Staff Data Engineer - Data & ML Platform (San Francisco)

About the RoleAs a Staff Data Engineer, you will be a technical leader on the Data & ML Platform team, owning the architecture and reliability of the data infrastructure that powers real-time member experiences, analytics, and AI across Hinge Health. Where a Senior Data Engineer owns individual pipelines and systems, you own the patterns, standards, and architectural decisions that shape how the entire platform works.You will design systems that move data from dozens of upstream services — across Kafka event streams and transactional databases — into a unified data platform that serves real-time APIs, analytical workloads, and ML systems on Databricks. You will lead the most complex technical initiatives end-to-end, drive alignment across teams, and make the architectural calls that other engineers build on. You will define data contracts, own schema evolution strategy, and set the standards for how data is modeled, tested, and governed across the platform.You'll work in a modern stack: Python, SQL, Flink, PySpark, Kafka, Delta Lake, dbt, Airflow, Aurora PostgreSQL, and AWS. This is a high-ownership role where you operate with significant autonomy. You'll work closely with application engineers, data scientists, product teams, and SRE — not just building systems, but shaping how other teams produce and consume data reliably in a HIPAA-compliant environment.What You'll AccomplishOwn data platform architecture and technical direction: Lead the design of systems that span the full pipeline stack — raw ingestion, streaming and batch transformations, analytical models, and the serving layer that downstream consumers depend on. Make architectural decisions that balance reliability, performance, cost, and long-term maintainability. Set the patterns and standards that other engineers follow.Lead the hardest cross-functional technical problems: Drive complex initiatives that span multiple teams and services. Define data contracts with upstream producers, lead schema evolution strategies, and resolve systemic friction between data producers and consumers. Be the person who steps in when a problem is too ambiguous or cross-cutting for a single team to solve.Raise the engineering bar across the team: Set and enforce standards for data modeling, pipeline reliability, testing practices, code quality, and operational excellence. Mentor senior engineers through design reviews, pairing, and technical coaching. Influence how the team thinks about building systems, not just what they build.Keep the platform reliable and the data trustworthy: Own the reliability posture of the most critical data systems. Define and drive SLAs and SLOs for key pipelines, lead incident response for complex data failures, and drive the systemic fixes — not just the immediate patches. Champion observability, data quality, and operational rigor as first-class concerns.Make it easy for teams to own their data: Build tooling and establish practices that enable service and application teams to effectively manage their data. Coach teams on compliance strategies, performance tuning, event-driven design, and schema evolution so they can take ownership without creating bottlenecks on the data team.Deliver with ownership and grit: Take the most ambiguous, highest-stakes projects from problem definition to production. Work through technical blockers, cross-functional dependencies, and competing priorities. Keep stakeholders informed and build a track record of delivering high-quality data assets that teams trust and depend on.Basic QualificationsBachelor’s Degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.A minimum of 4 + years of data engineering experience with a proven track record of building and operating reliable production data platforms at scale.4+ years of strong proficiency in Python and SQL.4+ years of experience with distributed data processing frameworks (e.g., PySpark, Flink, Spark) and data warehouse design including star and snowflake schemas.3+ years of experience deploying and operating pipelines in the cloud, including CI/CD, monitoring, and incident response.Preferred QualificationsData Platforms: 8+ years of data engineering experience with a proven track record of building and operating reliable production data platforms at scale.Deep data modeling and governance instincts: You care about schema design, data contracts, and data quality as much as you care about pipeline throughput. You've driven improvements in how upstream services produce data and how downstream teams consume it.Built in a growth-stage environment: Your strongest work was at a mid-sized or scaling company where you made foundational architectural decisions — not at a large tech company where the platform was already built.Streaming and event-driven architecture expertise: You have deep experience with Kafka, Flink, or equivalent real-time systems and understand how streaming and batch paradigms converge in a modern data platform.Mentorship: Experience mentoring engineers and setting engineering standards across a team.Product and business awareness: You connect your technical work to the problems the business is trying to solve. You understand the product use cases your platform enables and use that context to make better architectural choices.Hinge Health Hybrid Model This is a hybrid role based in the San Francisco office, requiring in-person attendance three days per week for a full 8-hour business day. On remote days, employees are expected to work during core business hours with flexibility. The office is part of a dog-friendly workplace program, and while travel is not regularly required, occasional off-site/on-site events may occur. Physical demands are minimal and primarily involve standard office activities such as sitting, typing, and video conferencing.About Hinge HealthAt Hinge Health, we’re using technology to scale and automate the delivery of healthcare – starting with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, which affect over 1.7 billion people worldwide. With an AI-powered human-centered care model, Hinge Health leverages cutting-edge technology to improve outcomes, experiences and costs to help people move beyond their pain. The platform addresses a broad spectrum of MSK care – from acute injury, to chronic pain, to post-surgical rehabilitation – through personalized, evidence-based care.As the preferred partner to 50+ health plans, PBMs and other ecosystem partners, Hinge Health is available to over 20 million people across more than 2,550 employers. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Montreal and Bangalore. Learn more at What You'll Love About UsInclusive healthcare and benefits: On top of comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, we offer employees and their family members help with gender-affirming care, tools for family and fertility planning, and travel reimbursements if healthcare isn’t available where you live.Planning for the future: Start saving for the future with our traditional or Roth 401k retirement plan options which include a 2% company match.Modern life stipends: Manage your own learning and developmentGrow with us through discounted company stock through our ESPP with easy payroll deductions.Culture & EngagementHinge Health is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. We make employment decisions without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, pregnancy, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. We provide reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities. If you feel you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, let us know by reaching out to your recruiter.By submitting your application you are acknowledging we are using your personal data as outlined in the personnel and candidate privacy policy.Beware of Phishing Attempts: We've noticed an increase in phishing where fraudsters impersonate employees and send fake job offers to steal sensitive information. We'll never ask for financial details during the hiring process and only use @hingehealth.com emails. If you receive a suspicious offer, stop communication and report it to the US FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. To verify an email from our recruiting team, forward it to View email address on apply.placed-app.com of Phishing Attempts: We've noticed an increase in phishing where fraudsters impersonate employees and send fake job offers to steal sensitive information. We'll never ask for financial details during the hiring process and only use @hingehealth.com emails. If you receive a suspicious offer, stop communication and report it to the US FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. To verify an email from our recruiting team, forward it to View email address on apply.placed-app.com Range: $197.6K - $296.4KLocationSan Francisco-HQEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeHybridDepartmentRnDData & InsightsCompensation$197.6K – $296.4K • Offers EquityThis position will have an annual salary, plus equity and benefits. Please note the annual salary range is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, and competencies.