Principal Data Engineer

Principal Data Engineer

Salary: $205K - $249.5K Location Type: Remote Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

Kin is revolutionizing the insurance industry by creating a smarter, faster, and customer-centric experience. We leverage intelligent pricing, seamless bundling, and simplify every interaction, from purchase to claims, particularly for underserved markets. Our mission is to empower individuals to protect what matters most, starting with their homes and expanding to all their valuables, in a world facing climate risks, rising costs, and outdated systems.

Kin has experienced significant growth, secured marquee investors, and received numerous accolades, including:

• Built In Chicago's Best Places to Work, Midsize Companies (2021-2025)
• Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers (2021-2024, Ranked #37 in 2024)
• Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies
• Forbes’ Fintech 50

We are seeking forward-thinking, inspired individuals to join our mission.

Role Description

Data is fundamental to Kin's success. As a Principal Data Engineer, you will serve as the senior technical lead for the data engineering department. You will partner with the Director of Data Engineering to provide technical leadership and architectural direction to our Data organization. You will spearhead our transition to distributed computing, specifically migrating to Databricks. You will be Kin's foremost expert on our data stack and environment, a mentor to your data team, and a key partner to cross-functional colleagues and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of a distributed computing environment utilizing Databricks and best-in-class data governance.
• Drive Kin's transformation into a data-first organization by collaborating with cross-functional teams from Product, AppEng, analytics, and business units to address complex challenges.
• Architect scalable and efficient data pipelines, optimize data storage and retrieval systems, and ensure data quality and integrity throughout the data lifecycle.
• Lead technical initiatives across all facets of the data team, enhancing our data infrastructure and processes with modern technology.
• Lead the overall data architecture design, encompassing ingestion, computing, storage, governance, and machine learning engineering capabilities.
• Implement the architecture and establish a vision for data flow within the organization using a federated approach.
• Manage data governance across multiple systems, including data mastering, metadata management, data definitions, semantic-layer design, data taxonomies, and ontologies.
• Design and implement solutions using Databricks for advanced analytics, data processing, and machine learning workloads.
• Contribute to defining the technology strategy and roadmaps for the portfolio of data platforms and services across the organization.
• Ensure data security and compliance, adhering to industry regulations.
• Design and document data architecture at conceptual, logical, and physical levels.
• Provide hands-on architectural guidance and leadership throughout the entire lifecycle of development projects.
• Translate business requirements into conceptual and detailed technology solutions that align with organizational goals.
• Collaborate with other architects, engineering directors, and product managers to align data solutions with business strategy.
• Lead proof-of-concept projects to test and validate new tools or architectural approaches.
• Stay current with industry trends, vendor product offerings, and evolving data technologies to ensure the organization leverages the best available tools.
• Cross-train peers and mentor team members to share knowledge and build internal capabilities.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in designing and architecting data systems and warehousing.