senior Data Engineer

Waystar is seeking a highly skilled Senior Data Engineer to join our Business Data & Architecture team and help advance our enterprise Data Modernization Program on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This is a senior individual contributor role focused on designing, building, and optimizing scalable data solutions that enable analytics, reporting, governance, and AI initiatives across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Data Pipeline Development & Optimization
  • Design, build, and maintain scalable ELT pipelines into BigQuery using Fivetran, APIs, Python, and cloud-native services
  • Develop and optimize bronze, silver, and gold data layers following Medallion Architecture principles
  • Create and maintain reusable dbt models that support enterprise reporting, analytics, and self-service use cases
  • Design and implement scalable ingestion patterns for structured and semi-structured data
  • Troubleshoot and resolve complex data pipeline, transformation, and performance issues
  • Improve pipeline reliability, performance, scalability, and maintainability
• Data Modeling & Analytics Enablement
  • Design and implement scalable data models supporting business intelligence, analytics, and operational reporting
  • Partner with business analysts, product owners, and stakeholders to understand and translate requirements into technical solutions
  • Develop reusable business-focused datasets and metrics aligned with enterprise standards
  • Support semantic modeling and reporting initiatives across business domains
  • Contribute to the standardization of enterprise metrics and reporting assets
• Data Quality, Observability & Reliability
  • Implement automated data validation, testing, and data quality checks
  • Develop monitoring, alerting, and observability capabilities across the data platform
  • Investigate and resolve data anomalies, processing issues, and performance bottlenecks
  • Support operational excellence through logging, incident analysis, and root cause investigations
  • Ensure data consistency, accuracy, and reliability across ingestion and transformation processes
• Platform Engineering & Automation
  • Develop and maintain orchestration workflows using Cloud Composer (Managed Airflow)
  • Contribute to CI/CD pipelines using GitHub and modern deployment practices
  • Support Infrastructure-as-Code initiatives using Terraform and platform automation tools
  • Improve engineering efficiency through automation, reusable components, and standard development patterns
  • Participate in platform optimization and modernization initiatives
• Data Governance & Security
  • Support data classification, lineage, metadata management, and governance initiatives
  • Implement secure access controls and data protection practices aligned with enterprise standards
  • Partner with Data Governance teams to improve data discoverability and trust
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory, privacy, and security requirements
  • Contribute to documentation and operational standards for enterprise data assets
• Collaboration & Continuous Improvement
  • Collaborate with engineers, architects, analysts, and business stakeholders across multiple domains
  • Participate in technical design reviews and engineering discussions
  • Perform peer code reviews and support engineering quality standards
  • Contribute to documentation, knowledge sharing, and reusable engineering practices
  • Evaluate new technologies and recommend platform improvements where appropriate

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in Data Engineering or a related technical discipline
• Strong hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• Advanced expertise in BigQuery
• Strong experience with dbt and modern ELT development practices
• Advanced SQL development and query optimization skills
• Strong Python programming experience
• Experience building scalable data pipelines and transformation frameworks
• Experience working with APIs and data integration patterns
• Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Airflow or Cloud Composer
• Experience with GitHub, source control, and CI/CD development practices
• Strong understanding of dimensional modeling and analytics engineering concepts
• Strong troubleshooting, problem-solving, and analytical skills
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting enterprise-scale data modernization programs
• Experience migrating workloads from Snowflake, Azure, SQL Server, Teradata, or other platforms to BigQuery
• Experience with Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code practices
• Familiarity with Google Dataplex, Knowledge Catalog, or metadata management solutions
• Experience with Cloud Run, Cloud Functions, or serverless technologies
• Experience implementing data quality, testing, and observability frameworks
• Experience supporting healthcare, payments, or regulated industry environments
• Familiarity with Data Mesh and domain-driven data ownership concepts
• Experience supporting AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics initiatives

Skills

Core Technologies

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• BigQuery
• dbt / dbt Cloud
• Fivetran
• Python
• SQL
• GitHub
• Cloud Composer (Managed Airflow)
• Cloud Functions
• REST APIs and Data Integration Frameworks
• CI/CD Pipelines

Preferred Technologies

• Terraform
• Dataplex
• Knowledge Catalog
• Cloud Run
• Snowflake
• Azure Data Factory (ADF)
• Data Quality & Observability Platforms
• Metadata Management Solutions

About Waystar

Through a smart platform and better experience, Waystar helps providers simplify healthcare payments and yield powerful results throughout the complete revenue cycle. Waystar’s healthcare payments platform combines innovative, cloud-based technology, robust data, and unparalleled client support to streamline workflows and improve financials so providers can focus on what matters most: their patients and communities. Waystar is trusted by 1M+ providers, 1K+ hospitals and health systems, and is connected to over 5K commercial and Medicaid/Medicare payers.

Waystar is deeply committed to living out our organizational values: honesty; kindness; passion; curiosity; fanatical focus; best work, always; making it happen; and joyful, optimistic & fun. Waystar products have won multiple Best in KLAS® or Category Leader awards since 2010 and earned multiple #1 rankings from Black Book™ surveys since 2012.

Benefits

• Competitive total rewards (base salary + bonus, if applicable)
• Customizable benefits package (3 medical plans with Health Saving Account company match)
• Generous paid time off for non-exempt team members (3 weeks + 13 paid holidays, including 2 personal floating holidays)
• Flexible time off for exempt team members + 13 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave (including maternity + paternity leave)
• Education assistance opportunities and free LinkedIn Learning access
• Free mental health and family planning programs, including adoption assistance and fertility support
• 401(K) program with company match
• Pet insurance
• Employee resource groups