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We're looking for a Staff Data Engineer to define the architecture and long-term evolution of Syndio's data platform as we scale into AI-driven products.

This role owns the technical direction for how data is structured, standardized, modeled, and activated across the company, with a particular focus on enabling LLM-powered systems and decisioning workflows.

You will design, architect, and build data pipelines that produce the data products powering analytics, product experiences, and Syndio's LLM-powered systems. Your work will shape how data is used across the company and enable the development of Syndio's decision graph and AI capabilities. This includes solving complex challenges such as multi-tenant schema standardization, automated field mapping, retrieval-ready data modeling, and data pipelines for AI evaluation and feedback loops.

You will operate across pipeline architecture, platform design, and cross-functional data strategy, partnering closely with product, data science, and engineering leadership.

• Define the data architecture behind AI for Pay Decisions and future decisioning systems
• Build the data foundation that powers LLM-based features, including the pipelines that feed retrieval, context generation, and evaluation workflows
• Own high-leverage problems like automated schema mapping and multi-tenant data standardization
• Establish standards for data contracts, modeling, and pipeline architecture across teams
• Design data governance into the platform through policy tagging, PII handling, and lineage tracking
• Build pipelines that support both batch analytics and the event-driven data flows behind AI workflows
• Shape how data is structured, delivered, and made reliable for stakeholders across Syndio, from analytics and product teams to the teams training and evaluating AI systems

• Deep experience in data engineering, data platform, or distributed systems roles
• Proven track record designing and scaling data pipelines across teams or organizations
• Experience solving ambiguous, high-impact platform problems and building systems widely adopted across teams
• Strong ability to operate at both architectural and hands-on levels
• Cross-functional leadership and ability to influence technical direction

• Data modeling and schema design
• Pipeline architecture and orchestration
• Data warehouse and storage systems

• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL
• Experience with data patterns for AI/LLM systems: retrieval-ready data modeling, vector storage, embedding pipelines, and evaluation datasets
• Cloud platforms: GCP (preferred), AWS, or Azure
• Cloud data warehouses: BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, or similar
• Data transformation: dbt or equivalent modern transformation frameworks
• Relational databases: Postgres, MySQL, or similar
• Streaming and CDC ingestion patterns (Datastream, Debezium, Kafka, or similar)
• Data governance and lineage tooling

• Experience building AI-native data platforms or developer tooling
• Experience with event-driven or streaming architectures
• Background in high-scale systems or large multi-tenant SaaS platforms
• Familiarity with compensation or HR data domains

• We believe in starting simple, soon - progress over perfection. We value architectural clarity and execution speed. You'll be joining a small, ambitious team committed to high trust, low ego collaboration. It's a dynamic environment where teams embrace ambiguity, adapt quickly to change, and move fast to seize opportunity. As such, we empower engineers to make bold moves and back it up with a culture that supports learning through iteration.
• Applicants must currently reside within commuting distance of Calgary, Alberta, Canada for consideration. Relocation is not currently offered.
  • Kindly note, you must also be eligible to work in Canada legally, as we are NOT able to provide visa support or transfer at this time.

• Competitive Compensation. For this role our base salary is targeted at $180-195k CAD. Final offer amounts are determined by factors such as experience and expertise. We take a geo neutral approach to compensation within the US, meaning that we pay based on job function and level, not location. 
• Syndio Equity. So you can share in Syndio's success.
• 20 days annually. We encourage our team to recharge when they need to, plus paid sick & safe time, compassion leave, and voting leave. 
• Remote-First with opportunities for local meet-ups in Calgary #LI-Remote 

• By the 3rd Month, you will have a working knowledge of Syndio's data domain and existing pipeline architecture. You'll be making hands-on contributions to the data layer codebase, building familiarity with the systems you'll eventually evolve.
• By your 6th Month, you will take technical ownership of the AI data infrastructure, defining the architectural direction for how data is modeled and served to AI systems. You'll establish company-wide standards for data contracts and pipeline architecture, and lead solutions for our hardest data standardization challenges.
• By 9 months in, you will set the long-term technical direction for Syndio's data platform and AI-driven systems, with a focus on governance, PII handling, and lineage. As the SME, you'll mentor other engineers and break down complex platform initiatives for the team to execute.

Below you'll find an outline of the interview plan for our Staff Data Engineer position. Please note that this is what we expect the process to look like; we may ask you for supplemental information or require an additional step before making a final decision.

1. 30 min - Phone call with a member of our Talent Team
2. 45 min - Zoom interview with the Hiring Manager
3. Technical Evaluation - Take-home
4. 1.5 hrs - Meet the Team
5. 30 min - Final Interview