Sr./Staff Data Engineer

Firework; San Mateo (CA); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Job summary

Firework is building data systems that enable analytics, ML, and data-driven product decisions at scale. This hybrid Bay Area role focuses on designing and operating core data infrastructure, from event ingestion to warehouse-backed pipelines that keep teams moving quickly and reliably.

As a Sr./Staff Data Engineer, you will mentor other data engineers, set engineering standards, and collaborate with data scientists to advance best practices across distributed systems.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in data or software engineering with production data or ML systems.
• Strong Python and SQL skills with advanced querying and optimization.
• Experience building large-scale ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Experience with Snowflake, BigQuery, or Iceberg.
• Experience with Spark, Flink, or similar technologies.
• Familiar with Airflow, Dagster, or Prefect.
• Cloud experience with AWS or GCP.
• Strong data modeling and architecture understanding.
• Experience with data quality, monitoring, and reliability in production.
• Excellent cross-team communication and leadership potential.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement backend and ML data infrastructure.
• Build analytics tools for insights across metrics.
• Create ETL/ELT pipelines and production workflows.
• Develop tooling for data analysts and scientists.
• Ensure data separation and security across regions.
• Collaborate on data system functionality and own end-to-end processing.
• Troubleshoot production issues and performance benchmarks.
• Mentor other data engineers and share best practices.

Skills

Python

SQL

Analytical thinking

Problem solving

Communication

Leadership potential

Tools

Snowflake

BigQuery

Iceberg

Apache Spark

Flink

Apache Airflow

Dagster

Prefect

AWS

GCP

Job description

Firework is building data systems that support analytics, machine learning, and data-driven product decisions at scale. This hybrid role in the Bay Area focuses on designing and operating the core data infrastructure, from event ingestion and stream processing to warehouse-backed pipelines that keep teams moving quickly and reliably.

As a Sr./Staff Data Engineer, you will partner with data and analytics experts to improve end-to-end processing, troubleshoot production issues, and help set engineering standards. You will also provide technical mentorship to other data engineers while advancing best practices across distributed data systems.

Role scope

• Design, develop, and implement backend and machine learning data infrastructure, including event-based ingestion, stream processing, data warehousing, pipelines, and analytics applications
• Build analytics tools that leverage the data pipeline for actionable insights across customer acquisition, operational efficiency, and other key business metrics
• Create distributed data pipelines for ETL, feature engineering, and model running, and develop/maintain these workflows in production
• Develop data tooling that supports data analysts and data scientists in building and optimizing Firework’s product
• Ensure data separation and security across national boundaries using multiple data centers and AWS regions
• Collaborate on data system functionality and take ownership of end-to-end data processing, including troubleshooting, diagnosis, performance benchmarking, load balancing, and code reviews
• Mentor other data engineers by providing technical guidance, sharing best practices, and supporting professional growth

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience in data engineering, software engineering, or a closely related field, with significant experience designing and maintaining production data or machine learning systems
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL, including advanced querying, data transformations, and performance optimization
• Experience building and maintaining large-scale ETL/ELT pipelines and distributed data processing systems
• Hands‑on experience with modern data warehousing technologies such as Snowflake, BigQuery, or open table formats such as Iceberg
• Experience with data processing frameworks such as Apache Spark, Flink, or equivalent technologies
• Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow, Dagster, or Prefect
• Experience with cloud infrastructure, preferably AWS or GCP
• Strong understanding of data modeling, database design, and data architecture principles
• Experience implementing data quality, monitoring, and reliability practices in production environments
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with the ability to independently drive complex technical projects
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills across technical and non‑technical teams
• Leadership potential and interest in growing into a people management track, including mentoring and driving technical strategy

Technologies

• Python, SQL, Snowflake, BigQuery, Iceberg
• Apache Spark, Flink
• Apache Airflow, Dagster, Prefect
• AWS, GCP

Location

• San Mateo, CA (hybrid)
• Bay Area candidates are preferred

Compensation

• Estimated pay range: $160,000 - $180,000 per year
• Stock options may also be included and can affect total compensation
• The posted range reflects the anticipated low and high end and may change based on business needs
• Starting pay is determined using factors including primary work location, evaluation of skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity