Data Platform Engineer

The Opportunity

We're looking for a versatile Data Platform Engineer to join our Enterprise Systems team. This role is ideal for someone who thrives on solving complex data problems, enjoys working across systems, and can bridge the gap between infrastructure and analytics. You'll help design, build, and maintain the pipelines and tools that ensure our organizational data flows reliably and is ready for use in critical platforms like our CRM, ESP, donation systems, and analytics environments.

You'll work alongside the Senior Engineering Manager who will help define the architecture and systems, while you execute, troubleshoot, and improve those systems with increasing ownership over time.

General Responsibilities

• Build and maintain ETL pipelines using Python and SQL to move data between internal systems and external platforms (e.g., CRMs, ESPs).
• Ensure data reliability and integrity across systems and develop automated validation and alerting.
• Troubleshoot issues across platforms and contribute to root cause analysis and long-term solutions.
• Collaborate with team members and stakeholders to understand business requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions.
• Participate in monitoring, performance tuning, and refactoring of existing data flows.
• Help maintain and extend internal tools that support data operations and stakeholder reporting needs.
• Document systems, processes, and logic to ensure knowledge sharing and continuity.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience in a data engineering, systems integration, or similar role.
• Proficient in Python (Or Equivalent) and SQL, with experience building maintainable ETL pipelines.
• Experience working with relational databases (e.g., SQL Server, Postgres).
• Comfortable navigating and integrating with REST APIs and working with cloud-based services.
• Experience working with CRM or ESP platforms (e.g., Salesforce, RevCRM, Marketing Cloud, EveryAction, etc.) is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to debug across systems.
• Excellent communication and documentation habits.
• Comfortable navigating and troubleshooting legacy pipelines and code, with a focus on understanding historical context before making changes.

Compensation

The expected pay range for this position is $101,810.00 - $120,000.00 per ANNUM.

Chicago Public Media provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the organization reasonably expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographical location, and external market pay for comparable jobs.