Data Engineer Staff

Breeze Airways; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401K with Breeze match

Generous PTO

Travel on Breeze flights

Job summary

Breeze Airways is seeking an experienced Staff Data Engineer to lead the Data Engineering team. You'll drive large-scale data initiatives, build scalable pipelines from many sources, and ensure robust, testable data products that power analytics, data science, and personalization.

The role emphasizes leadership, SDLC excellence, and mentorship of junior engineers, with a focus on reliability, observability, and data quality across Breeze's data systems.

Qualifications

• 4-year degree in Computer Science or relevant field.
• 15+ years of relevant job experience, including experience as a technical lead for a Data Engineering team.
• Must have authorization to work in the US.
• High attention to detail and strong communication skills.
• Ability to lead and mentor junior team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale data engineering initiatives spanning analytics data and real-time pipelines.
• Design, build, and scale resilient data pipelines from 30+ sources.
• Extend and scale a custom ETL platform with clean, well-documented code.
• Ensure idempotent, atomic processing with safe retry and recovery.
• Model event-driven data flows separating data and control logic.
• Promote SDLC practices: version control, automated deployment, and testing.
• Establish design, code review, and documentation standards for maintainability.
• Guide the team to improve reliability, observability, and data quality.

Skills

SQL

Python

Leadership

Data modeling

SDLC

Education

4-year degree in Computer Science or relevant field

Tools

Snowflake

Postgres

Airflow

dbt

AWS

Job description

Already Part of Team Breeze? Current Breeze Airways Team Members should apply through the internal careers site in Workday and should not submit an application through this external posting. Breeze Airways is looking for an experienced and highly skilled Staff Data Engineer to join our Data Engineering team. The ideal candidate is a disciplined thinker who can distill complex considerations into their simplest form and deliver workable solutions to the toughest problems Breeze faces.

Here’s what you’ll do

• Data Platform Development Lead large-scale, high-impact initiatives ranging from serving broad, historic analytics data to running real-time data pipelines to essential business functions.
• Design, build, and scale resilient, performant pipelines that acquire, transform, and publish data from 30+ varied sources.
• Extend and responsibly scale our custom-built ETL platform using sound object-oriented design, writing clean, self-documenting code with no redundant logic or hidden business rules that only a recently-involved developer would understand.
• Engineer every stage to be idempotent and atomic - safe to retry or replay without duplication, partial writes, or corruption - so disruptions are absorbed and recovered automatically with minimal manual intervention.
• Model event-driven data flows by separating data flow from control flow logic to make timing, modes, and event handling explicit and reviewable.
• Software Development Lifecycle Champion strong SDLC practices across the team: disciplined version control, automated deployment pipelines, and repeatable, low-risk releases.
• Establish and maintain meaningful test coverage - unit, integration, and data-quality tests - so changes ship with confidence and regressions are caught early.
• Set and uphold the design, code review, and documentation standards that keep the codebase maintainable and free of single-person knowledge.
• Lead the Data Engineering team in designing and building solutions that support the “ilities” (Reliability, Observability, Extensibility, etc.) and continuously articulate the value of this approach.
• Leadership Lead the DE team in researching and implementing tools and strategies that support the health, performance, and data quality of pipelines and associated infrastructure.
• Identify, facilitate, and prioritize opportunities for learning, professional growth, and mentorship of junior team members; set the technical bar that encourages meaningful growth.
• Serve as a fluent, persuasive advocate for well-designed data solutions across Breeze, tailoring your message to every audience - from senior leadership to interns - to build understanding, alignment, and support for sound data engineering practices.
• Engage enthusiastically with the latest tools, products, innovations, trends, and thinking in data engineering and the broader data field, and translate that awareness into practical improvements and forward-looking strategy for the team.
• Data Modeling, Quality, and Reliability Ensure data modeling is correct, consistent, and cohesive in both design and implementation, producing well-structured data products for analytics, data science, and personalization.
• Perform, and automate wherever possible, checks to ensure data is complete, accurate, and fresh.
• Perform periodic on-call duties, resolving issues and accepting escalations as needed - supported by pipelines designed for fast, low-friction recovery.
• Security and Compliance Protect data in all stages and safeguard sensitive information; lead the team in applying encryption, access-control mechanisms, and secure coding practices.
• Conduct periodic code reviews to identify and address potential threats, and keep Python libraries and other dependencies updated and patched to mitigate vulnerabilities.
• Develop protocols for quick response to data breaches or security incidents, and participate in on-call rotations for security escalations.
• Promote security best practices within the team through training and resources.

Here’s what you need to be successful

• 4-year degree in Computer Science or relevant field, or equivalent practical experience
• 15+ years relevant job experience, including experience as a technical lead for a Data Engineering team or on key Data Engineering projects
• Must have authorization to work in the US as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• High performance orientation; able to work well under pressure, prioritize projects, meet deadlines, and maintain flexibility
• Strong attention to detail, organization, and time management skills
• Self-starter with a positive attitude and strong desire for success
• Able to complete projects on time with minimal supervision, and to work varied hours when necessary to meet deadlines

Preferred Qualifications

• Post-graduate degree in Computer Science or related field, or professional certifications
• Skills/Talents Strong, in-depth understanding of database structure principles and database technologies, with particular expertise in Snowflake and Postgres
• Savvy and enthusiastic adopter of AI tooling; uses AI to safely increase development speed, amplify knowledge, and reduce toil without compromising quality.
• Expertise in multiple forms of data modeling types and techniques, including 3rd NF, Data Vault, Star and Snowflake Schema, and Wide Table Modeling
• Expertise in ETL and ELT design, implementation, and familiarity with products like Airflow, dbt, Fivetran, etc.
• 5+ years experience building comprehensive, python-based, object oriented ETL solutions with multiple and varied sources (ex. API, database, file, message bus, etc.) and multiple and varied targets (ex. Snowflake, files, reverse ETL solutions, etc.)
• Strong Expertise in SQL and Python
• Expertise in SDLC best practices, including CI/CD deployment pipelines, automated testing, and version control
• Experience building data products in a CSP like AWS including familiarity with DevOps workflow as it relates to the provisioning, monitoring and maintenance of cloud resources.
• Proficiency with Linux including process and file management, user and group permissions, and general troubleshooting.
• Familiar with data privacy law (GDPR, CPRA, etc.) and data governance best practices (DAMA-DMBOK) and experience building data products that are both compliant and useable.
• Problem-solving attitude with excellent problem-solving skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work with individuals and teams at all levels of the organization
• Exemplifies Breeze’s safety culture, values, and mission

Physical Demands & Working Conditions

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Frequent use of hands and fingers for typing, handling documents, and operating standard office equipment
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 15 pounds
• Occasional standing, walking, bending, and reaching within an office environment
• Clear verbal and written communication, requiring adequate speech, hearing, and vision

Perks of the Job

• Health, Vision and Dental – Full Time Health Savings Account with Breeze Employee Match
• 401K with Breeze Employee Match
• Generous PTO
• Travel on Breeze and other Airlines too! #liremote

Breeze Airways provides equal employment opportunities to all Team Members and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.