Staff Data Engineer, GRC Enablement

# Staff Data Engineer – GRC Enablement ## About the Role Workiva is seeking a Staff Data Engineer to join its Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Enablement team and build the data foundations that support GRC engineering and product teams. This highly hands-on role focuses on scalable data platforms, Snowflake infrastructure, batch and real-time data pipelines, data modeling, transformation, quality, reliability, and compliance. You will own data systems and processes that make data accessible, reliable, and actionable across the organization. Working closely with backend and product engineers, you will establish data modeling standards, influence upstream data quality and data contracts, build reusable data products, lead resolution of data issues, and mentor engineers on data engineering and observability practices. ## Key Responsibilities * Design, build, and operate end-to-end data pipelines moving data from OLTP systems to OLAP platforms such as Snowflake. * Develop both batch and real-time data ingestion pipelines. * Define data transformation processes and establish data modeling practices for GRC applications. * Implement streaming solutions using Kafka or equivalent technologies. * Integrate Kafka-based streaming with Snowpipe and Snowpipe Streaming where appropriate. * Design, implement, test, and document complex dbt models supporting application-specific data requirements. * Optimize SQL queries for large-scale workloads, including multi-join queries, window functions, and CTEs. * Establish and enforce consistent data modeling standards. * Build curated data products and interfaces, including views and APIs, for downstream applications and analytics. * Implement data quality frameworks using dbt custom tests, freshness checks, SLAs, monitoring, and alerting. * Work within regulated release pipelines using GitOps and CI/CD practices. * Author pull requests and manage promotions across development, test, and production environments. * Collaborate with platform and infrastructure teams on gated release approvals. * Apply security and control measures including RBAC, audit logging, and encryption in line with Workiva information-protection policies. * Establish modeling patterns, coding standards, and documentation to support adoption and maintainability. * Mentor engineers on SQL, data modeling, dbt best practices, and observability. * Lead incident resolution and root-cause analysis for data-related issues. * Partner with product and backend engineering teams to influence upstream schema design, data contracts, and data quality expectations. * Drive cross-team technical standards and continuous improvement across GRC data engineering. ## Required Qualifications * 5+ years of experience in data engineering or analytics engineering. * Hands-on ownership of dbt projects and data-model lifecycles. * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. * Hands-on experience designing, building, and operating data pipelines and data systems. * Ability to work with data modeling, transformation, and data quality processes. * Ability to collaborate effectively with engineering, product, platform, and infrastructure teams. * Ability to mentor engineers and contribute to technical standards. ## Preferred Qualifications * Expert-level SQL experience for ETL/ELT, automation, and APIs. * Proven experience building and operating production data pipelines and data models on Snowflake. * Streaming experience with Kafka or similar technologies. * Familiarity with Snowpipe and Snowpipe Streaming patterns. * Experience working in regulated or highly controlled environments with strict release governance and compliance requirements. * Familiarity with DLT, Dagster, or similar orchestration tools. * Experience with BI tools such as Superset or equivalent. * Track record of mentoring engineers and driving cross-team technical standards. ## Skills & Competencies * Data Engineering * Analytics Engineering * Data Platform Engineering * Snowflake * SQL * dbt * ETL / ELT * Data Modeling * Data Transformation * Data Pipelines * Batch Processing * Real-Time Data Ingestion * Kafka * Snowpipe * Snowpipe Streaming * APIs * Data Products * Data Quality * Data Observability * Monitoring and Alerting * GitOps * CI/CD * Release Governance * RBAC * Audit Logging * Encryption * OLTP * OLAP * DLT * Dagster * Superset * Root-Cause Analysis * Incident Management * Technical Leadership * Mentoring * Cross-Functional Collaboration * Documentation * Coding Standards * Data Contracts * Schema Design ## Education & Experience ### Experience * 5+ years of data engineering or analytics engineering experience. * Hands-on ownership of dbt projects and data-model lifecycles. * Experience with data pipelines, data modeling, transformation, and data quality. * Experience collaborating with engineering and technical teams. * Experience mentoring engineers and contributing to technical standards is preferred. ### Education * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience. ## Work Arrangement & Schedule * **Employment Type:** Not specified in the source description. * **Work Arrangement:** Flexible; office or remote work within the employee's country of employment. * **Remote Work:** Supported. * **Travel:** Up to 10% for team and corporate meetings. * **Weekly Hours:** Not specified. * **Weekend Requirements:** Not specified. * **Remote Work Requirement:** Reliable internet access is required when working remotely. ## Compensation & Benefits * **U.S. Salary Range:** $129,000–$210,000 * Discretionary bonus, typically paid annually. * Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) granted at the time of hire. * 401(k) match. * Comprehensive employee benefits package. * Actual salary may vary based on location, skills, qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors. ## Compliance / Additional Information * **Employer:** Workiva * The role is part of the Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Enablement organization. * Workiva provides an AI-powered platform supporting finance, risk, and sustainability functions. * Workiva states that employment decisions are made without regard to protected characteristics under applicable law. * Reasonable accommodations are available to applicants with disabilities. * Workiva employees are required to complete comprehensive security and privacy training appropriate to their roles.