Senior Data Engineer

About the role

This is a hybrid position based in the Seattle Corporate Office, subject to WaFd Bank guidelines. The Senior Data Engineer will play a leading role in designing, building, and maintaining the organization's data repository and integration platforms, data flows, and related systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and operate the Bank’s cloud data platforms, including the data warehouse, databases, and Lakehouse structures that support analytical and business needs.
• Administer the platform day to day, managing compute and storage, role-based access, monitoring, and performance and cost optimization.
• Develop, implement, and maintain efficient, automated data pipelines for ETL processes.
• Build and own integrations that move data between core systems and the data platform through APIs, change-data-capture, and batch feeds, ensuring data flows are reliable, timely, observable, and scalable.
• Work collaboratively and independently to design and implement database objects, including tables, views, and schemas, to support the analytical needs of the business.
• Transform raw data into a usable format by applying data cleansing, aggregation, filtering, and enrichment techniques, balancing performance, maintainability, and clarity for downstream consumers.
• Develop and implement strategies and tactics to enhance and validate data quality, integrity, and consistency across multiple data sources and systems, including automated data quality checks.
• Aid with data governance, data classification, and make recommendations to improve organization-wide data management.
• Create and manage documentation and appropriate procedures necessary to enforce standards, communicate best practices, define roles and responsibilities, and sustain ongoing operations.
• Define and promote effective documentation best practices internally and externally.
• Adhere to all applicable laws and regulations. Maintain a working knowledge of security threats, laws, and policy for data privacy and protection; design and operate data systems with auditability, appropriate access controls, and sound change management in mind.
• Take steps to protect organizational data from accidental or unauthorized damage, modification, or disclosure; assist with security and access management.
• Serve as a go-to technical resource for the department, taking on complex troubleshooting, new technology evaluation, and the heavier technical lifting that spans systems and teams.
• Provide guidance to end-users, analysts, and stakeholders on data tools and technologies, and mentor junior engineers and analysts.
• Stay current with related regulations, best practices, tools, and new technologies; participate in educational opportunities; read industry publications; participate in professional organizations.
• Use new knowledge and ideas to continuously improve operational efficiencies, procedures, and strategy.
• Commit to a collaborative mindset and perform other duties as assigned in support of the team.
• Maintain the integrity of WaFd’s business needs in all processes and activities. Adhere to bank policies and procedures designed to comply with federal regulations, including but not limited to the Bank Secrecy Act, USA Patriot Act and OFAC regulations. To that end, ensure timely and accurate preparation of reports and other recordkeeping requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) in computer science, data science, software engineering, information systems, related quantitative field, or equivalent experience and/or training.
• A minimum of five years of experience in data engineering, database administration, or similar functions.
• Advanced SQL, including performance tuning, and strong proficiency in Python.
• Experience with other languages (e.g., Java, Scala, PowerShell) is a plus.
• Hands-on experience operating a modern cloud data platform, ideally Snowflake, including warehouse and compute management, role-based access control, and performance and cost optimization.
• Significant experience with modern ETL/ELT tools and transformation frameworks, workflow orchestration, and integrating data from operational source systems via APIs, change-data-capture, and file or batch feeds.
• Proficiency with version control and Git-based workflows, and hands-on experience building and maintaining CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience building data quality and observability into pipelines, including automated data quality checks, data lineage, freshness monitoring, and alerting.
• Strong, broad knowledge of data management principles, data governance practices, and data modeling, including dimensional modeling.
• Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills, including the ability to determine the source of issues in unfamiliar code or systems and to recognize and resolve recurring problems.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to mentor junior engineers and help set technical standards across the team.
• Preferred Experience using, or strong interest in adopting, AI development tools (e.g., Snowflake Cortex, Claude Code, Codex).
• Familiarity with streaming or near-real-time data processing (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis, Snowpipe Streaming, OpenFlow).
• Core banking or financial-services systems experience (e.g., Fiserv/DNA, nCino).
• Familiarity with BI and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Experience in fintech, banking, or another regulated and audited environment (e.g., SOX, GLBA, FFIEC), with the ability to design for auditability and access control.

Skills

• Advanced SQL, including performance tuning, and strong proficiency in Python.
• Experience with other languages (e.g., Java, Scala, PowerShell).
• Hands-on experience operating a modern cloud data platform, ideally Snowflake, including warehouse and compute management, role-based access control, and performance and cost optimization.
• Significant experience with modern ETL/ELT tools and transformation frameworks, workflow orchestration, and integrating data from operational source systems via APIs, change-data-capture, and file or batch feeds.
• Proficiency with version control and Git-based workflows, and hands-on experience building and maintaining CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience building data quality and observability into pipelines, including automated data quality checks, data lineage, freshness monitoring, and alerting.
• Strong, broad knowledge of data management principles, data governance practices, and data modeling, including dimensional modeling.
• Excellent problem-solving and debugging skills, including the ability to determine the source of issues in unfamiliar code or systems and to recognize and resolve recurring problems.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to mentor junior engineers and help set technical standards across the team.
• Preferred Experience using, or strong interest in adopting, AI development tools (e.g., Snowflake Cortex, Claude Code, Codex).
• Familiarity with streaming or near-real-time data processing (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis, Snowpipe Streaming, OpenFlow).
• Core banking or financial-services systems experience (e.g., Fiserv/DNA, nCino).
• Familiarity with BI and data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Experience in fintech, banking, or another regulated and audited environment (e.g., SOX, GLBA, FFIEC).

Benefits

• Paid time off for vacation, sick days and holidays
• Health insurance
• Stock options
• Bonus programs
• 401(k) plan
• Paid Parental Leave
• Life and AD&D insurance
• Long-term disability
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee assistance programs
• Pre-tax health and dependent-care spending plans

Pay

USD $135,050.00/Yr. USD $173,650.00/Yr.

Schedule

Hybrid