Senior Data Engineer, Ursa Space Systems
$150-200k
+ Stock Options
More information about location
Office located in Ithaca, NY
Satellite imaging & geospatial insights
Open for applications
Satellite imaging & geospatial insights
21-100 employees
Open for applications
$150-200k
+ Stock Options
More information about location
Office located in Ithaca, NY
21-100 employees
Company mission
To analyze patterns in the physical world to understand what's happening at a deeper level.
Role
Who you are
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience typically requires an advanced degree or equivalent experience and a minimum of 10+ years of relevant data engineering experience in enterprise environments
- Mastery-level knowledge of the data engineering field and modern data platform technology delivery, with deep experience in one or more key domains such as lakehouse architecture, distributed data processing, cloud data warehousing, data transformation frameworks, or data governance
- Demonstrated ability to build and complete implementation plans for complex, enterprise-scale data platforms and pipelines. These platforms support analytics, reporting, AI/ML, and operational decision-making. They also impact on the achievement of the foundation’s priorities
- Proven experience developing and implementing standards, processes, and operational plans that improve stability, resilience, security, and performance of critical data platforms
- Deep expertise with cloud-based data platforms - Azure Data services, Databricks, Snowflake and DBT cloud
- Strong foundation in enterprise data architecture fields and the development of secure, scalable, aligned technology solutions
- Advanced experience with CI/CD pipelines for data workloads, infrastructure as code, cloud-native operational models, and modern version control strategies
- Strong proficiency in programming using data processing tools like Azure Data Factory, Fivetran, Databricks notebook, DBT cloud, ETL/ELT frameworks, as well as programming languages such as Python, SQL, Spark (PySpark/Scala) and scripting languages common to cloud data environments
- Demonstrated success leading large-scale and complex data modernization initiatives, including migration from legacy data warehouses to modern cloud-based data platforms
- Experience managing and reviewing vendors or offshore engineering work to ensure alignment with enterprise data standards, architecture principles and long-term sustainability
- Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to clearly and succinctly translate complex data architecture concepts into actionable recommendations for senior leadership, technical teams, and non-technical partners across multiple functions
- Demonstrated ability to enable AI through data, with a strong understanding of AI use cases and the data architecture, quality, governance, lineage, and scalability requirements necessary to successfully support AI initiatives
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, demonstrating a dedication to operational excellence, continuous learning, and improving data engineering practices
- May mentor, review, and delegate work to more junior engineers, building capability and maturity across the data engineering group
What the job involves
- We are seeking a seasoned Senior Data Engineer to architect, enhance, and sustain our primary data infrastructure
- In this role, you will be responsible for creating dependable pipelines, overseeing cloud-based data warehouses, and guaranteeing that our machine learning and analytics units have high-availability access to data
- At Ursa Space, a Senior Data Engineer does more than just move information; you will be architecting a scalable "reservoir" capable of processing extensive and intricate geospatial datasets, including raw satellite imagery, economic intelligence, and metadata
- A key component of this will be creating a secure data lake architecture with fine-grained, role-based access controls
- As a technical authority and practice lead, you will function with significant autonomy to define engineering benchmarks, mentor fellow engineers, and bolster the capabilities of our data platform
- You will turn difficult technical and organizational hurdles into viable data strategies and scalable solutions, taking full ownership of the enterprise data ecosystem's reliability, performance, governance, and long-term health
- Define and evolve the data engineering technology roadmaps aligned to business strategies, enterprise architecture, information security standards
- Provide architectural leadership on complex, cross-team data initiatives, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, resilient, and maintainable
- Lead data platform and vendor evaluations, guiding build vs. buy decisions and ensuring consistency with enterprise technical direction
- Develop and promote data engineering standards for lakehouse architecture, ELT/ETL frameworks, data modeling, CI/CD, observability, and governance
- Anticipate technology impacts across applications, data, integrations, and infrastructure—and guide teams through informed trade-off decisions including assessing new technology
- Day-to-day hands-on execution and implementation of solutions - using modern data platforms, initiatives, processes and practices
- Be responsible for technical direction for large or multi-team delivery efforts, ensuring application of modern data engineering and DevSecOps practices
- Conduct architectural and technical reviews of solution designs, code, and delivery approaches to raise quality and consistency
- Champion automation, observability, and operational excellence to ensure platforms remain reliable, performant, and cost effective
- Pilot emerging technologies and guide their adoption into stable enterprise capabilities when appropriate
- Drive continuous improvement of engineering practices, tooling, automation and operational processes
- Based on the needs of the company, you may be required to work occasional nights and weekends
- All other duties as assigned
Application process
- Please note: applications without a relevant cover letter will not be considered. In your cover letter, we would like to hear your personal voice and learn about your sincere interest in Ursa Space Systems
Our take
A lot of data analytics focuses on the small details - the digital footprint and individual clicks of a person’s online presence. Ursa Space Systems focuses on the big picture, quite literally, with its provision of satellite intelligence data.
The applications of Ursa’s data are manifold - spanning logistics, weather, climate, security intelligence and more. While a lot of business have their own data analysis capabilities, access to the data Ursa provides is difficult to come by, which is what sets it apart from the crowd.
Its a leading player in its corner of the market, and has received strong levels of investment. This supports the expansion of its capabilities to better support emerging markets for this kind of data, such as supply chain optimization and insurance.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 8 rounds)
Mar 2024
$6.2m
LATE VC
Mar 2023
$4.1m
LATE VC
Total funding: $61m
Company benefits
- Aetna health, dental, and vision insurance plans with fully paid premiums for you and your eligible dependents
- Basic team life and AD&D, short term disability, long term disability
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- 401(k) retirement plan
- Complimentary Employee Assistance Program
- Entertainment discounts
- Optional pet care insurance
- Educational savings accounts
- Employee stock options
- Legal & financial protection
- Remote work opportunities
Company HQ
Ithaca, Ithaca, NY
Leadership
Adam Maher
(CEO & Co-founder)Former Advanced Systems Engineer at Space Systems Loral.
Julie Baker
(COO & Co-founder)Previously worked as Software Consultant at both Applied Decision Analysis and Fraunhofer Institute, Principal Scientist at Odyssey Research Associates, and VP of Cyber Tech at Architecture Technology Corporation.
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