Staff Data Engineer

Okta; Bellevue (WA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Okta in Bellevue, Washington is seeking a Staff Data Engineer on a hybrid schedule to guide the architectural evolution of the core data platform and deliver scalable, secure data infrastructure across teams.

You will mentor engineers, drive FEDRamp compliance, and collaborate across data, platform, and security teams to build secure data systems that support the company’s analytics and product initiatives.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software development experience, with 5+ years in data engineering or data platform roles.
• Experience delivering large-scale cross-functional technical initiatives.
• Extensive experience architecting and deploying data infrastructure in cloud environments, with AWS strongly preferred.
• Solid architectural understanding of the modern data stack, including Snowflake, dbt, and Airflow.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL with a high standard for code quality and system design.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate complex technical topics and drive decisions.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, define a path forward, and lead others to successful outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Steer the design and long-term evolution of the data platform, shaping the roadmap toward the next generation of capabilities.
• Develop and guide the technical strategy for major platform upgrades, balancing strategic objectives with incremental delivery.
• Work closely with engineers and leaders across data, platform, and security teams to craft a cohesive and secure architecture.
• Create architectural artifacts such as design documents, threat models, and specifications to ensure clarity and alignment on complex programs.
• Serve as a technical mentor and multiplier for the data engineering team, boosting performance through guidance, code reviews, and sharing best practices.
• Build core components of the new architecture, validate designs through hands-on coding, and establish a practical blueprint for peers.

Skills

Python

SQL

Leadership

Mentorship

Communication

Ambiguity navigation

Tools

Snowflake

dbt

Airflow

AWS

Kubernetes

Terraform

AWS GovCloud

Job description

Okta is seeking a Staff Data Engineer in Bellevue, Washington on a hybrid schedule to guide the architectural evolution of the core data platform, drive FEDRamp compliance, and deliver scalable, secure data infrastructure across multiple teams. This role blends strategic design with hands‑on execution and mentorship to elevate data capabilities across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Steer the design and long‑term evolution of the data platform, shaping the roadmap toward the next generation of capabilities.
• Develop and guide the technical strategy for major platform upgrades, balancing strategic objectives with incremental delivery.
• Work closely with engineers and leaders across data, platform, and security teams to craft a cohesive and secure architecture.
• Create architectural artifacts such as design documents, threat models, and specifications to ensure clarity and alignment on complex programs.
• Serve as a technical mentor and multiplier for the data engineering team, boosting performance through guidance, code reviews, and sharing best practices.
• Build core components of the new architecture, validate designs through hands‑on coding, and establish a practical blueprint for peers.

Requirements

• Strong interest in building secure, reliable, and scalable data systems.
• 8+ years of software development experience, including at least 5+ years in a data engineering or data platform role.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale, cross‑functional technical initiatives.
• Extensive experience architecting and deploying data infrastructure in cloud environments, with AWS strongly preferred.
• Solid architectural understanding of the modern data stack, including Snowflake, dbt, and Airflow.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL with a high standard for code quality and system design.
• Excellent communication skills to articulate complex technical topics and drive decisions.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, define a path forward, and lead others to successful outcomes.

Technologies

• Python
• SQL
• Snowflake
• dbt
• Airflow
• AWS
• Terraform
• Kubernetes
• AWS GovCloud

The Okta Data Engineering Team

• Pipeline team, sitting closer to the Platform team and data producers, responsible for efficient data ingestion and quick access to unmodeled data.
• Warehouse team, closer to business teams and data consumers, modeling data in the data warehouse to abstract complexity and support analysis, reporting, and decision‑making.
• Interface team, creating and managing connections between the data platform and external systems, ensuring consistent and reliable data access.

The Okta Experience

• Supporting Your Well‑Being
• Driving Social Impact
• Developing Talent and Fostering Connection and Community

Extra Credit

• Direct experience with security compliance frameworks such as FEDRamp, SOC 2, or HIPAA.
• Hands‑on experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and container orchestration (Kubernetes).
• Experience working in government cloud environments such as AWS GovCloud.
• Familiarity with the Identity Access and Management (IAM) domain.