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Job Title: Data Engineer Company: Merit Finder Location: San Jose, CA, USA Job Type: Full time, On site Base Salary: $32,000 per year Application Deadline: February 26, 2027 Position summary Merit Finder is seeking a detail-oriented, analytically minded Data Engineer to join our San Jose on-site team. The ideal candidate combines a strong foundation in statistics with hands-on experience building and maintaining data pipelines, transforming raw data into reliable, production-ready datasets, and collaborating closely with data scientists, analysts, and software engineers to turn data into actionable insights. This is a full-time, on-site role offering a base salary of $32,000 per year. What you will do (key responsibilities) - Design, build, and maintain scalable, reliable ETL/ELT pipelines to collect, clean, transform, and load data from multiple internal and external sources. - Partner with data scientists and analysts to productionize models and analyses by creating robust data workflows and feature engineering processes. - Implement and maintain the data infrastructure required for analytics and machine learning use cases, including data warehouses, data lakes, and streaming solutions as applicable. - Develop, document, and enforce data quality checks, validation tests, and monitoring to ensure the accuracy and integrity of data in production. - Write clear, maintainable code and automation scripts (primarily in Python and R) to perform data processing, scheduled jobs, and ad hoc analysis. - Optimize query performance and data schemas for efficient analytics and reporting; design and implement partitioning, indexing, and data modeling strategies where needed. - Collaborate across teams to understand data requirements, propose solutions, and translate business needs into technical specifications. - Maintain version control of data artifacts, pipelines, and code; implement CI/CD for data workflows where appropriate. - Troubleshoot and resolve data pipeline failures, root-cause issues, and production incidents; communicate status and remediation actions to stakeholders. - Create and maintain technical documentation, runbooks, and onboarding materials for data assets and pipelines. Required qualifications - Demonstrable experience working as a Data Engineer or in a closely related data role, with hands-on responsibility for building and operating data pipelines and infrastructure. - Strong foundation in statistics (required) — comfortable applying statistical concepts to validate data, measure performance, and support model development and evaluation. - Proficiency in Python (required) and experience using it for data manipulation, automation, and pipeline development. - Experience using R for data analysis, statistical modeling, or exploratory data work. - Solid working knowledge of SQL and experience designing queries, optimizing performance, and working with relational databases. - Practical experience with data ingestion and ETL/ELT tools and frameworks (examples might include Airflow, dbt, or comparable tools). - Familiarity with data storage technologies (data warehouses, data lakes) and basic data modeling concepts. - Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and commitment to delivering high-quality, production-ready systems. - Effective verbal and written communication skills and experience collaborating with cross-functional teams. Preferred qualifications (nice to have) - Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and related managed data services. - Knowledge of big data technologies such as Spark, Hadoop, or similar distributed processing tools. - Experience implementing monitoring, alerting, and observability for data pipelines. - Familiarity with containerization (Docker) and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or similar). - Prior experience working in an on-site engineering environment and participating in on-call rotations for production systems. Personal attributes - Curiosity and eagerness to learn new tools and methodologies. - Self-starter mentality with the ability to prioritize tasks in a dynamic environment. - Collaborative team player who takes ownership, communicates clearly, and mentors peers when appropriate. - Commitment to data privacy, security best practices, and ethical handling of data. What we offer - The opportunity to work on meaningful data problems that directly impact product and business decisions. - A collaborative, mission-driven team environment in our San Jose office. - Professional development opportunities and exposure to modern data engineering tooling and practices. - Merit Finder is committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity and encourages contributions from people with different backgrounds and perspectives. How to apply Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter summarizing your relevant experience with statistics, Python, and R, and why you are interested in this role. Applications will be accepted through February 26, 2027. Candidates should be available to work on-site in San Jose, CA. Equal opportunity statement Merit Finder is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.

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Python

Statistic

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python, r