Data Engineer

Proxy Foods AI; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Proxy Foods AI is seeking a hands-on Data Engineer with 3+ years to join our team. You will build and maintain the data foundation behind our AI-powered product platform, shaping pipelines, integrations, and data models that power analytics and customer experiences.

Collaborate with engineering, product, and food science teams to ensure data reliability and scalability, embracing a startup mindset, end-to-end ownership, and opportunities to apply AI-enabled workflows for cleaner, richer datasets.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in data engineering, analytics engineering, or backend data-focused roles.
• Strong SQL and Python in production environments.
• Hands-on experience building ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Experience with relational databases, data warehouses, and API-based integrations.
• Strong data modeling and data quality practices.
• Comfortable with semi-structured data (JSON, CSV).
• Ability to move quickly, work independently in a startup environment.
• Clear communicator across technical and non-technical teams.
• Exposure to AI/LLM applications for data extraction or enrichment is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain reliable ETL/ELT pipelines across APIs, databases, files, and external data sources.
• Clean, normalize, and structure complex datasets related to ingredients, specifications, nutrition, costs, and compliance.
• Design and improve data models and storage layers for features, analytics, and reporting.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and domain experts to translate real-world workflows into scalable data systems.
• Implement data quality checks, validation rules, monitoring, and alerting across pipelines.
• Leverage AI/LLM-assisted workflows to improve data cleansing, normalization, enrichment, and structuring with strong validation.
• Improve performance, maintainability, and observability of the data stack.

Skills

SQL

Python

ETL/ELT

Data modeling

APIs

Relational databases

Data warehouses

Data quality

Communication

AI/LLM

Job description

Proxy Foods is an advanced AI-powered product development and recipe formulation platform trusted by leading R&D teams to create, reformulate, andoptimizefood & beverage products at scale and in record time.

We help food and beverage companies move from idea toviableformulation faster by unifying fragmented R&D data: ingredients, specs, cost, nutrition, processingconstraintsandcompliance. As a result, teams launch new products with fewer failed trials, reformulate faster based on consumer feedback and margin pressure, and stay ahead on trends and regulatory requirements.

THE ROLE

We are looking for a motivated, hands-on Data Engineer with3+ years of experience to join our team.

You will build andmaintainthe data foundation behind our platform: pipelines, integrations, transformation logic, and data models that power internal analytics and customer-facing product experiences. You will work closely with engineering, product, and food science teams to make complex R&D data reliable, usable, and scalable.

This is a strong fit for someone who enjoys working in a startup environment, takes ownership end-to-end, and is excited to work near AI-enabled products without losing sight of solid data engineering fundamentals.

In this role, you will:

• Build andmaintainreliable ETL/ELT pipelines across APIs, databases, files, and external data sources
• Clean, normalize, and structure complex datasets related to ingredients, specifications, nutrition, costs, and compliance
• Design and improve data models and storage layers for application features, analytics, and reporting
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and domain experts to translate messy real-world workflows into scalable data systems
• Implement data quality checks, validation rules, monitoring, and alerting across critical pipelines
• Leverage AI/LLM-assisted workflows whereappropriate toimprove data cleansing, normalization, enrichment, and structuring of complex datasets, with strong validation and quality controls
• Improve performance, maintainability, and observability of our data stack.

WHAT WE’R LOOKING FOR

• 3+ years of experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, or backend/data-focused software roles
• Strong SQL skills and solid Python experience in production environments
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining ETL/ELT pipelines
• Experience working with relational databases, data warehouses, and API-based integrations
• Strong understanding of data modeling, transformation, and data quality practices
• Comfort working with semi-structured data such as JSON, CSV, and external supplier/customer datasets
• Ability to move quickly, prioritize well, and work independently in a startup environment
• Clear communicator who enjoys collaborating across technical and non-technical teams
• Exposure to AI/LLM applications for data extraction, normalization, enrichment, or retrieval-style workflows is a plus

WHY JOIN PROXY

• Work on meaningful product and data problems at the intersection of AI and the food industry
• Help build the data backbone of a platform used to accelerate real-world R&D decisions
• Join a small, ambitious team where you can have direct ownership and visible impact
• Collaborate closely with engineers, product builders, and food scientists
• Grow with a company shaping a new category in AI-powered product development