Senior Data Engineer

Robots & Pencils; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Robots & Pencils is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to design, build, and operate robust data pipelines and platforms powering analytics, AI, and product work. You will own pipelines end-to-end and shape data architecture with strong technical judgment.

You’ll collaborate on cross-functional teams to scale pipelines, manage data warehouses and data lakes, and integrate data across systems, contributing to decisions that drive measurable impact for clients and end users.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of professional data engineering experience.
• Strong SQL and Python or Scala skills.
• Working knowledge of cloud data platforms and enterprise data warehousing.
• Hands-on experience with ETL/ELT frameworks and pipeline orchestration.
• Experience with streaming platforms and real-time data processing.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable data pipelines, taking ownership of features end-to-end.
• Build and manage data warehouses and data lakes.
• Optimize data processing workflows and integrate data from multiple systems.
• Implement data modeling and schema design that supports analytics and downstream use.
• Implement data validation and monitoring to ensure data quality, reliability, and availability.
• Design and build data pipelines for production AI/ML systems, including embeddings, vector stores, RAG data preparation, feature stores, and training/inference data flows.

Skills

SQL

Python/Scala

Tools

ETL/ELT frameworks

CI/CD for data systems

Container orchestration

Streaming platforms

Job description

We’re looking for a Senior Data Engineer to design, build, and operate the data pipelines and platforms that power analytics, AI, and product work. This role is ideal for an engineer with several years of experience who can confidently own pipelines end-to-end and bring strong technical judgment to the problems they take on.

In this role, you will work as a key contributor on a cross-functional team, designing scalable pipelines, building and managing data warehouses and data lakes, and integrating data from across systems. You’ll collaborate with experienced engineers to enhance existing systems, deliver new capabilities, and contribute to the technical decisions that shape how our data work scales over time.

Why This Role Matters

At Robots & Pencils, we design AI systems for a human world. Our name says it all. Robots and pencils means engineering paired with creativity, because every agent we ship has to work for real people in real workflows. That balance is baked into how we operate.

Every role here contributes directly to that mission. Here, you shape how AI systems integrate into enterprise operations, how teams move at real velocity, and how products create measurable impact for clients and the people they serve. We ship production-ready AI in 30 to 45 days. That pace demands people who take ownership, lead with craft, and care deeply about what they put their name on.

What You’ll Do

Craft & Delivery

• Design and implement scalable data pipelines, taking ownership of features end-to-end
• Build and manage data warehouses and data lakes
• Optimize data processing workflows and integrate data from multiple systems
• Implement data modeling and schema design that supports analytics and downstream use
• Implement data validation and monitoring to ensure data quality, reliability, and availability
• Design and build data pipelines for production AI/ML systems, including embeddings, vector stores, RAG data preparation, feature stores, and training/inference data flows
• Bring an AI-forward coding mindset to your daily work, using tools like Claude, Cursor, and other modern AI assistants to ship higher-quality work at pace

Collaboration & Communication

• Collaborate closely with analytics, AI, and product teams to align data work with broader product and business goals
• Communicate technical tradeoffs and decisions clearly across functions, translating data architecture and constraints into terms others can act on
• Participate actively in code reviews and design discussions, raising concerns and offering constructive feedback

Leadership & Influence

• Contribute to data architecture decisions, bringing thoughtful perspective on tradeoffs and long-term implications
• Take ownership of meaningful pieces of work and follow through end-to-end, including the unglamorous parts of operating data systems
• Support data governance and compliance efforts, helping raise the bar on practices across the team

What You’ll Bring

• 5–7 years of professional data engineering experience
• Strong SQL and Python or Scala skills
• Working knowledge of cloud data platforms and enterprise data warehousing
• Hands-on experience with ETL/ELT frameworks and pipeline orchestration
• Experience with streaming platforms and real-time data processing
• Strong data modeling skills, including warehouse and lake schema design and data transformation
• Working knowledge of distributed systems
• Experience with data validation, quality, and observability
• Experience with CI/CD for data systems and container orchestration
• Experience building data pipelines for production AI/ML systems, including embeddings, vector stores, RAG data preparation, feature stores, and training/inference data flows
• Demonstrable, day-to-day usage of AI-forward coding tools such as Claude and Cursor
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to navigate ambiguous technical challenges with sound judgment
• Exposure to data mesh, data fabric, MLOps, or BI tool integration is a plus

Helpful Extras and Unique Skills

You’ll Do Well Here if You Are

• A doer. You see something broken and fix it. You'd rather move on clarity than wait for certainty.
• A fast learner who knows you don't know everything. The AI landscape changes weekly. You're senior enough to know better and curious enough to keep learning anyway.
• Direct in a way that makes the work better. You give honest feedback. You'd rather have the hard conversation than blow smoke.
• Obsessed with craft. You know genius is in the details. You ship exceptional, not perfect, and you don't put your name on work you wouldn't stand behind.
• Built for ownership. You honor commitments, admit mistakes fast, and back your teammates when a decision costs something. No handoffs, no finger-pointing.
• All in. You treat clients' businesses like your own. You take the work seriously without taking yourself seriously.
• Resourceful when the budget, timeline, or team is tight. Constraints don't slow you down. They sharpen you.
• Glad to be in the room with people who care as much as you do. Our teams average fifteen-plus years of experience. We hire people who push each other to do better work.

The below range reflects the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue-based metrics, any collective bargaining agreements, and business or organizational needs. The salary range for this role is $119,514USD - $164,899USD. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.

An offer of employment may be conditional upon successful completion of a background check in accordance with local legislation and our candidate privacy notice. Your current employer will not be contacted without your permission. We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law.