Principal Data Engineer

Serhant

13h•Remote

About The Position

SERHANT. is seeking a Principal Data Engineer to build data infrastructure with velocity and precision. The role designs pipelines, architects lakehouse solutions, and establishes the data foundation that powers company products, using modern AI tools to accelerate development while maintaining quality. The position calls for deep experience with ClickHouse, open-source data tooling, and modern lakehouse patterns. The technology stack includes ClickHouse for analytics, Postgres as the primary database, Python and TypeScript, and Azure infrastructure with event-driven architecture. This position is remote-eligible for candidates living in the United States, with possible occasional work at other SERHANT. offices or attendance at offsites as agreed with the manager.

Requirements

At least 5 years of experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, or related roles.
Deep expertise in ClickHouse deployment, optimization, schema design, and materialized views.
Strong experience with Postgres and understanding when to use transactional versus analytical databases.
Strong experience with lakehouse architecture patterns, including Delta Lake, Apache Iceberg, or Apache Hudi.
Proficiency building ETL/ELT pipelines with open-source tools such as Airflow, Dagster, dbt, or Prefect.
Hands-on experience with streaming and batch processing frameworks such as Kafka, Flink, or Spark.
Strong SQL skills and deep proficiency in Python.
TypeScript proficiency for integration with application services.
Fluency using AI coding assistants such as Cursor, Copilot, or Claude in daily workflows.
Experience using LLMs for data transformation, validation, or pipeline generation.
A spec-first mindset and habit of documenting work before building it.
Experience with real-time analytics and sub-second query requirements.
Curiosity, high agency, comfort with ambiguity, and self-direction.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with data contracts, schema registries, and data mesh principles.
Contributions to open-source data projects.
Background working in cross-functional product teams.

Responsibilities

Design and implement lakehouse architecture using open-source technologies.
Build and optimize ClickHouse deployments for high-performance analytical workloads.
Develop custom data transforms and ETL/ELT pipelines using well-supported open-source tools.
Create data models that bridge Postgres application databases with the ClickHouse analytics layer.
Partner with product and engineering teams to define data models for analytical and operational needs.
Write specifications before coding, defining contracts, schemas, and expected behaviors upfront.
Use AI-assisted coding tools daily to accelerate development and reduce toil.
Establish data quality frameworks and observability across the pipeline.
Optimize for performance, cost, and reliability at scale.
Perform additional or changed duties as determined by the company.