Senior Staff Software Engineer, Data Frameworks

Ridgeline•Reno, NV

3h•Hybrid

About The Position

Are you passionate about designing the foundational layer that defines how an entire platform ingests, governs, and accesses its data? Are you a problem-solver with a passion for delivering elegant abstraction layers that make complex, multi-system data access simple, observable, and fast? Do you thrive in fast-paced environments and enjoy tackling technical challenges like federated SQL, cross-system query routing, and platform-wide adoption of modern data access standards? If so, we invite you to join our team. The Data Frameworks team owns Ridgeline's data ecosystem end-to-end — the schema registry and data contracts that define what data means, the write paths that materialize it across our storage systems, the governance layer that enforces correctness on every read and write, and the query interface that every product, AI feature, and integration will pass through. When data needs to be defined, shaped, governed, or served at Ridgeline — it runs through us. We're looking for a Senior Staff Engineer to become the technical foundation of the Data Frameworks team as it grows. You'll have broad influence over the query platform architecture — from how store adapters are designed, to how federated SQL is introduced at scale, to how we enforce access guardrails across every data system Ridgeline operates. You'll leverage AI tools to build best-in-class platform infrastructure, moving with the speed and safety that a foundational data layer demands. At Ridgeline, how we work matters as much as what we build. Ridgeliners act like owners, choose growth over comfort, and communicate with transparency. We assume positive intent, bias toward action, and bring solutions—not just problems. We celebrate wins, learn from setbacks, and thrive in a resilient, collaborative, high-performing culture. If the Ridgeline Way excites you, we’d love to meet you. You must be work authorized in the United States without the need for employer sponsorship.

Requirements

10+ years of software engineering experience with deep expertise in data platform engineering — spanning query systems, data access layers, write path design, or distributed data infrastructure
Hands-on experience with Trino, Presto, or equivalent federated SQL / query federation technology — you've built or operated a federation layer at production scale, not just evaluated one
Proficiency in Kotlin or Java — you're comfortable building production backend services and can contribute to a JVM-based platform without a long ramp
Strong background in API design for data access — you understand the tradeoffs between high-performance CRUD adapters, federated SQL, write path design, and low-latency read paths, and you can design for all of them
Experience designing store abstraction layers that reduce system coupling — you've thought seriously about how to make a storage engine replaceable without breaking upstream consumers
Experience with schema registries, data contracts, or metadata systems — you understand how to define what data means at a platform level and enforce those contracts across write and read paths
Experience with data modeling at platform scale — you've designed schemas or domain models that need to stay coherent across multiple storage systems, evolve without breaking consumers, and support both transactional and analytical access patterns
Background in data governance — schema validation, audit enforcement, or access control built into the data layer rather than delegated to individual services
Track record of driving cross-team platform adoption — technical migration programs, deprecation of legacy patterns, measurable reduction in direct database coupling
Excellent systems thinking at the intersection of query performance, observability, and correctness — you care deeply about query latency targets, audit trails, and what happens when a query touches the wrong data
Strong communicator who can translate architecture decisions into guidance that product engineering teams can act on
Hands-on curiosity with AI tooling — you actively experiment with LLMs and AI-assisted development, and you think seriously about how AI-readable data contracts and query interfaces change what's possible for product and platform engineers
Willingness to learn about cutting-edge technologies while cultivating expertise in a business domain/problem space.
An aptitude for problem solving
Ability to communicate effectively
Serious interest in having fun at work

Responsibilities

Architect and evolve the query interface — the universal access layer through which every product service, AI feature, and external integration reads data at Ridgeline
Design and enforce store adapter standards that make individual storage engines replaceable without breaking upstream consumers — covering OLTP, OLAP, search, block storage, and external sources
Build the query federation layer using Trino or equivalent technology, enabling cross-system SQL queries across persistence ports that today require separate access patterns
Establish query routing logic, connection pooling strategies, and performance standards across all data access paths
Drive platform-wide adoption of the query interface — working across product engineering to eliminate direct database access and migrate services to the standardized access layer
Contribute to the data governance model — ensuring query enforcement, schema validation, and audit correctness are built into the access layer, not bolted on
Define and author Materialization Definition patterns that shape how data is written and replicated across persistence systems
Mentor engineers on the team; raise the technical bar through code review, design feedback, and knowledge sharing
Think creatively, own problems, seek solutions, and communicate clearly along the way
Contribute to a collaborative environment rooted in learning, teaching, and transparency