Senior Software Engineer-Data Engineer

This role sits within the Technology Operations group in Engineering at The Trade Desk and focuses on building reliable, scalable, and well‑governed enterprise data solutions. As a Senior Software Engineer – Data Engineer, you will be an end‑to‑end owner for complex data pipelines, models, and integrations that power analytics, reporting, and internal products.

This is a hands-on senior role with growing technical leadership expectations. You will work independently on ambiguous problems, influence design decisions, and mentor others, while still operating within an established architecture and technical direction.

• →Own complex data pipelines end to end.  Design, build, and operate scalable batch and near‑real‑time ETL/ELT pipelines using Snowflake, Databricks, Spark, and cloud storage.
• →Drive data modeling and warehouse design. Define and implement dimensional models, data marts, and curated datasets that balance performance, usability, and governance.
• →Raise data quality and reliability.  Implement robust data quality checks, validations, monitoring, and alerting to ensure data accuracy, freshness, and trust.
• →Collaborate deeply with stakeholders. Partner with product managers, BI teams, data scientists, and internal business teams to translate business needs into well‑designed data solutions.
• →Lead design without owning architecture. Proactively propose technical improvements, review designs, and influence standards while aligning with broader platform and architectural direction.
• →Mentor and raise the bar.  Provide technical guidance through code reviews, pairing, and documentation; help mid‑level and junior engineers grow in ownership and quality.
• →Operational excellence.  Improve performance, scalability, cost efficiency, and observability of data systems; participate in on‑call and incident response as needed.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information security, or a related field, or equivalent work experience. Masters degree preferred and 6-8+ years of professional experience in software or data engineering
• Strong expertise in SQL and data modeling for analytics and reporting
• Hands‑on experience with Snowflake and/or Databricks modern data warehouse concepts
• Experience building and operating ETL/ELT pipelines using tools such as Airflow, Dagster, Glue, or similar
• Proficiency in Python, Scala, Java, or similar languages
• Familiarity with Spark–based data processing
• Solid understanding of version control (Git) and CI/CD practices
• Experience with data quality, observability, and operational support
• Strong senior‑level engineer.  You can independently deliver complex data solutions and make sound technical tradeoffs, even when requirements are incomplete.
• Pragmatic and detail‑oriented.  You care deeply about correctness, reliability, and maintainability—not just shipping code.
• Collaborative and influential. You communicate clearly, build trust across teams, and influence outcomes without requiring formal authority.
• Continuously learning.  You stay current on data engineering patterns, tooling, and best practices and apply them thoughtfully

• Experience working at petabyte‑scale or high‑growth data environments
• Familiarity with governance, security, and compliance (e.g., PII handling, access controls)
• Exposure to containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) or cloud infrastructure patterns
• Experience in AdTech or analytics‑heavy domains
• Comfort working with BI and reporting tools and understanding downstream consumption needs

Variety of technical opportunity is one of the best things about working at The Trade Desk as a software engineer which is why we do not expect you to know every technology we use when you start. What we care about is that you can learn quickly and find solutions to complex problems using the optimum tools for the job. What you know is less important than how well you learn and innovate. We don't need engineers who know all the answers; we need engineers who can invent the answers no one has thought of yet, to the questions yet to be asked.  

The Trade Desk does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm recruiters. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of The Trade Desk. The Trade Desk is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

[LA JOBS ONLY] The Trade Desk will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Ordinance No. 184652.

[SF JOBS ONLY] Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.