Who We Are?
The Living Wage Institute (LWI) is a benefit corporation building the data and tech-enabled services that help every employer to design compensation and benefits that work for workers and business. LWI is seeking a Founding Data Engineer to work alongside our Chief Product Officer in building and scaling the data infrastructure that powers our data and applications. This role offers an exciting opportunity for a hands-on engineer to design the architecture, pipelines, and platforms that enable meaningful progress towards an America where every worker can meet their family’s basic needs.
Why Join Us?
At the Living Wage Institute, we are committed to helping companies design and implement needs-based compensation and benefits strategies to build better worker financial stability and better business outcomes. As a Founding Data Engineer, you'll build the infrastructure and systems that power our employer-facing products, enable economic research, and support millions of community users each year. Join us and help drive real, measurable change across workplaces and communities in the United States!
Key Responsibilities
Data Architecture and Infrastructure
- Help shape our data architecture and infrastructure roadmap alongside the CEO and CPO
- Build and maintain a scalable data warehouse and relational databases across time, geography, and other dimensions
- Design ETL pipelines from government, research, and third-party data sources, and build internal interfaces for the team to access and explore that data
Application and Product Engineering
- Build backend infrastructure for our MVP apps and client-facing tools
- Help productionize our existing models, which currently run locally in R - revising them to production-grade as part of the rollout
- Familiarity with CI/CD is a plus – this isn't a DevOps role, and deep CI/CD ownership isn't expected
Quality Assurance and Compliance
- Build QA/testing practices and monitoring across our data systems, with an eye toward SOC 2 compliance
Applied Expertise
- Work with our Data Manager to translate research requirements into scalable technical solutions, and support HRIS/workforce data integrations
- Help set up lightweight linkages to our front-end/website work - not design or front-end build, just how the data connects to it
Qualifications
Experience
- Strong, hands-on data/backend engineering experience - we care more about what you've built than years. Founding/early-stage engineers with real ownership experience are encouraged to apply.
- Experience designing data warehouses/pipelines and backend infrastructure for web apps
- Experience in data science, social science, public policy, HR analytics, or research-oriented organizations is a plus
Technical Skills - Must-Have
- Strong proficiency in SQL and Python
- Experience with data warehouse technologies like Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, and PostgreSQL
- Hands-on experience with ETL/ELT frameworks and pipeline orchestration tools like Airflow, dbt, and Prefect
Technical Skills - Nice-to-Have
- CI/CD tools, building APIs/backend services, SOC 2 exposure, and/or HRIS or workforce-data systems experience
Communication and Collaboration
- Comfortable translating technical concepts for non-technical teammates, strong documentation habits, and experience working cross-functionally
Key Competencies
Our key competencies capture the behaviors that help a small, mission-driven team succeed. We hold one another to the same set of competencies knowing that every role contributes to our culture. While each position has its own specific skills, these competencies are the common foundation we all build from.You can read more about what each of these looks like in practice below.
Tech Savvy
- Evaluates emerging technologies pragmatically, adopts what strengthens our infrastructure, and rejects hype that doesn't serve our scale or mission
- Readily learns and applies new tools, frameworks, and approaches to continuously improve our data engineering capabilities
Cultivates Innovation
- Finds creative, practical solutions to data architecture and pipeline challenges, then builds them through rapid prototyping and iteration
- Brings fresh approaches to data engineering in a social science and HR tech context
Decision Quality
- Makes sound architecture and technology choices with incomplete information, balancing rigor with pragmatism
- Recognizes when a quick 80% solution will suffice versus when a more thorough approach is needed
Action-Oriented
- Takes action on engineering challenges without over-planning, ships iteratively, and learns from what's in production
- Steps up to handle tough technical issues and production incidents with urgency
Resourcefulness
- Gets the most out of limited resources, finding creative solutions using open-source tools, cloud services, and automation within budget constraints
- Juggles multiple priorities simultaneously to deliver within a small, dynamic team
Ensures Accountability
- Follows through on commitments and makes sure others do the same for shared deliverables
- Takes clear ownership of and responsibility for data systems, pipelines, and infrastructure reliability
- Designs feedback loops and monitoring into work to continuously improve data quality and system performance
Courage
- Provides direct, actionable feedback on code, architecture, and technical approaches, even when it's uncomfortable
- Is willing to champion a technical direction or push back on a product decision when the data or engineering reality demands it
Kindness
- Treats colleagues, clients, and partners with dignity, compassion, and empathy, regardless of background or technical level
- Proactively supports teammates by sharing knowledge, uplifting others, and bringing warmth to interactions
Work Authorization
- Must be authorized to work in the United States. LWI is unable to sponsor or transfer visas (including H-1B) for this role.
Compensation and Benefits
- $125,000-$150,000, DOE
- Fully funded medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their dependents
- Remote office setup budget
- Complete work time flexibility and remote-first culture
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The Living Wage Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.
