Sr. Data Engineer

Inclusively Remote; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity plan

Bonuses

Open PTO

Remote-friendly culture

Wellness days

Job summary

Mode is a fast-growing technology company building AI-powered data and mobile experiences for 100M+ users. We are hiring a Senior Data Engineer to architect, build, and operate Mode Mobile’s data platform, enabling real-time and batch processing across product, growth, analytics, and AI teams.

You’ll own large-scale pipelines, work with engineering, data science, and business leaders to ensure reliable, secure, and scalable data.

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing and operating live data systems in production.
• Expert SQL and strong data modeling skills.
• Hands-on with Spark, Kafka, Python, and JVM languages.
• Experience on AWS and IaC tooling like Terraform.

Responsibilities

• Build and scale large-scale data pipelines, streaming and batch.
• Own production data platforms with uptime, reliability, and correctness.
• Collaborate with product, analytics, and data science teams to deliver impact.
• Shape the technical roadmap and evaluate new data technologies.

Skills

5+ years experience in data eng

Expert SQL

Spark

Kafka

Python

Scala/Java

AWS

Tools

Airflow

Terraform

Job description

Mode is a fast-growing technology company building businesses at the intersection of AI, data, mobile apps, and digital experiences. Our portfolio of mobile apps and digital products reaches 100M+ monthly active users across a global audience. We continue to accelerate growth through product innovation, strategic acquisitions, and emerging business opportunities.

Mode was recognized by Deloitte as the #1 fastest-growing software company in North America on the 2023 Technology Fast 500. Today, we are building our next phase of growth, including expanding Mode’s AI and data business and developing direct relationships with companies that can benefit from the data and capabilities we have built.

Our Team and Culture Drive Our Success

Our team is the heart of our culture. We value innovation, collaboration, and curiosity, with a passion for getting things done. We strive to hire and cultivate the best team members and foster a culture of open communication and transparency. We are driven and hard-working but also committed to having fun along the way. We allow OKRs to guide us, assume positive intent, sometimes agree to disagree and commit, honor our commitments, seek to accomplish more with less, and encourage everyone to speak up as our team owns our company’s success.

You can read more about our team and how we work here.

The Role

We are looking for a Senior Data Engineer to help architect, build, and operate Mode Mobile’s data platform. You will lead the development of large-scale data systems that process billions of events daily, enabling both real-time and batch use cases across product, growth, analytics, AI and data monetization. You’ll work closely with engineering, data science, analytics teams, and business leaders to ensure our data is reliable, secure, scalable, and actionable.

This is a hands-on role for someone who thrives in production environments, takes accountability seriously, and wants to shape how data works across a fast-growing, multi-product company.

What You’ll Do

Build & Scale (Action-Driven, Thorough)

• Architect and lead the development of large-scale data pipelines, streaming systems, and data lakes handling billions of daily events.
• Design and implement robust solutions supporting both real-time and batch processing.
• Make thoughtful architectural decisions around performance, cost, scalability, and long-term maintainability.
• Ensure high data quality through strong ETL/ELT patterns, testing, monitoring, and observability.

Own Production (Accountable)

• Own data systems running in live production environments with a strong focus on uptime, reliability, and correctness.
• Proactively identify risks, bottlenecks, and failure modes—and address them before they impact the business.
• Partner with infrastructure and engineering teams to ensure data platforms are secure, compliant, and resilient.

Collaborate & Enable (Caring)

• Work closely with product engineers, analytics engineers, data scientists, growth, and business teams to understand data needs and deliver high-impact solutions.
• Build tools, frameworks, and datasets that empower others to move faster and make better decisions.
• Mentor and support other engineers, raising the bar for technical excellence and ownership across teams.

Think Ahead (Curious)

• Continuously explore new tools, patterns, and technologies that improve our data platform.
• Evaluate build vs. buy decisions with a pragmatic mindset, balancing speed, scalability, and long-term value.
• Help shape the technical roadmap for Mode Mobile’s data platform as we grow through both organic expansion and acquisitions.

What We’re Looking For

Experience & Technical Skills

• 5+ years of experience designing, operating, and owning live production data systems, ideally in high-scale or data-intensive environments.
• Expert-level SQL skills.
• Hands-on experience with technologies such as Spark, Kafka, and modern data processing frameworks.
• Experience with AWS services for running data infrastructure.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
• Proficiency in at least one data engineering language: Python (preferred), Scala, or Java.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, ETL/ELT design patterns, and scalable data architectures.

How You Work (Values Alignment)

• Accountable: You take ownership of outcomes, not just tasks. When something breaks, you lean in and see it through.
• Action-Driven: You are biased toward execution, ship meaningful improvements, and don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis.
• Caring: You collaborate with empathy, communicate clearly, and care about the impact your work has on teammates and users.
• Curious: You ask thoughtful questions, seek to understand the “why,” and continuously look for better ways to build and scale.
• Thorough: You value quality, correctness, and long-term maintainability—especially when working with data that drives critical decisions.

Leveling Note

This role is scoped at a Senior Data Engineer level with Staff-level impact expectations. We strongly prefer candidates with deep experience at scale, but we are open to Senior-level engineers who have demonstrated ownership of complex systems and are ready to operate with broader influence and responsibility.

We Believe in the Following Workplace Norms

• Allow OKRs to Guide Us
• Assume Positive Intent
• Agree to Disagree & Commit
• Set New Precedents
• Accomplish More with Less
• Hold Yourself & Others to High Standards
• Speak Up
• Be Resourceful
• Follow the 80/20 Rule

What We Are Offering

We are a 100% remote-first, global company.

A competitive compensation package.

We offer generous perks & benefits to team members.

• Participation in the Company’s equity plan (for full-time team members).
• We provide individual bonuses in accordance with our Company Bonus Program.
• Work with energetic, passionate, and results-driven people.
• Celebrate team members’ personal and work milestones.
• Remote social activities, including virtual coffee buddies.
• Bonus.ly – We use Bonus.ly as a way to recognize and reward team members for their hard work and commitment.
• Weekly Wednesday Get Stuff Done Days (No Meetings).
• Open PTO, generous Company Holidays, and Wellness Days (for full-time team members).

We have a lot to accomplish this year and look forward to making headway and creating success together!

Mode.Inc does not accept/pay fees for unsolicited resumes from third-party agencies/vendors.

Our company is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. We are committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive environment for all team members.