Data Engineer

As a founding Data Engineer at CredLens, you will play a crucial role in designing, building, and maintaining our data infrastructure.
You will work closely within a small, cohesive team, including software engineers and data scientists, to build a secure and high-quality data platform that supports our mission to provide actionable insights for non-degree credentials.
This is a green-field build-out of a new national non-profit, reporting directly to the CTO, providing an exciting opportunity to shape the future of our platform as well as the opportunity to develop into leadership or architectural lead roles.
You will leverage both SQL and Python languages to work with native AWS data mesh technologies such as Glue and Redshift, as well as Snowflake and Airbyte. You'll leverage SQLMesh and DBT for the initial development and build rules within the brighthive.io data orchestration platform. As such, there will be incrementally increasing amounts of software development within the data platform, but starting with a substantial amount of DBT/SQLMesh configuration tasks.
Note that this isn't a "big data" or "real-time" analytics role, and would best suit mission-aligned individuals who care deeply about using data to create more equitable outcomes, and who focus more on quality, reliability and security. Note also we're expecting a significant proportion of the role will be spent working alongside our clients to help onboarding and normalize their data so excellent customer service skills are required.
About CredLens
CredLens is building a nonprofit national data trust focused on verified outcomes for non-degree credentials. The effort is an initiative launched by the Strada Education Foundation in 2024. CredLens will deliver actionable insights and power ongoing research for industry-based, professional, and workforce credentials.
CredLens is designed to fill the data gap for non-degree credentials. The attainment of these credentials is growing, but there is little to no data tracking their outcomes. CredLens will offer tailored data analytics and visualizations to credential issuers, workforce training providers, philanthropic funding partnerships, and state system partnerships to support the continuous improvement of credential quality and to support informed funding and scaling decisions.
Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize ETL processes using AWS Glue, Redshift & Snowflake using DBT and/or SQLMesh.
• Become an expert at using the Brighthive.io platform to integrate data from our credential partners.
• Actively engage with clients, guiding them through the onboarding process, and build custom configurations to ingest their data into our core data model.
• Implement and maintain data quality checks and best practices & ensure strong quality assurance practices are followed in all development work.
• Ensure data security and compliance with relevant regulations and best practices.
• Write and maintain comprehensive documentation for data processes and infrastructure.
• Work closely with data scientists, security teams, software engineers, and other stakeholders to ensure data solutions meet client and core engineering needs.
• Occasionally act as a part-time scrum master, facilitating agile practices within the team.
• Keep abreast of the latest trends and best practices in data engineering and related technologies.

The Person: Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field is preferred but not mandatory.

Experience Required

• Minimum 3-4 years of experience in data engineering or a related field, building ETL processes and data integration solutions.Very proficient in SQL and Python.
• Strong experience with AWS data technologies, including Glue and Athena.
• Strong Experience with data warehousing solutions such as Snowflake & Redshift.
• Strong Familiarity with data transformation tools like DBT.
• Working familiarity with data governance techniques and technologies supporting data lineage, metadata management, and data quality.
• Good working experience of Git / GitHubExcellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Flexible and able to shape best practices in data engineering.

Experience Preferred

• Experience with work management using Jira & Confluence.
• Experience with data science & ML technologies, such as R, PyTorch, AWS SageMaker.
• Previous experience in a startup or non-profit environment.

Values Alignment

• Passion for education and technology, with a commitment to CredLens' mission and values.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated alignment with CredLens guiding values, commitment to building a strong and healthy workplace culture, and working in a collaborative environment.
• Commitment and professional experience in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within an organization, including incorporating stakeholder perspectives in the design, implementation, and evaluation of work efforts.

$112,200 - $131,750 a year
Plus an annual bonus (not included in the range stated above).
The pay range listed is based on national compensation benchmark data and may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge, variations in cost of labor, and in some cases, geographic location. The exact job offer will be determined based on several factors such as the candidate's individual skills, qualifications and experience relative to the requirements of the role. The range displayed with the job posting represents the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across the U.S.
The company also reviews and considers internal equity (current employee salary) when hiring new employees to the organization. The range is the expected starting base salary for someone hired into this position with room to grow professionally, including increased earning potential beyond the starting pay range. Beyond a new hire's base salary, Strada also offers all full-time employees a comprehensive employee benefit package.
Travel Requirements
Minimal travel but hybrid work model and expected to be in the DC office at least 2 days per week.
*Please answer all questions for your application to be considered.
Mission and Values Alignment:
Committed to providing equitable pathways to opportunity through PSET, particularly for individuals who have faced significant barriers. Demonstrated alignment with CredLens' guiding values, commitment to building a strong and healthy workplace culture, and working in a collaborative environment.
Strategy and Innovation Leadership:
Adept at operationalizing strategy and effectively communicating strategic endeavors within the organization and in external contexts, both verbally and in writing. Particular skill in designing annual plans, monitoring progress, and refining plans as needed. Adaptable with tolerance for ambiguity. Able to problem-solve and navigate varied viewpoints. Capacity to refine efforts based on evidence that change is needed. Ability to lead efforts to visualize and monitor change. Capability to see and support innovative ideas and opportunities across the organization, and to embed innovation within operational plans. Capabilities in taking the perspective of others and adapting an agenda and approach - toward a shared aim - accordingly.
Strategic Problem Solving:
Ability to effectively utilize a hypothesis-driven approach to problem solving, with effective quantitative and communication skills. Ability to take on broad-reaching and sometimes ambiguous questions while working collaboratively and cross-functionally with Strada team members across the organization.
Execution and Operations Leadership:
Ability to translate innovative, strategic ideas into tangible, actionable steps, as well as to effectively monitor progress and partner with others on identifying improvements during implementation to increase the likelihood of successful execution.
DEI Commitment:
Commitment and professional experience advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within and organization, including incorporating stakeholder perspectives in the design, implementation, and evaluation of strategic efforts.
Relationship Building and Collaborative Capabilities:
Demonstrated ability to cultivate, grow, and manage positive, mutually beneficial relationships at all levels of an organization and with partners outside the organization. Strong communication, interpersonal and relationship management skills-including identifying and working through challenges-underscored by strong judgment and emotional intelligence. Proven collaborator, able to work with colleagues at all levels in the organization.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to CredLens' organizational vibrancy, employee experience, and mission. We strongly encourage applicants from people of color/the global majority, immigrant, bilingual, and bicultural individuals; people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA2S+ and gender nonconforming communities; and people with other diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We believe every member on the team enriches our workplace by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover, design, and deliver critical insights and solutions.