Staff Data Engineer

AppFolio; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 152,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

AppFolio in Chicago is seeking a data engineer for the Business Data Platform to own observability, governance, and CI/CD for data assets. You will collaborate with SecOps, Compliance, and analytics teams to ensure secure, scalable data delivery and self-service access.

You’ll build reliable data pipelines, set SLOs, manage Snowflake roles, and enforce masking and encryption. This role blends data engineering, DevOps, and data governance in a fast-paced real estate tech environment.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in DataOps, Data Platform Engineering, DevOps, or related roles in modern cloud data environments.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, Airflow, Mulesoft, Linux scripting, and dbt.
• Strong experience with AWS (S3, EC2, EKS), Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with Snowflake data warehouse with data security and governance.
• Advanced proficiency with Airflow and CI/CD pipelines; GitOps and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform).
• Experience building self-serve data processes and familiarity with data security and audit logging.
• Familiar with Snowflake RBAC, masking policies, row-access policies, and secure UDFs/SPROCs.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, build, and maintenance of observability and testing solutions for AppFolio's Business Data Platform.
• Own the CI/CD architecture for Github repositories; deploy automated checks and data deployment pipelines.
• Manage service accounts, roles, and permissions across Snowflake, dbt, and BI tools.
• Define and monitor Data Pipeline SLOs and enforce data access controls and masking policies.
• Partner with InfoSec and Compliance to ensure auditability and privacy frameworks across the platform.
• Maintain lineage and metadata documentation; implement infrastructure-as-code and automate routine operations.

Skills

SQL

Python

Airflow

Mulesoft

Linux scripting

dbt

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Snowflake

Terraform

GitOps

CI/CD

Codespaces

Security controls

Tools

Snowflake

dbt

Terraform

Docker

Kubernetes

Airflow

GitHub

Job description

AppFolio is more than a company. We’re a community of dreamers, big thinkers, problem solvers, active listeners, and multipliers. At every opportunity, we set the pace while delivering innovation built to carry real estate into the future. One in which every experience feels effortless, yet meaningful. Where customers are empowered to take on any opportunity. We show up as one team, connected by our values to be a force for good. Because together, we have the power to create extraordinary outcomes for our customers, our communities, and ourselves.

As a Data Engineer on our Business Data Platform (BDP) team, you will own the operational backbone of our data infrastructure and help lead our Secure Data Initiative – the company's active program to mature role-based access, tag-based masking, and governance across the platform. You will play a critical role in ensuring resilient, secure, and scalable systems that power analytics, AI, experimentation, and business decision-making across the company. This role bridges platform engineering, data governance, and DevOps—enabling seamless data delivery and access with leading‑class observability and compliance.

Your Impact

• Own the design, build, and maintenance of AppFolio's Business Data Platform's observability and testing solutions that identify reliability, scalability, or data quality issues and strive to continuously improve the platform.
• Own the CI/CD architecture for our Github repositories — build the automated checks, deployment pipelines, and orchestration that every team's changes run through, and keep that platform running as new teams and use cases plug into it.
• Manage service accounts, roles, and permissions across Snowflake, dbt, and BI tools.
• Own the creation of and performance of Data Pipeline SLOs.
• Create and enforce data access controls, masking policies, and encryption standards (at rest and in transit).
• Define and own access governance for AI-driven data consumption — scoping Snowflake Coco, MCP server, and agent tool access (e.g., Chat-to-Data) with least‑privilege, read‑by‑default, and full audit logging as agents take on more direct data access.
• Partner with InfoSec and Compliance to ensure auditability and privacy frameworks are implemented and upheld across the Business Data Platform.
• Maintain lineage and metadata documentation across key data domains.
• Implement and manage infrastructure‑as‑code for data platform components.
• Drive automation of routine operations (e.g., environment provisioning, credential rotation, usage monitoring).
• Partner with data engineers, data science engineers, data scientists, and analysts to improve platform usability and self‑service capabilities.
• Document and evangelize best practices for data access, job orchestration, and environment management.

Must Have

• 8+ years in DataOps, Data Platform Engineering, DevOps, or related roles within modern cloud data environments.
• Proficiency in data engineering tools and technologies - SQL, Python, Airflow, Mulesoft, Linux scripting, and dbt
• Strong Experience with cloud technology, especially AWS tech stack (s3, ec2, eks), Docker and Kubernetes
• Experience with cloud data warehouse technology, such as Snowflake, including data security and governance
• Advanced proficiency with Airflow
• Strong knowledge of CI/CD pipelines, GitOps workflows, codespaces, and infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform etc.).
• Experience with building self‑serve processes
• Familiarity with security standards and practices for data (IAM, encryption, audit logging).
• Familiar with Snowflake RBAC, object privileges, masking policies, row‑access policies, and secure UDFs/SPROCs to support both data engineering and ML/AI workloads.

Compensation & Benefits

The base salary that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $152,000 - 190,000.

The actual base salary/hourly wage for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to: the candidate’s skills, education, experience, etc.

Please note that base pay is one important aspect of a compelling Total Rewards package. The base pay range indicated here does not include any additional benefits or bonuses/commissions that you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.

Regular full‑time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.

About AppFolio

AppFolio is the technology leader powering the future of the real estate industry. Our innovative platform and trusted partnership enable our customers to connect communities, increase operational efficiency, and grow their business. For more information about AppFolio, visit appfolio.com.

Why AppFolio

Grow | We enable a culture of high performance, where delivering results is recognized by opportunities for growth and compelling total rewards. Our challenging and meaningful work drive the growth of our business, and ourselves.

Learn | We partner with you to realize your potential by investing in you from the start. We're cultivating a team of big thinkers through coaching and mentorship with our best‑in‑class leaders, and giving you the time and tools to develop your skills.

Impact | We are creating a world where living in, investing in, managing, and supporting communities feels magical and effortless, freeing people to thrive. We do this by innovating with purpose while cultivating a culture of impact. We learn as much from each other as we do our customers and our communities.

Connect | We excel at hybrid work by fostering an environment that feels flexible, personal and connected, no matter where we are. We create space to fuel innovation and collaboration, and we come together to celebrate, connect, and succeed.

Paddle as One.

Learn more at appfolio.com/company/careers

Statement of Equal Opportunity

At AppFolio, we value diversity in backgrounds and perspectives and depend on it to drive our innovative culture. That’s why we’re a proud Equal Opportunity Employer, and we believe that our products, our teams, and our business are stronger because of it. This means that no matter what race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identification, national origin, age, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, or veteran status, you’re always welcome at AppFolio.