Data Engineer

Data Engineer | Full-time | Remote | $130,000–$160,000 per year

POSITION SUMMARY

The Data Engineer is a senior, hands-on role that owns the data foundation of the CES-LINKS platform: the data models, pipelines, and integrations that every part of the product depends on. This is a builder role: you design and maintain the schemas and data flows, bring in student and school data from district systems, and make sure the data the application and its users see is accurate, consistent, and secure. Startup experience is highly preferred.

CES-LINKS is building a comprehensive K-12 education platform. The initial release centers on the LMS and curriculum core (curriculum, standards alignment, assessments, gradebook), and the platform expands from there across seven stakeholder portals serving students, instructors, administrators, families, boards, student services, and the public. Data work in this environment means SIS integrations (Clever and OneRoster today, additional SIS sources ahead), rostering and data imports, curriculum and standards data, and the compliance requirements (FERPA/COPPA) of student-data software.

CES-LINKS is an AI-native company: AI tools (Claude) are a standard part of daily work, with all AI-generated output reviewed and validated before use.

HOW THIS ROLE FITS THE TEAM

• You own the data layer: the data models, schemas, and data contracts that the front end, back end, and reporting rely on, and you keep them documented, versioned, and in sync across environments.
• You build and run data integrations: the pipelines that ingest, transform, and validate data from SIS and rostering sources, district imports, and curriculum and standards content.
• You partner on implementations: you work with the Technical Project Manager on the data side of each school and district implementation: mapping, configuration, imports, and validation before go-live.
• The Engineering Pit Lead owns overall architecture and engineering practice; you own data design within it and bring data-related technical decisions to the Pit Lead.
• The Product Manager owns priority, meaning what gets built and why. The Technical Project Manager owns sprint planning and delivery sequencing. You surface data dependencies, risks, and effort so trade-offs are made with the full picture.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We're looking for a hands-on data engineer who is comfortable owning the data foundation of an early-stage product. You can design clean, well-documented data models, build reliable pipelines without over-engineering them, and explain data decisions clearly to engineers, product, and non-technical colleagues. You communicate openly about data issues and trade-offs, collaborate closely with the people who build on your work, and care about getting student data right.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design, build, and maintain the platform's data models and schemas, including data contracts between services and clear documentation of data structures.
• Build and operate data pipelines and integrations for SIS and rostering sources (Clever, OneRoster, and additional SIS sources), district data imports, and curriculum and standards content.
• Own data quality: validation, monitoring, and alerting so issues are caught before they reach users or a district go-live.
• Partner with engineering on how the application reads and writes data, with clear, timely communication when data structures or formats change.
• Support school and district implementations with data mapping, imports, and validation, in partnership with the Technical Project Manager and Customer Success.
• Apply privacy and security practices for student data, including access controls, data minimization, and FERPA/COPPA compliance requirements.
• Prepare and maintain realistic sample and test data sets for development and QA.
• Use AI tools throughout (design, coding, documentation, and analysis), validating all outputs.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years in data engineering or a closely related backend/data role.
• Startup experience preferred: building data infrastructure from an early stage, wearing multiple hats, and working directly with founders.
• Strong SQL and data modeling skills, with experience designing relational schemas for a production application.
• Proficiency in Python (or a similar language) for building and maintaining data pipelines.
• Experience building pipelines and data infrastructure on a major cloud platform, with version control and CI/CD.
• Experience integrating third-party data sources and APIs, with attention to data validation and error handling.
• Fluency with AI assistants as daily working tools, with the judgment to verify outputs.
• K-12 / edtech experience strongly preferred: SIS and rostering integrations (Clever, OneRoster), education data standards, or student-data privacy (FERPA/COPPA).
• Excellent written communication, including clear technical documentation.

SUCCESS MEASURES

Baselines for all measures are established jointly with the CTO in the first 30 days; measurement is owned by the CTO, not self-reported.

• Data reliability: pipeline uptime and successful scheduled runs against the agreed baseline.
• Data quality: data issues caught by validation before reaching users or a district go-live; defects traced to data trending down.
• Integration delivery: SIS and district data onboarding delivered to plan, with time per onboarding trending down as patterns and tooling mature.
• Documentation and alignment: data models and contracts documented and current, with schema changes communicated before they affect other teams.

COMPENSATION

The salary range for this position is $130,000–$160,000 per year. Final compensation will be based on experience, skills, and qualifications.

CES-LINKS is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees and applicants. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Note: The responsibilities described above are intended to summarize the primary duties and expectations of this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all tasks, responsibilities, or qualifications.