Data Operations Engineer

People Architects; Kentucky; Remote; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A recruiting firm is seeking a Data Operations Engineer to manage customer data onboarding and operational workflows. The ideal candidate will leverage Python, SQL, and ETL principles to clean and maintain data within a SaaS platform. Key responsibilities include leading the data onboarding process, building reusable automation scripts, and partnering with teams to ensure data quality. Candidates should possess strong attention to detail and effective communication skills. This role is essential for ensuring reliable data systems.

Qualifications

• Comfort working with large, messy Excel, Google Sheets, and CSV datasets.
• Ability to interpret data models and navigate relational schemas.
• Familiarity with SaaS data structures and multi-tenant databases.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer data onboarding, mapping, and cleansing.
• Build and maintain ingestion processes using Python and SQLAlchemy.
• Own internal and external reporting requests requiring SQL.
• Investigate data anomalies and support engineering teams.

Skills

Python proficiency

Comfort with Excel and CSV datasets

Experience designing data transformations

Understanding of ETL principles

Attention to detail

Clear communication skills

Experience with Python-based ETL frameworks

Troubleshooting in production environments

Tools

SQLAlchemy

Postgres

Git

Job description

People Architects is proud to partner with our client, a high growth-stage SaaS company to recruit a Data Operations Engineer - a critical, hands-on role that sits at the intersection of data, engineering, and operations.

This is not a traditional data analyst role, and it is not a large-scale platform data engineering position. It is a high-ownership, engineering-adjacent role for someone who enjoys taking messy, real-world data and turning it into clean, reliable, production-ready systems that teams can trust.

The Role:

As the Data Operations Engineer, you will own customer data onboarding and operational data workflows end-to-end, allowing the core engineering team to stay focused on product development.

In this role you’ll work across SQL, Python, spreadsheets, CSVs, and ETL tooling to ingest, transform, validate, and maintain customer data inside a SaaS platform. If you enjoy solving data puzzles, building leverage through automation, and being the person who quietly makes everything work better, this role is built for you.

What You’ll Do

• Lead customer data onboarding, including mapping, cleansing, transforming, and importing data from competitor platforms, spreadsheets, and ad-hoc sources
• Build and maintain repeatable ingestion processes and scripts using Python, SQLAlchemy, and Postgres
• Partner with Customer Success Managers to define data requirements and onboarding timelines
• Translate messy, inconsistent customer data into clean internal schemas with accuracy and consistency
• Maintain a library of reusable migration utilities, validation scripts, and automation tools
• Own internal and external reporting requests requiring SQL or data extraction
• Perform one-time data cleanups, corrections, and backfills directly in the SaaS database
• Investigate data anomalies and support engineering with root-cause analysis
• Improve and maintain ETL pipelines to reduce manual engineering work
• Build lightweight automations to streamline recurring operational workflows

Qualifications (Required and Preferred):

• Comfort working with large, messy Excel, Google Sheets, and CSV datasets
• Python proficiency (SQLAlchemy strongly preferred)
• Experience designing data transformations, mappings, and validations
• Solid understanding of ETL principles, automation, and scripting
• Ability to interpret data models and navigate relational schemas
• High attention to detail and a strong data quality mindset
• Clear communicator with both technical and non-technical partners
• Experience with Python-based migration or ETL frameworks
• Familiarity with SaaS data structures, multi-tenant databases, or systems like CRM, ATS, or LMS platforms
• Experience building reusable internal tools for data operations
• Exposure to Git and basic DevOps workflows
• Comfort troubleshooting and working in production-like environments

We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. People Architect and our clients are equal opportunity employers and do not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. Applicants for employment with any of People Architect’s clients will ever be asked to provide money (even if reimbursable) as part of the job application or hiring process.