Staff Data Engineer

Scribd•San Francisco, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Scribd Inc. (pronounced “scribbed”), our mission is to spark human curiosity. Join our team as we create a world of stories and knowledge, democratize the exchange of ideas and information, and empower collective expertise through our four products: Everand, Scribd, Slideshare, and Fable. We support a culture where our employees can be real and be bold; where we debate and commit as we embrace plot twists; and where every employee is empowered to take action as we prioritize the customer. When it comes to workplace structure, we believe in balancing individual flexibility and community connections. It’s through our flexible work benefit, Scribd Flex, that employees – in partnership with their manager – can choose the daily work-style that best suits their individual needs. A key tenet of Scribd Flex is our prioritization of intentional in-person moments to build collaboration, culture, and connection. For this reason, occasional in-person attendance is required for all Scribd Inc. employees, regardless of their location. So what are we looking for in new team members? Well, we hire for “GRIT”. The textbook definition of GRIT is demonstrating the intersection of passion and perseverance towards long term goals. At Scribd Inc., we are inspired by the potential that this can unlock, and ask each of our employees to pursue a GRIT-ty approach to their work. In a tactical sense, GRIT is also a handy acronym that outlines the standards we hold ourselves and each other to. Here’s what that means for you: we’re looking for someone who showcases the ability to set and achieve G oals, achieve R esults within their job responsibilities, contribute I nnovative ideas and solutions, and positively influence the broader T eam through collaboration and attitude. About the Team: Scribd’s Data Platform team builds the data pipelines, storage layers and developer tooling that power analytics, experimentation, ML and product features across Scribd, Everand and Slideshare. We’re midway through a multi-year investment to modernize our data architecture for fully governed, properly-modeled data that every team can trust and build upon. At Scribd, we leverage deep data insights to inform every aspect of our business—from product development and experimentation to understanding subscriber engagement and key metrics. You’ll join a data engineering team tackling complex challenges within a rich domain spanning three brands that serve over 200 million monthly visitors and 2 million paying subscribers. This is a high-impact opportunity to shape Scribd’s next-generation data platform and elevate our engineering practices to a world-class standard. What You’ll Do As a Staff Data Engineer , you’ll be both a hands-on technical expert and a strategic leader. You’ll drive the design of core data models and pipelines in our Databricks/Delta Lake lakehouse, setting the standards for quality, reliability, and scalability across the platform. You’ll own end-to-end solutions, from architecture and implementation to operations and optimization, while helping guide the long-term direction of Scribd’s data ecosystem. You’ll collaborate across teams to turn complex business problems into robust data solutions, and you’ll mentor engineers to help them grow and deliver at a higher level. You’ll help the team evolve toward a fully governed lakehouse with fine-grained access controls and consistent lineage.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in data engineering, with a strong background in data architecture, data modeling, and distributed data systems.
Deep expertise in Databricks, Delta Lake, Spark, and modern lakehouse technologies.
Advanced proficiency in SQL and Python or Scala, including performance optimization and large-scale ETL design.
Proven experience designing data models and schemas that serve multiple downstream use cases (analytics, ML, APIs).
Experience implementing modern data orchestration patterns for big data use-cases, including batch and streaming workloads.
Demonstrated ability to lead technical initiatives, set standards, and influence decisions across teams.
Comfort owning systems end-to-end, including monitoring, reliability, and cost management.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate technical trade-offs to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Experience with subscription, payments, or large-scale consumer data domains.
Familiarity with AWS data services (S3, Glue, EMR, Kinesis) and cloud cost optimization.
Knowledge of streaming architectures (Kafka, Kinesis, or similar).
Experience implementing data quality, governance, and observability standards at scale.
Contributions to open-source projects or thought leadership in the data engineering community.
Experience operationalizing data observability through Datadog or equivalent monitoring tools.
Experience working with Analytics teams to understand their requirements and translate to data products and data solutions.

Responsibilities

Design and implement core data models and pipelines that power analytics, ML, and product experiences.
Implement modern data lake orchestration patterns, including medallion architectures.
Architect and evolve a scalable, cost-efficient, and reliable lakehouse foundation using Databricks, Delta Lake, and Airflow.
Define best practices and technical standards that improve data quality, governance, and performance across teams.
Mentor engineers and foster a culture of ownership, operational excellence, and continuous learning.
Shape the long-term technical vision and roadmap for Scribd’s data platform.

Benefits

Healthcare Insurance Coverage (Medical/Dental/Vision): 100% paid for employees
12 weeks paid parental leave
Short-term/long-term disability plans
401k/RSP matching
Onboarding stipend for home office peripherals + accessories
Learning & Development allowance
Learning & Development programs
Quarterly stipend for Wellness, WiFi, etc.
Mental Health support & resources
Free subscription to the Scribd Inc. suite of products
Referral Bonuses
Book Benefit
Sabbaticals
Company-wide events
Team engagement budgets
Vacation & Personal Days
Paid Holidays (+ winter break)
Flexible Sick Time
Volunteer Day
Company-wide Employee Resource Groups and programs that foster an inclusive and diverse workplace.
Access to AI Tools: We provide free access to best-in-class AI tools, empowering you to boost productivity, streamline workflows, and accelerate bold innovation.