Staff Data Engineer- Data Architect

About the Staff Data Engineer at Headspace At Headspace, our mission is to transform mental healthcare to improve the health and happiness of the world. We’re looking for an experienced Data Architect who can also operate hands-on as a Staff Data Engineer. You will design and evolve our domain-based Enterprise Data Model (EDM), lead Master Data Management (MDM) initiatives, and build production-grade data pipelines in Python / PySpark. The ideal candidate is comfortable whiteboarding conceptual models, building and reviewing ETL jobs, and coaching engineering teams on data architecture best practices.
Be one of the first applicants, read the complete overview of the role below, then send your application for consideration.
Location : This is a hybrid role located in our San Francisco office, working 3 days per week from the office.
Lead the Development of Scalable Data Infrastructure: Drive the architecture and implementation of pySpark data pipelines to ingest and transform diverse datasets into the data lake in a fault-tolerant, robust system.
Architect World-Class Data Platforms: Design and lead the evolution of secure, compliant, and privacy-forward data warehousing platforms for healthcare.
Strategic Collaboration for Business Insights: Partner with analytics, product, and engineering leaders to ensure the data ecosystem provides actionable and reliable insights into critical business metrics.
Champion Data-Driven Leadership: Mentor other members of the DE and broader data team, particularly around dbt architecture and query performance, and foster a data-first culture across teams.
Influence Organizational Strategy: Act as a technical thought leader, shaping the company’s data strategy and influencing cross-functional roadmaps with data-centric solutions.
7+ years in data engineering / architecture, with 2+ years leading EDM/MDM programs and a track record of leading initiatives at scale.
~ Experience creating and maintaining domain-based enterprise data models (canonical, hub-and-spoke, data-product-oriented).
~ Deep expertise with data-modeling tools (ERwin, ER/Studio, PowerDesigner, or equivalent) and modeling techniques (3NF, Dimensional, Data Vault, Anchor).
~ Production experience writing performant Python and PySpark code on distributed compute (Spark 3+, Delta Lake).
~ Strong SQL skills across columnar and relational engines (Snowflake, Redshift, Databricks SQL, Postgres).
~ Solid grasp of data-governance practices: lineage, glossaries, PII/PHI controls, and data-quality frameworks.
~ Experience designing and optimizing real-time and batch ETL pipelines (dbt preferred), with scalability and reliability.
~ Comfortable in collaborative, agile environments; able to translate complex data topics into plain language.
~ Hands-on with Databricks platform (Unity Catalog, Delta Live Tables, MLflow).
dbt Core for transformation, tests, and metadata; Experience integrating with commercial MDM suites or building custom match-merge solutions.
Familiarity with cloud data-platform services on AWS (Terraform).
Background in data-privacy standards (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA) and differential-privacy or tokenization techniques.
The anticipated new hire base salary range for this full-time position is $140,400-$224,250 + equity + benefits.
Within this range, individual compensation is determined by a candidate’s location as well as a range of factors including but not limited to: unique relevant experience, job-related skills, and education or training. We offer a robust package including base salary, stock awards, comprehensive healthcare, wellness stipend, retirement match, and more. We combine evidence-based content, clinical care, and innovative technology to help millions of members around the world get support that’s effective, personalized, and accessible whenever and wherever they need it.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Headspace is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. We follow EEOC guidelines and are dedicated to fostering diversity across our workplace.
As an equal opportunity employer, we prohibit discrimination against applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, family status, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by law. participation is optional and kept confidential.
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