Engineering Manager - Data Engineering

Job Description

Packback is an AI-powered learning platform that helps students write, think, and engage more deeply by transforming every assignment into an active, curiosity-driven learning experience.

Reporting directly to the VP of Engineering, you will own software development best-practices (CI/CD, testing, observability) in the data domain. You will manage a lean, high-performing team of two, acting as a "player-coach" who can both guide a multi-year architecture strategy and provide meaningful feedback on code review.

Who is the Ideal Candidate?

• You have been running a team for years – can do it with your eyes closed – and are looking for that next step in your career, taking ownership of strategy and roadmap
• You are excited BOTH to roll up your sleeves, get hands-on-keyboard, and move the project forward (40-60% of the time) AND own direction, discovery, and planning for your team (40-60% of your time)
• You thrive in an environment that rewards high agency and autonomy. You are excited to own the entire data architecture, infrastructure, and stakeholder relationships for the data function

What you'll do

• Team Leadership & Management
• Code Excellence: Set standards for code quality. Conduct code reviews for Python (pipelines) and SQL (models). Enforce the use of version control, automated testing, and Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform).
• Player-Coach Mentorship: Manage, mentor, and foster the career growth of a Data Engineer (focused on infrastructure/ingestion) and an Analytics Engineer (focused on modeling/semantics)
• Roadmap and Project Management: Own sprint planning, roadmap planning, and delivery predictability for the data team. Ensure projects are scoped, estimated, resourced, and executed with clear timelines, milestones, and stakeholder communication.
• Stakeholder Partnership
• Product Enablement: Data is core to Packback’s product. Build the data backend that provides actionable insights to half a million students and educators. Give thousands of educators a unique view into how their students learn.
• Business Enablement: Partner closely with leaders across the organization (including sales, retention & RevOps) to deliver data products that enable their teams in truly valuable ways.
• Data Democratization: Drive internal enablement by developing customized training programs (e.g., Talent LMS courses, virtual workshops) and hosting regular office hours to upskill business teams on data self-service and best practices.
• Architecture & Technical Strategy
• Infrastructure Ownership: Architect and maintain the company's data infrastructure. Define the strategy for storing unstructured data (logs, events) and structured business data. Oversee the design of robust, scalable ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Stack Evolution: Own the modern data stack (i.e., dbt, Airflow, BigQuery)
• Data Trust: Uphold Data Observability tools and SLAs. Be accountable for the reliability of our pipelines and data, and communicate proactively with stakeholders regarding data freshness and quality.

Qualifications

• Engineering Background: 5+ years of experience in Data Engineering or Software Engineering, with at least 2+ years with direct people management experience
• Pipeline Mastery: Expert-level knowledge of Python and SQL. Deep experience with workflow orchestration tools.
• Modern Data Stack: Proven experience designing and managing cloud data warehouses and transformation layers. Our tech stack is dbt, Airflow, BigQuery and the Google Cloud ecosystem, and Lightdash, but we care more about relevant experience than specific tools.
• RevOps Fluency: Familiarity with the schemas and data quirks of major SaaS platforms (Salesforce, HubSpot, Gong, Stripe, etc.) Understanding of revenue metrics (ARR, ACV, churn).

Additional Information:

• Sponsorship: Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S without the need for sponsorship. Packback does not offer visa sponsorship for this role.
• Location: Currently we are only able to hire from these states: AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KY, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TX, VA, WA, and WI
• Salary: $153,000–$170,000, based on experience, with an annual bonus target of 15%

Who we are

Packback team members are passionate, mission-driven lifelong learners. Many of us spent time as educators in classrooms and have experienced first hand just how draining the day to day of educating can be. We have seen the gap between the most and least prepared students grow wider every year. The pressure to close that gap has once rested directly on our shoulders, and we understand the enormous cost of addressing that gap, and also not addressing that gap.

Some of us were intrinsically motivated students, the “teacher’s pets” who never want to stop learning. Some of us were the distracted or unmotivated students who wished their instructors would have adopted the pedagogy behind Packback. But all of us share a passionate commitment to our purpose.

Why work at Packback?

Build a meaningful career while building the future of education as a part of a company culture that fosters the growth, safety, and creativity of its employees.

Intentional Culture

Packback knows that the single most important part of any company is its people. We take building and maintaining a conscious and intentional culture of open communication, curiosity, and leadership extremely seriously. We collectively commit to make Packback a safe environment where people can focus on doing great work instead of dealing with drama.

Career Development

Packback’s career development paths present a unique balance between clarity and guidance around defined paths, and room for our team to create their own path. Each team has its own career development tracks with support and training, and still allow for customization of these paths to create a role where a team member’s full passions and abilities are put to use!

Thoughtful Benefits

• 12 weeks of paid leave for welcoming new children
• Multiple Health and Welfare Benefit Options (Medical, Dental, Vision)
• 401k plan (with employer matching)
• Flexible + Remote Work Opportunities
• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Employer Assistance Program (EAP)
• Calm and DoorDash subscriptions