Senior Data Engineer

Checkr; San Francisco, Denver (CA, CO); On-site; USD 185,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% medical, dental, and vision

Learning and development allowance

Up to $25K reimbursement for fertility

Flexible PTO policy

Monthly wellness stipend

Job summary

Checkr is seeking a Senior Data Engineer in San Francisco to lead design and delivery of our centralized People Data platform. You will own data pipelines, including batch and streaming, ensuring fast, accurate identity and people records across Checkr’s products.

You will collaborate with engineering, product, and data teams, mentor peers, and uphold security and privacy standards while driving scalable solutions for our growing product surface.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience building scalable data platforms or backend services.
• Strong proficiency in Python, PySpark, and SQL with solid CS fundamentals.
• Experience building large-scale data processing pipelines (ETL/ELT, batch, stream).
• Familiarity with Kafka, Spark, Iceberg, and AWS stack (EKS, EMR, Glue, Athena, S3).
• Experience with data modeling and system architecture, ownership of full development lifecycle.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and ship new capabilities and data pipelines for the People Data platform, from design through release.
• Lead the execution of core services with ownership, balancing speed to market with long-term scalability.
• Build and maintain large-scale data processing pipelines (batch and streaming) for identity and people records across Checkr products.
• Partner with Product and cross-functional teams to scope initiatives and shape a quarterly roadmap.
• Ensure platform availability and data accuracy via on-call rotation and proactive improvements.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to the broader engineering org through code reviews and technical discussions.

Skills

Python

PySpark

SQL

Data pipelines

Big data

MongoDB

Databricks

Snowflake

Tools

Kafka

Spark

Iceberg

AWS stack

Job description

About Checkr

Checkr is building the data platform to power safe and fair decisions. Over 140,000 companies and millions of people rely on Checkr for AI verification in the moments that matter most: getting a new job, a new place to live, a car ride, childcare, even a date. Customers include Uber, Pennymac, Airbnb, Doordash, Amazon, and Anthropic. We’re a team that thrives on solving complex problems with innovative solutions that advance our mission. Checkr is recognized on Forbes Cloud 100 2025 List and is a Y Combinator 2024 Breakthrough Company.

Description

As a technical contributor on the People Data team, you’ll help build and scale Checkr’s centralized people data platform, the system that stores and serves the identity and people records powering every Checkr product. As a Senior Data Engineer, you’ll lead the execution of core services and data pipelines, delivering reliable, high‑quality solutions that keep the platform fast and accurate as our product surface grows. You’ll partner closely with engineering, product, and data teams across Workforce, Tenant, Trust, and Personal, directly enabling the fair and safe hiring decisions at the heart of Checkr’s growth.

What you'll do

• Design, build, and ship new capabilities and data pipelines for the People Data platform, from design through release
• Lead the execution of core services with strong ownership, balancing speed to market with long‑term scalability and reliability
• Build and maintain large‑scale data processing pipelines (batch and streaming) that serve identity and people records across Checkr’s products
• Partner with Product and cross‑functional teams to scope appropriately sized initiatives and shape a roadmap that meets business needs quarter over quarter
• Ensure platform availability and data accuracy by participating in on‑call rotation, resolving production issues, and driving preventative improvements
• Mentor engineers on the team and contribute to the broader engineering organization through technical reviews, showcases, and proposals

What you bring

• 5+ years of software engineering experience building scalable, performant data platforms or backend services
• Strong proficiency in Python, PySpark, and SQL, with solid Computer Science fundamentals across data structures, algorithms, and relational/NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB)
• Experience building large‑scale data processing pipelines using ETL/ELT, batch, and stream processing
• Familiarity with big data technologies such as Kafka, Spark, Iceberg, and data lakes, and the AWS stack (EKS, EMR, Glue, Athena, S3)
• Experience with data modeling, domain modeling, and system architecture, with a proven track record of writing clear, tested code
• Knowledge of security best practices and data privacy concerns, and a strong sense of ownership across the full development lifecycle
• Nice to have: experience with data processing platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake

Pay Transparency Disclosure

We use geographic cost of labor as an input to develop ranges for our roles and as such, each location where we hire may have a different range. If this role is remote, we have listed the top to the bottom of the possible range, but we will specify the target range for an exact location when you are selected for a recruiting discussion. For more information on our compensation philosophy, see our website.

On-target Earnings OR Base Salary range (San Francisco, CA)

$185,000 – $218,000 USD

On-target Earnings OR Base Salary range (Denver, CO)

$157,000 – $185,000 USD

What We Offer

• A fast‑paced and collaborative environment
• Learning and development allowance
• Competitive cash and equity compensation, and opportunity for advancement
• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Up to $25K reimbursement for fertility, adoption, and parental planning services
• Flexible PTO policy
• Monthly wellness stipend

Equal Employment Opportunities at Checkr

Checkr is committed to building the best product and company, which requires hiring talented and qualified individuals with a diverse set of perspectives and lived experiences. Checkr believes in hiring people of all backgrounds, including those whose histories are impacted by the justice system in accordance with local, state, and/or federal laws, including the San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance.