Senior Staff Software Engineer, Backend (Data and Storage Services)
WFA Digital Insight
As the demand for data-driven decision making grows, companies like Affirm are looking for skilled engineers to lead their data and storage services. With a 25% increase in job postings for data engineers in the past year, this role is an exciting opportunity for those with expertise in Snowflake, Apache Iceberg, and data governance. Affirm's commitment to reinventing credit and providing honest financial services makes it an attractive company to work for, with a strong focus on operational excellence and technical innovation. Candidates should be prepared to showcase their technical skills and experience in data engineering, as well as their ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
Job Description
About the Role
The Senior Staff Software Engineer will play a critical role in leading the data and storage services team at Affirm. This team is responsible for handling all of Affirm's data requirements, from critical online checkout databases to batch orchestration, streaming infrastructure, and event-driven frameworks. The successful candidate will have a deep understanding of data engineering principles and experience with technologies such as Snowflake, Apache Iceberg, and Spark.As a member of the data and storage services organization, the Senior Staff Software Engineer will collaborate with other teams, including product, infrastructure, and analytics engineering, to drive the technical direction of Affirm's lakehouse analytics platform. This will involve designing and implementing robust role-based access control and dynamic data masking policies, as well as leading the development of data governance and privacy engineering initiatives.
The Senior Staff Software Engineer will be part of a team that values operational excellence, technical innovation, and collaboration. They will be expected to mentor engineers across the Lake Analytics Platform and Analytics Engineering teams, providing guidance on emerging technologies, development practices, and fostering a culture of technical excellence.
What You Will Do
- Architect and evolve Affirm's lakehouse analytics platform, driving strategy around Snowflake, Apache Iceberg, and Spark to deliver scalable, high-performance analytical infrastructure
- Design and implement robust role-based access control and dynamic data masking policies in Snowflake, ensuring data access is secure, compliant, and auditable across the organization
- Lead the technical direction of analytics engineering practices, including data modeling, transformation pipelines, and data quality frameworks that enable trustworthy, self-service analytics
- Drive data governance and privacy engineering initiatives, leveraging tools like Atlan to manage data cataloging, lineage, classification, and policy enforcement
- Identify and execute cost optimization strategies across Affirm's analytical compute and storage footprint, including Snowflake warehouse tuning, query optimization, and efficient data lifecycle management
- Collaborate with product engineering, data science, and business intelligence teams to understand their data needs and provide continuous guidance on design, architecture, and best practices
- Establish and champion best practices for lakehouse operations at scale, including schema evolution, table maintenance, partitioning strategies, and observability
- Stay ahead of industry trends in analytical data platforms, data governance, and privacy technologies, and identify opportunities to innovate and improve Affirm's data offerings
- Mentor engineers across the Lake Analytics Platform and Analytics Engineering teams, providing guidance on emerging technologies, development practices, and fostering a culture of technical excellence
- Participate in an on-call rotation and collaborate with other teams, such as SRE, to resolve production issues
What We Are Looking For
- 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with a focus on data engineering and analytics
- Strong technical skills in data engineering, including experience with Snowflake, Apache Iceberg, and Spark
- Experience with data governance and privacy engineering, including role-based access control and dynamic data masking
- Strong understanding of data modeling, transformation pipelines, and data quality frameworks
- Experience with cost optimization strategies, including Snowflake warehouse tuning and query optimization
- Strong collaboration and communication skills, with experience working with cross-functional teams
- Experience with data cataloging, lineage, classification, and policy enforcement
- Strong understanding of industry trends in analytical data platforms, data governance, and privacy technologies
Nice to Have
- Experience with Atlan, MonteCarlo, dbt, and other data engineering tools
- Strong understanding of lakehouse operations at scale, including schema evolution, table maintenance, and partitioning strategies
- Experience with observability and monitoring tools, such as Prometheus and Grafana
- Strong understanding of cloud-based data platforms, including AWS and GCP
Benefits and Perks
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Opportunities for professional growth and development
- Collaborative and dynamic work environment
- Flexible working hours and remote work options
- Access to cutting-edge technologies and tools
- Comprehensive health and wellness package
- Generous paid time off and holiday schedule
- Retirement savings plan and matching program
How to Stand Out
- Make sure to highlight your experience with Snowflake, Apache Iceberg, and Spark in your resume and cover letter
- Be prepared to discuss your approach to data governance and privacy engineering, including role-based access control and dynamic data masking
- Showcase your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product, infrastructure, and analytics engineering
- Emphasize your understanding of industry trends in analytical data platforms, data governance, and privacy technologies
- Be ready to provide examples of your experience with cost optimization strategies, including Snowflake warehouse tuning and query optimization
- Demonstrate your strong technical skills in data engineering, including experience with data modeling, transformation pipelines, and data quality frameworks
- Research Affirm's company culture and values, and be prepared to discuss how you align with them
This is a remote position listed on WFA Digital, the platform for professionals who work from anywhere. Browse more remote jobs across all categories.