Lead Data Engineer (Research) - Office of CTO

About the Role:
CloudZero is seeking a highly skilled, innovative, and collaborative Lead Data Engineer to join the newly formed and dynamic research team under the Office of the CTO. In this role, you will partner closely with teams across the organization and play a leading and pivotal role in researching and developing our data infrastructure as the company goes through incredible growth. In this role you will help enable clean, reliable, and organized data models that empower the organization to make informed, data-driven decisions. 

You will also be instrumental in providing high-quality data to support our AI/ML data scientists and other data-driven initiatives. Using tools like Snowflake, Looker, AWS Aurora, and other modern data engineering technologies, you will lead the research, design and implementation of innovative data solutions. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to grow and manage a team of talented data engineers, shaping the future of our data ecosystem and driving innovation across the entire organization.

Responsibilities:

• Partner to Assess and Optimize Data Infrastructure:
• Dive into existing data infrastructure to assess, design, and implement scalable, secure, and high-performance data pipelines and architectures using Snowflake and other modern technologies.
• Optimize ETL/ELT workflows to ensure data quality, reliability, and performance while reducing costs both short-term and long-term.
• Help develop clear data ownership policies between engineering (production systems) and research (experimentation and innovation).
• Collaborate Across Teams:
• Partner with engineering, security, analytics, and business intelligence teams to integrate tools like Looker into the data ecosystem, enabling self-service reporting.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to identify data needs, solve complex problems, and deliver impactful solutions while upholding our high security standards.
• Documentation of key findings and recommendations to increase collaboration across data teams. 
• Help Establish and Develop Data Strategy, Governance, and Security Practices
• Contribute to the development of a 6–12 month roadmap across teams to improve scalability, governance, and integration of data systems.
• Implement data governance frameworks to ensure compliance with security, privacy, and quality standards.
  
• Drive AI/ML Enablement and Research Collaboration
• Develop data pipelines that support AI/ML performance requirements and research goals.
• Ensure high-quality data is readily accessible to experimentation and research teams.
• Collaborate regularly with cross-functional teams to streamline processes and avoid data duplication or conflict.
• Deliver Actionable Insights:
• Build dashboards and reports in tools like Looker to provide actionable insights and empower decision-making for our customers. 
• Deliver reporting solutions that address business-critical use cases such as product adoption, customer health, sales performance, and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify key metrics, data needs, and reporting gaps.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in data engineering, with at least 3 years in a lead or principal role.
• Deep expertise in Snowflake architecture, performance tuning, and cost optimization.
• Strong proficiency in SQL and data modeling best practices.
• Experience with Looker and other similar BI platforms (ex. Tableau, PowerBI, Sigma)
• Hands-on experience with ETL/ELT tools such as dbt, Matillion, or Airflow.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Proven ability to design and implement scalable data pipelines in large-scale environments.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong understanding of data governance, security, and compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
• Programming skills in Python or another scripting language.
• Experience with real-time data processing technologies (e.g., Kafka, Spark).
• Knowledge of machine learning pipelines and data science workflows.
• Certifications in Snowflake, Looker, or cloud platforms.
  

About CloudZero:

Cloud cost management is one of the biggest challenges organizations face today. As cloud adoption continues to accelerate, so do the complexities and costs associated with it — and macroeconomic conditions only increase pressure to prove cloud efficiency. That’s why we built CloudZero: a SaaS platform at the intersection of next-generation cloud cost management and FinOps. CloudZero ingests billing and usage data from all cloud, SaaS, and PaaS providers, organizes it in real time according to our customers’ business structures, lets customers view it at any level of time or resource granularity, and ultimately empowers them to make more informed business decisions.

Since our founding in 2016, our mission has been to make efficient innovation a reality for every cloud-driven organization. At CloudZero, we believe every engineering decision is a buying decision, yet the cost conversation often bypasses the engineers who drive those determinations. To solve this, we’ve built a dynamic, single-page application that answers the complex, data-heavy questions every cloud-based organization needs to ask if they want to grow their company profitably.

To date, we’ve raised over $52 million from leading venture capital firms across the country. We’re solving problems of massive scale, business importance, and complexity in a space that needs it more than ever. We’re growing rapidly and would love for you to be a part of it!

Equal Opportunity Employer
CloudZero is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability status. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.