Senior Data & Analytics Engineer II

Summary

Join Kickstarter's Insights team as a Senior Data & Analytics Engineer II and play a key role in modernizing our data stack. You will develop and improve data architecture, build scalable ETL/ELT pipelines, enhance data accessibility, support real-time data needs, and lead cost optimization efforts. Collaborate with various teams to ensure data solutions align with business needs. This role requires 8+ years of experience in data engineering and expertise in cloud-based data warehouses, SQL, Python, and data transformation frameworks. Kickstarter offers a fully remote work environment, comprehensive health benefits, generous paid time off, parental leave, and a 4-day workweek.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, or related fields
• Strong experience with cloud-based data warehouses (Redshift, Snowflake, or BigQuery) and query performance optimization
• Expertise in SQL, Python, and data transformation frameworks like dbt
• Experience building scalable data pipelines with modern orchestration tools (Airflow, MWAA, Dagster, etc.)
• Knowledge of real-time streaming architectures (Kafka, Kinesis, etc.) and event-based telemetry best practices
• Experience working with business intelligence tools (e.g. Looker) and enabling self-serve analytics
• Ability to drive cost-efficient and scalable data solutions, balancing performance with resource management
• Strong problem-solving and communication skills—comfortable working cross-functionally with technical and non-technical stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Develop, own and improve Kickstarter’s data architecture—optimize our Redshift warehouse, implement best practices for data storage, processing, and orchestration
• Design and build scalable ETL/ELT pipelines to transform raw data into clean, usable datasets for analytics, product insights, and machine learning applications
• Enhance data accessibility and self-service analytics by improving Looker models and enabling better organizational data literacy
• Support real-time data needs by optimizing event-based telemetry and integrating new data streams to fuel new products, personalization, recommendations, and fraud detection
• Lead cost optimization efforts—identify and implement more efficient processes and tools to lower costs
• Drive data governance and security best practices—ensure data integrity, access controls, and proper lineage tracking
• Collaborate across teams to ensure data solutions align with product, growth, and business intelligence needs

Preferred Qualifications

Familiarity with machine learning operations (MLOps) and experimentation tooling is a plus

Benefits

• A fully remote workforce with plenty of opportunities to get to know your colleagues
• 100% employer-paid health plan offerings
• 16 paid vacation days, 10 sick days, and a company-wide winter break between Christmas and New Years
• 25 volunteer hours each year to give back to your community
• 16 weeks of parental leave plus fertility/family planning resources
• Kickstarter currently operates with a 4-day workweek, a model that aligns our belief in a healthy work-life balance and gives staff the space to be more than their work