadership potential and interest in growing into a people management role, including mentoring engineers, building teams, and driving technical strategy

Technologies

• Python
• SQL
• Snowflake
• BigQuery
• Iceberg
• Apache Spark
• Flink
• Apache Airflow
• Dagster
• Prefect
• AWS
• GCP

Location

• San Mateo, CA (hybrid)
• Bay Area candidates preferred

Compensation

• Estimated pay range: $160,000 - $180,000 per year
• Stock options may impact total compensation
• Pay range reflects the anticipated low and high end and may change based on business need
• Starting pay is determined using factors including primary work location, skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity