Entry Level Startup Data Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

JOIN THE BEST TEAM IN SPORT & SPIRIT

At Varsity Brands, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to succeed and every educator wants to make a difference. It takes a team to make a real impact, and through our two divisions - BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit - and our network of 6,000+ employees and independent representatives, we are proud to partner with a wide range of educational institutions and club and professional sports to transform the student journey in SPORT and SPIRIT.

LOCATION: 14460 Varsity Brands Way Farmers Branch, Tx - Varsity Brands HQ

WORK TYPE: Onsite

HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT:

Varsity Brands is building a modern enterprise data platform that powers analytics, reporting, artificial intelligence, and data-driven decision-making across the organization. The platform brings together data from enterprise applications, digital products, manufacturing, supply chain, and customer systems into trusted, scalable, and governed data products and platform capabilities that enable analytics, operational intelligence, and AI.

The Data Engineer I (DE I) is an entry-level engineering position responsible for contributing to the development of the enterprise data platform. This role applies foundational data engineering knowledge and exercises independent judgment in executing assigned work, including selecting appropriate approaches within established engineering standards to develop, test, and maintain data pipelines, transformations, and data products.

This role is designed to develop the next generation of data engineers who will help build the trusted data foundation supporting Varsity Brands' analytics, operational intelligence, and AI strategy.

Impact of the Role

• Contributes to delivery of trusted data pipelines and data products supporting analytics, reporting, and AI initiatives
• Builds foundational engineering capabilities supporting a scalable, cloud-based enterprise data platform
• Improves data accessibility, consistency, and quality across enterprise systems
• Supports the organization's transition from fragmented data sources to governed, reusable enterprise data assets

WHAT YOU WILL DO:

• Develop, test, and maintain data pipelines, transformations, and data integration processes using established engineering standards
• Assist in building and maintaining data products that support analytics, reporting, and AI use cases
• Write, optimize, and troubleshoot SQL queries and data transformations
• Participate in code reviews and incorporate feedback to improve quality, maintainability, and performance
• Troubleshoot lower-complexity data pipeline and data quality issues, exercising sound judgment to identify appropriate solutions and escalating when necessary
• Collaborate with Data Engineering, Analytics Engineering, Business Intelligence, Enterprise Architecture, Application Engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver reliable data solutions
• Follow established engineering practices for testing, version control, CI/CD, security, and documentation
• Contribute to data quality, observability, and monitoring activities to improve platform reliability
• Document data pipelines, transformation logic, metadata, and engineering processes to support knowledge sharing and operational continuity
• Develop working knowledge of enterprise data architecture, cloud data platforms, orchestration frameworks, and engineering patterns to support future growth into independent ownership

Key Performance Indicators

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Quality and reliability of delivered data pipelines and transformations
• Timely completion of assigned engineering work
• Accuracy and quality of data supporting downstream consumers
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve issues with increasing independence
• Consistent adoption of engineering standards, documentation, and development practices
• Demonstrated growth in technical capability and understanding of the enterprise data platform

QUALIFICATIONS:

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following capabilities:

Technical Knowledge

• Foundational understanding of data engineering principles and modern data platforms
• Basic Understanding of relational databases, data modeling, and data integration concepts
• Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms and modern data engineering environments
• Basic understanding of data governance, data quality, and metadata concepts

Technical Skills

• Ability to develop and test SQL queries and data transformations
• Foundational programming skills using Python or a comparable language
• Familiarity with modern data engineering tools and technologies, including:
  • Modern cloud data platforms (Snowflake preferred)
  • SQL
  • Python for data engineering and automation
  • Git-based version control
  • ETL/ELT concepts
• Basic understanding of CI/CD and automated testing concepts

Cognitive & Problem-Solving Abilities

• Applies logical reasoning to solve defined technical problems
• Exercises independent judgment in selecting approaches within established engineering guidelines
• Identifies data quality and pipeline issues and escalates appropriately when needed
• Demonstrates attention to detail and commitment to producing accurate, reliable data

Collaboration & Communication

• Communicates effectively within cross-functional team environments
• Collaborates with engineers, analysts, architects, and business stakeholders
• Actively participates in team discussions and engineering ceremonies
• Incorporates coaching and feedback to improve technical capability

Learning Agility

• Demonstrates curiosity and willingness to learn emerging data technologies and engineering practices
• Adapts to evolving cloud platforms, tools, and business priorities
• Builds understanding of enterprise data architecture and modern data engineering patterns

Continuous Improvement

• Identifies opportunities to automate, simplify, and improve engineering processes
• Seeks opportunities to reduce technical debt and improve operational excellence

Education, Certification and Experience

Ideal candidates will bring the following experience and capabilities:

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Information Systems, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical discipline; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• 0 - 2 years of relevant experience, including internships, academic projects, or early career experience in data engineering, software engineering, analytics engineering, or related technical disciplines
• Foundational knowledge of SQL and relational databases

Preferred

• Exposure to cloud data platforms such as Snowflake
• Exposure to Python, dbt, or comparable data transformation tools
• Familiarity with Git, CI/CD, and Agile software development practices
• Experience working with modern data visualization or analytics platforms through coursework, internships, or projects

Physical Demands and/or Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job.

OUR VALUES

Service - We lead with heart. We champion community.

Passion - We love what we do. It fuels our purpose.

Integrity - We do what we promise. We own our actions and decisions.

Respect - We earn it by giving it. Because everyone deserves it.

Innovation - We never stop striving to be better. For ourselves and our community.

Transparency - We are committed to openness and honesty in everything we do.

OUR BENEFITS

We are committed to putting you and your families first. For benefits eligible roles, we offer a variety of choices and costs as well as program enhancements that align with our responsibility to elevate the employee experience. Some of our offerings include:

• Comprehensive Health Care Benefits
• HSA Employer Contribution/ FSA Opportunities
• Wellbeing Program
• 401(k) plan with company matching
• Company paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term Disability
• Generous My Time Off & Paid Holidays
• Varsity Brands Ownership Program
• Employee Resource Groups
• Access to Financial Coaching and member-owned Credit Union
• St. Jude Partnership & Volunteer Opportunities
• Employee Perks including discounts on personal apparel and equipment!

Varsity Brands companies are equal opportunity employers. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran's status, age or disability.