Sr. Data Engineer - Snowflake (Peoria, IL or Chicago, IL)

RLI Insurance Company; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 96,000 - 138,000; Full time

Job summary

RLI Insurance Company is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to join our Data & Analytics team. The role designs, builds, and delivers scalable data pipelines from ingestion to distribution, partnering with stakeholders to translate requirements into valuable data products.

You will work with an autonomous, product‑driven approach in a fast-paced environment. We value strong SQL and Python skills, Git version control, and Snowflake experience, with a focus on data quality, governance, and scalable

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in CS/IS/related field.
• 4+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience in Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance is preferred.
• Not considering visa sponsorship for this role.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize end-to-end data pipelines across ingestion, transformation, modeling, and distribution layers.
• Ensure changes to data pipelines and models are validated, documented, and communicated prior to release.
• Translate business requirements into scalable and maintainable technical solutions.
• Contribute to solution design decisions within established enterprise architectural patterns.
• Ensure data reliability, quality, and accessibility across systems and data products, including monitoring SLAs.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex data and system issues, including root cause analysis.
• Optimize performance, scalability, and cost efficiency of pipelines and data products.
• Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate development and improve documentation.
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure solutions address customer needs and align to product objectives.
• Collaborate with engineers through design collaboration and code reviews.

Skills

SQL

Python

Git version control

Snowflake

Data modeling

APIs

AI-assisted engineering

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, business administration, or related field

Tools

Snowflake

Job description

About Us

We’re not like other insurance companies. From our specialty products to our business model, our culture to our results — we’re different. Different is who we are, and how we work, interact, deliver and succeed together. Creating a different and better insurance experience doesn’t just happen. It takes focus and a shared passion for going beyond the expected to forge relationships and deliver care that makes a difference. This approach rises from and is supported by our talented, ethical and smart team of employee owners united around a single purpose: to work alongside our customers and partners when they need us, in unexpected ways, with exceptional results.

RLI is a Glassdoor Best Places to Work company with a strong, successful background. For decades, our financial track record has been stellar — a testament to our culture and validation of our reputation as an excellent underwriting company.

Position Purpose

RLI is seeking a collaborative and driven Senior Data Engineer to join our Data & Analytics team. Reporting to a Data Engineering Manager, this role is responsible for designing, building, and delivering scalable, end-to-end data solutions—from ingestion through data product creation and distribution.

You will partner with team members and business stakeholders to understand customer needs and translate them into high-value solutions aligned to product objectives, delivering work iteratively and refining solutions based on feedback and evolving requirements. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, you will contribute to solution design within established architectural patterns while taking a product-oriented approach—balancing speed and quality to continuously improve business impact.

In this role you will design solutions, influence best practices, and contribute to the evolution of our data platform.

If you're passionate about data, adaptable to new challenges, and thrive in an agile, fast-paced environment, we’d love to hear from you!

• Not Considering Visa Sponsorship for this position.
• Candidates must be authorized to work in the US without company sponsorship. The company will not support the STEM OPT Training Plan endorsement for this position.

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize end-to-end data pipelines across ingestion, transformation, modeling, and distribution layers.
• Ensure changes to data pipelines and models are validated, documented, and communicated prior to release.
• Translate business requirements into scalable and maintainable technical solutions.
• Contribute to solution design decisions within established enterprise architectural patterns.
• Ensure data reliability, quality, and accessibility across systems and data products, including monitoring SLAs where appropriate.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex data and system issues, including root cause analysis.
• Optimize performance, scalability, and cost efficiency of pipelines and data products.
• Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate development, automate tasks, and improve documentation (with validation of outputs).
• Partner closely with team members and stakeholders to ensure solutions address customer needs, deliver measurable business value, and align to product objectives.
• Collaborate with other engineers through design collaboration and code reviews.

Education & Experience

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, business administration, or a related field.
• 4+ years of relevant experience.
• [OR] equivalent level of education and experience.
• Experience in Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance is preferred.
• Not considering visa sponsorship for this role.

Knowledge, Skills, & Competencies

• Advanced proficiency in SQL and strong engineering capability in Python.
• Strong experience with Git-based version control, including branching strategies, pull requests, and code review practices.
• Hands-on experience with Snowflake or a similar cloud-native data platform.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, data quality, and governance practices.
• Experience building and optimizing scalable, reliable data pipelines and curated data products.
• Experience with performance tuning, system optimization, and troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools and integrating AI-enabled components where appropriate.
• Ability to translate business problems into data solutions.
• Comfortable with unstructured, semi-structured data, and APIs.
• Autonomy & Execution: Operates independently while adhering to established engineering standards, driving work forward in complex and evolving environments.
• Engineering Judgment: Applies critical thinking to solve complex challenges and anticipates scalability, performance, and integration risks early.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Identifies opportunities to improve engineering practices, patterns, and overall solution quality.
• AI-Augmented Engineering: Uses automation and AI-assisted approaches to improve delivery speed, quality, and decision-making.
• Collaboration & Influence: Works effectively across engineering, analytics, and product teams; communicates technical decisions and tradeoffs clearly.
• Mentorship & Team Development: Supports and mentors other engineers through hands-on collaboration.

Compensation Overview

The base salary range for the position is listed below. Please note that the base salary is only one component of our robust total rewards package at RLI. The salary offered will take into account a number of factors including, but not limited to, geographic location, experience, scope & responsibilities of the role, qualifications/credentials, talent availability & specialization, as well as business needs. The below range may be modified in the future.

Base Pay Range

$96,264.00 - $137,657.00

Total Rewards

At RLI, we're all owners. We hire the best and the brightest employees and allow them to share in the company's success through our Total Rewards. With the Employee Stock Ownership plan at its core, the Total Rewards program includes all compensation, benefits and perks that come with being an RLI employee.

Financial Incentives

• Annual bonus plans
• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)
• 401(k) — automatic 3% company contribution
• Annual 401k and ESOP profit-sharing contributions (Up to 15% of eligible earnings)

Work & Life

• Paid time off (PTO) and holidays
• Paid volunteer time off (VTO) to support our communities
• Parental and family care leave
• Flexible & hybrid work arrangements
• Fitness center discounts and free virtual fitness platform
• Employee assistance program

Health & Wellness

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits
• Flexible spending and health savings accounts
• 2x base salary for group life and AD&D insurance
• Voluntary life, critical illness, & accident insurance for purchase
• Short-term and long-term disability benefits

Personal & Professional Growth

RLI encourages its employees to pursue professional development work in insurance and job-related areas. We make a commitment to employees to provide educational opportunities that help them enhance their skills and further their career advancement. RLI fosters a true learning culture and encourages professional growth through insurance courses, in-house training and other educational programs. RLI covers the cost for most programs and employees typically earn a bonus upon successful completion of approved courses and certifications. Our personal and professional growth benefits include:

• Training & certification opportunities
• Tuition reimbursement
• Education bonuses

Diversity & Inclusion

Our goal is to attract, develop and retain the best employee talent from diverse backgrounds while promoting an environment where all viewpoints are valued and individuals feel respected, are treated fairly, and have an opportunity to excel in their chosen careers. We actively support, and participate in, initiatives led by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association that aim to increase diversity in the insurance industry. Cultivating an exceptional and diverse workforce to deliver excellent customer service reinforces our culture and is a key to achieving superior business results.

RLI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.