Principal Data Engineer

Sayari; United States; On-site; USD 200,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401(k) match

Paid time off

Bonus & equity

Job summary

Sayari is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to lead our Data Resolution team. You will be a hands-on expert (70%) with Spark and graph data logic while guiding system architecture and long-term data-pipeline strategies. Your work powers global data products used by investigators and regulators.

You will mentor engineers, optimize cloud footprint, and drive major re-architectures to scale. Target salary aligns with market norms, with bonus and equity opportunities.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in the big data space.
• Expert-level mastery of Apache Spark for large-scale data processing.
• Strong experience with orchestration tools (Airflow) and cloud computing environments.
• Hands-on experience architecting data flows into databases (Elasticsearch, Memgraph, Cassandra).
• Demonstrated ability in system architecture, including IaC and schema design.
• Builder mindset with improving architectures to meet scale.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement Spark data logic with performance and latency goals.
• Own architecture of graph build pipelines for scalability and resilience.
• Plan re-architecture of data pipelines to meet evolving needs.
• Optimize infrastructure-as-code and schema designs to reduce cloud costs.
• Foster collaboration and provide design guidance across the team.
• Review code and designs, mentoring engineers.

Skills

Big data experience

Apache Spark

Airflow

Cloud computing

Elasticsearch

Memgraph

Cassandra

Infrastructure as Code

Graph data

Entity resolution

Identity resolution

Graph databases

Job description

About Sayari:
Sayari is the leader in Agentic Systems of Work for economic security and risk. Powered by the Sayari Commercial World Model : a digital twin of global commerce resolving 10.6B+ primary-source records from 250+ jurisdictions : Sayari transforms risk and investigative teams from manual data gatherers into decisive mission leaders. By unifying corporate ownership, trade data, and risk intelligence into a single graph, Sayari uncovers connections and typologies that legacy watchlist, adverse media, and point solutions miss, enabling prescriptive execution at scale. Trusted by the world’s most demanding regulators, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Treasury, and Fortune 500 enterprises, Sayari delivers the evidence-based transparency needed to prove decisions, satisfy regulators and protect global commerce. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Sayari is used by thousands of professionals across 35+ countries to secure supply chains and dismantle illicit networks.

About Sayari:
Sayari is the leader in Agentic Systems of Work for economic security and risk. Powered by the Sayari Commercial World Model : a digital twin of global commerce resolving 10.6B+ primary-source records from 250+ jurisdictions : Sayari transforms risk and investigative teams from manual data gatherers into decisive mission leaders. By unifying corporate ownership, trade data, and risk intelligence into a single graph, Sayari uncovers connections and typologies that legacy watchlist, adverse media, and point solutions miss, enabling prescriptive execution at scale. Trusted by the world’s most demanding regulators, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Treasury, and Fortune 500 enterprises, Sayari delivers the evidence-based transparency needed to prove decisions, satisfy regulators and protect global commerce. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Sayari is used by thousands of professionals across 35+ countries to secure supply chains and dismantle illicit networks.
Our company culture is defined by a dedication to our mission of using open data to prevent illicit commercial and financial activity, a passion for finding novel approaches to complex problems, and an understanding that diverse perspectives create optimal outcomes. We embrace cross-team collaboration, encourage training and learning opportunities, and reward initiative and innovation. If you like working with supportive, high-performing, and curious teams, Sayari is the place for you.
POSITION DESCRIPTION
We are looking for a Principal Data Engineer to join our Data Resolution team and serve as a technical anchor for our most complex data challenges. In this role, you will be a "player-coach," spending the majority of your time (70%) hands-on with Spark and graph data logic while dedicating the remainder of your time to system architecture, design planning, and technical mentorship. You will be instrumental in evolving our graph build pipelines, optimizing our cloud footprint, and overseeing the long-term planning and execution of major data pipeline re-architectures. This is a high-impact role where your work directly powers the data products used by global systems defenders.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design and implement complex Spark data logic, focusing on performance optimization, data volume tuning, and robust execution.
• Own the architectural design of graph build pipelines, ensuring they are scalable, automated, and highly resilient.
• Plan and oversee the strategic re-architecture of data pipelines to meet evolving business needs and scale.
• Optimize infrastructure-as-code and schema designs to reduce cloud costs and improve pipeline latency.
• Act as a technical consultant for the team, fostering a collaborative and engineer-led approach to design decisions.
• Support the development of the engineering team through code reviews, design docs, and architectural best practices.
• Ensure the accuracy of mission-critical data outputs.

Skills & Experience
Required Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of experience in the big data space, with a proven track record of implementing large-scale features and leading process redesigns.
• Expert-level mastery of Apache Spark for large-scale data processing.
• Strong experience with orchestration tools (Airflow) and cloud computing environments.
• Hands-on experience architecting and managing data flows into databases such as Elasticsearch, Memgraph, and Cassandra.
• Demonstrated ability in system architecture, including Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and schema design.
• A "builder" mindset with experience evolving and improving existing architectures to meet new scale requirements.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience working specifically with graph data or graph databases.
• Prior experience with entity resolution or identity resolution systems.
• Experience evaluating and selecting modern analytical database architectures.

The target base salary for this position is $200,000-$220,000 plus company bonus and equity. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including location, local market variances, candidate experience and expertise, internal peer equity, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Benefits:

• 100% fully paid medical, vision, and dental for employees and their dependents
• Generous time off; we observe all US federal holidays, close our office for a winter break (12/24-12/31), in addition to granting 18 PTO days and 10 sick days
• Outstanding compensation package; competitive commissions for revenue roles and bonuses for non-revenue positions
• A strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Eligibility to participate in additional benefits such as 401k match up to 5%, 100% paid life insurance (up to $100,000 coverage),, and parental leave
• A collaborative and positive culture - your team will be as smart and driven as you
• Limitless growth and learning opportunities

Sayari is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages diverse candidates to apply. We believe diversity and inclusion mean our team members should reflect the diversity of the United States. No employee or applicant will face discrimination or harassment based on race, color, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability status, veteran status, genetics, or political affiliation. We strongly encourage applicants of all backgrounds to apply.

Pay Range: $200,000 USD - $220,000 USD