Staff Data Engineer

SmithRx; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance

Flexible Spending Benefits

401(k) Retirement Savings Program

Discretionary Paid Time Off

12 Paid Company Holidays

Wellness Benefits

Commuter Benefits

Paid Parental Leave benefits

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Professional development and training opportunities

Job summary

SmithRx in San Francisco is seeking an experienced Data Engineer with over 6 years in software or data engineering. The role focuses on transforming data into insights to solve Pharmacy Benefits Management challenges. Key responsibilities include designing resilient systems, managing integrations, and mentoring junior staff. Candidates must possess strong skills in PySpark, SQL, and Python, with experience in ETL tools and data warehouse technologies. The position offers competitive benefits including medical, dental, retirement saving plans, and paid parental leave.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of industrial experience in software or data engineering.
• Strong skills in PySpark, SQL, and Python.
• Hands-on experience with leading ETL tools and frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Design flexible, resilient software components and data pipelines.
• Define and deliver technical roadmaps for larger projects.
• Mentor and develop talent in the team.

Skills

PySpark

SQL

Python

ETL tools (e.g., Apache Spark, Airflow)

Data warehouse technologies (e.g., Snowflake)

Job description

SmithRx is a rapidly growing, venture-backed Health-Tech company. Our mission is to disrupt the expensive and inefficient Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) sector by building a next-generation drug acquisition platform driven by cutting edge technology, innovative cost saving tools, and best-in-class customer service. With hundreds of thousands of members onboarded since 2016, SmithRx has a solution that is resonating with clients all across the country. We pride ourselves for our mission-driven and collaborative culture that inspires our employees to do their best work. We believe that the U.S healthcare system is in need of transformation, and we come to work each day dedicated to making that change a reality. At our core, we are guided by our company values:

• Integrity: Our purpose guides our actions and gives us confidence in the path ahead. With unwavering honesty and dependability, we embrace the pressure of challenging the old and exemplify ethical leadership to create the new.
• Courage: We face continuous challenges with grit and resilience. We embrace the discomfort of the unknown by balancing autonomy with empathy, and ownership with vulnerability. We boldly challenge the status quo to keep moving forward—always.
• Together: The success of SmithRx reflects the strength of our partnerships and the commitment of our team. Our shared values bind us together and make us one. When one falls, we all fall; when one rises, we all rise.

Job Summary

On the Data Engineering team, we transform streams of data into insights that solve real-world Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) challenges. We empower our Data Analytics and Machine Learning teams to make drug pricing transparent and easy to understand. We deliver business impact by designing, implementing, and maintaining distributed systems to collect, aggregate, and govern pharmaceutical data. We leverage open-source tools like Airflow and DBT built on top of industry-leading data warehouses (e.g., Snowflake), utilize LLMs to optimize workflows, and use Python heavily in our daily work.

Responsibilities

Architecture & Ecosystem Design

• Build Resilient Systems: Design flexible, difficult-to-misuse software components and data pipelines. Reduce complex designs into simple foundational components to proactively avoid scaling issues and lower maintenance costs.
• Manage Cross-Boundary Integrations: Create coherent ecosystem designs across multiple pipelines and API boundaries. Ensure reliable feature rollouts with appropriate monitoring, paging, and well-characterized failure domains.
• Improve Developer Efficiency: Continuously look for ways to simplify code and infrastructure. Implement solutions that measurably improve developer efficiency.

Execution & Problem Solving

• Drive Large-Scale Projects: Autonomously define and deliver technical roadmaps for larger projects with cross-team dependencies. Execute against tight deadlines while preemptively identifying and resolving technical risks.
• Unblock the Team: Assess and eliminate the root causes of technical and process barriers. Own your decisions and mistakes, taking action to prevent them in the future and sharing learnings widely.
• Align Technical Output with Business Value: Partner with your manager to define team priorities based on SmithRx's business strategy. Design clear success metrics for systems and achieve them consistently post-launch.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Break down silos within and across functions. Write crisp narratives to create understanding, get buy-in, and enable effective decision-making among stakeholders.
• Navigate Ambiguity: Act thoughtfully in critical situations. Balance conflicting perspectives, encourage productive debate, and commit to moving key company priorities forward even when making unpopular decisions.
• Mentor & Develop Talent: Serve as a role model and technical guide for less-experienced team members, tailoring your coaching and feedback to their specific skills and working styles.
• Champion Culture & Hiring: Actively participate in the hiring process for senior candidates and managers (interviews, debriefs, 1:1 sell chats). Foster psychological safety, encourage a growth mindset, and consistently personify SmithRx's core values.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of industrial experience in software or data engineering. (Start-up and healthcare experience is highly desirable).
• Strong skills in PySpark, SQL, and Python are required. Experience in modern object-oriented or compiled languages such as C#/C++, Go, Java, or Scala is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with leading ETL tools and frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, dbt, Looker, Superset).
• Demonstrated expertise in data warehouse technologies (e.g., Snowflake) and mastery of data modeling concepts through production-grade implementations.
• A proven track record of successfully executing complex projects with cross-team dependencies from design to post-launch monitoring.
• The ability to tailor technical messaging to various audiences, explaining how business priorities inform engineering choices.

Benefits

• Highly competitive wellness benefits including Medical, Pharmacy, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance and AD&D Insurance
• Flexible Spending Benefits
• 401(k) Retirement Savings Program
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Discretionary Paid Time Off
• 12 Paid Company Holidays
• Wellness Benefits
• Commuter Benefits
• Paid Parental Leave benefits
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Well-stocked kitchen in office locations
• Professional development and training opportunities