The Data Systems Engineer will lead the architecture, implementation, and maintenance of complex data systems that support the Working Families Party’s organizing, analytics, and automation infrastructure.
This role encompasses the full data stack, including data engineering, workflow automation, cloud infrastructure, and web applications.
The engineer will collaborate closely with the Engineering Director to design, scope, and build robust, scalable, and secure systems that facilitate data movement, transformation, and accessibility for campaigns and organizing work nationwide.
Responsibilities include architecting, implementing, and managing data projects from ingestion (APIs / BigQuery mirrors) to transformation (dbt / Python), orchestration (Prefect), and serving (Flask UIs).
The engineer will build web-based tools and internal applications that automate staff workflows and provide actionable insights for campaigns.
They will ensure all tooling is intuitive, documented, and aligned with user needs.
The role also involves overseeing the department’s data infrastructure, including CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP), and ensuring data systems are reliable and resilient to failure.
The engineer will lead incident response, debugging, and long-term reliability engineering practices.
Requirements:
A minimum of 6 years of work experience in engineering or software is required.
Expertise in Python and SQL for data engineering and systems development is essential.
Proficiency in web application backends such as Python/Flask/Django or Node.js is required.
Experience with columnar database systems like BigQuery, Redshift, or DuckDB is necessary.
Candidates must be comfortable working in a git-based team environment with collaborative development practices.
Strong debugging skills across multiple layers of a system are required.
Exceptional independent judgment and project ownership are necessary for this role.
Preferred qualifications include experience in political, movement, or campaign work, familiarity with orchestration tools (e.g., Prefect, Airflow), transformation layers (dbt), and CI/CD tooling (e.g., Github Actions, Jenkins).
Familiarity with cloud-based infrastructure (AWS, GCP) and IaC tools like Terraform or Ansible is preferred.
Basic familiarity with frontend development (React or plain HTML/CSS/JS) for internal-facing tools is a plus.
Strong verbal and written communication skills are essential.
Benefits:
The final salary for this role will be determined based on experience, geographic location, and job description, with ranges from $90,000 to $137,500 depending on the market.
A robust benefits package is offered, including paid time off, health, dental, vision, and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, retirement plan options, professional development funding, and remote work support.
The position is full-time and can be performed remotely from anywhere in the United States.
This is a unionized workplace, and the role is eligible to join WFP's staff bargaining unit after six months of employment.
Working Families is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, encouraging applications from women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities.
