Senior Staff Data Engineer

Circle Internet Management Services LLC; California (MO); On-site; USD 225,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Circle Internet Management Services LLC is seeking a talented professional to define and drive the strategy for data reliability, quality, and operational excellence across the organization. The role involves building and trusting the data ecosystem as well as ensuring scalable frameworks and incident management practices.

Key responsibilities include establishing data quality standards, leading technical initiatives, and driving complex, high-impact data solutions. Candidates should have extensive experience in scalable data platforms and be familiar with modern data tooling ecosystems.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience designing and operating scalable data platforms.
• Experience leveraging AI tools for solutions.
• Deep expertise in data architecture and distributed systems.
• Proven ability to implement data quality frameworks.
• Strong experience with monitoring and alerting for data systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex initiatives.
• Experience defining engineering best practices for data systems.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement data quality standards.
• Design and scale reliability and observability frameworks.
• Establish incident management practices.
• Develop data engineering SDLC practices.
• Drive prioritization of reliability initiatives.
• Lead ecosystem-wide platform improvements.
• Deliver complex data initiatives.

Skills

Data platform design and operation

AI tools and methodologies

Data architecture

Data quality frameworks

SLI/SLO frameworks

Cross-team technical initiatives

Engineering best practices

Tools

Astronomer (Airflow)

BigQuery

dbt

Dataplex

Kubernetes

Python

Go

Job description

About Circle

Circle (NYSE: CRCL) is one of the world’s leading internet financial platform companies, building the foundation of a more open, global economy through digital assets, payment applications, and programmable blockchain infrastructure.

What you’ll be responsible for

You will define and drive the strategy for data reliability, quality, and operational excellence across the organization, shaping how Circle builds and trusts its data ecosystem. This includes establishing company-wide standards for data quality, contracts, and governance; designing scalable reliability and observability frameworks; and institutionalizing incident management practices that promote a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

What you’ll work on

• Define and implement organization-wide data quality standards, including data contracts, SLAs, and governance frameworks across domains
• Design and scale reliability and observability frameworks, including SLI/SLO models, lineage tracking, monitoring, and alerting patterns
• Establish and evolve incident management practices, including severity models, escalation paths, on-call structures, and blameless postmortems
• Develop and standardize data engineering SDLC practices, including testing strategies, CI/CD, versioning, and reusable frameworks
• Drive cross-functional prioritization of reliability initiatives, balancing technical debt, operational health, and product delivery across teams
• Lead ecosystem-wide platform improvements, identifying architectural gaps, reducing fragmentation, and influencing build‑vs‑buy decisions
• Own and deliver complex, high‑impact data initiatives, aligning stakeholders, mitigating risks, and driving scalable solutions in ambiguous environments

Core Requirements

• Extensive experience designing and operating scalable data platforms with a focus on reliability, quality, and observability
• Experience leveraging AI tools and methodologies to design and implement solutions
• Deep expertise in data architecture, including data modeling, pipeline design, and distributed data systems
• Proven ability to define and implement data quality frameworks, including SLAs, data contracts, and governance standards
• Strong experience establishing SLI/SLO frameworks, monitoring, and alerting for large‑scale data systems
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex, cross‑team technical initiatives and drive alignment across stakeholders
• Experience defining and scaling engineering best practices, including testing, CI/CD, and development standards for data systems

Preferred Requirements

• Experience building or evolving data platforms in high‑growth or highly regulated environments (e.g., fintech, payments, crypto)
• Familiarity with modern data tooling ecosystems, including orchestration, transformation, metadata, and observability platforms
• Experience with technologies such as Astronomer (Airflow), BigQuery, dbt, Dataplex, Kubernetes, and programming languages like Python or Go, or comparable tools in the modern data stack
• Track record of influencing platform strategy, including build‑vs‑buy decisions and long‑term architectural evolution

Base Pay Range

$225,000 - $290,000

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, or any other protected status required by the laws in the locations where we hire. Additionally, Circle participates in the E‑Verify Program in certain locations, as required by law. Should you require accommodations or assistance in our interview process because of a disability, please reach out to [e-mail] for support. We respect your privacy and will connect with you separately from our interview process to accommodate your needs.