Data Engineer, Associate

Candid is a renowned nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the most comprehensive data and insights about the social sector. With a mission to empower organizations, policymakers, and advocates with accurate and timely information, Candid plays a vital role in advancing social good initiatives. The organization leverages advanced data infrastructure and analytics to support transparency, accountability, and impact measurement across various social programs and initiatives. Committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment, Candid values innovation, collaboration, and integrity in all its endeavors.

About The Role

The Associate Data Engineer at Candid is a key member of the Data Operations team, supporting the day-to-day functions of the organization’s cloud data platform. This role involves maintaining and optimizing data ingestion and transformation pipelines built on Apache Iceberg, validating data outputs, and ensuring the health and performance of the storage infrastructure. The position offers an excellent opportunity to develop foundational skills across the modern data lakehouse stack, including pipeline maintenance, documentation, and validation activities. The Associate Data Engineer will work closely with senior team members to support platform observability, metadata management, and schema coordination, contributing to Candid’s mission of providing reliable and insightful data to the social sector.

Qualifications

• 1–3 years of experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, or a related technical role; internships and academic projects considered
• Strong SQL skills, including writing, reading, and debugging queries
• Familiarity with cloud data concepts: object storage (Amazon S3), columnar formats (Parquet), data-interchange formats (JSON, XML), open table formats (Apache Iceberg)
• Experience with distributed SQL query engines such as Trino or Starburst
• Experience with or exposure to AWS services such as S3 and Glue
• Exposure to workflow orchestration platforms like Apache Airflow or SSIS
• Proficiency in Python for writing and maintaining data pipelines
• Knowledge of on-premises relational databases such as Microsoft SQL Server
• Strong attention to detail, especially in data validation and output accuracy
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a distributed team
• Willingness to take on additional duties and participate in special projects
• Respectful awareness of cultural, racial, gender, and sexual orientation differences
• Alignment with Candid’s core values: driven, direct, accessible, curious, and inclusive

• Serve as the primary owner of data ingestion pipelines and transformation table adjustments, ensuring reliable data delivery
• Apply routine schema and structural changes in response to evolving business needs, validating transformation outputs and escalating anomalies
• Assist with scheduling and executing storage maintenance tasks such as compaction and cleanup to ensure Iceberg table health and query performance
• Support partition evolution and snapshot retention to manage storage growth efficiently
• Implement and maintain observability tools like CloudWatch metrics, alarms, and dashboards to monitor pipeline health and platform performance
• Contribute to tracking and reporting platform metrics to optimize data operations
• Maintain and support AWS Glue metadata refresh and statistics jobs to facilitate query planning and optimization
• Coordinate schema changes across ingestion and transformation layers, collaborating with team members to ensure end-to-end consistency
• Support infrastructure security by maintaining role-based access controls, conducting access reviews, and documenting changes
• Participate in audits and risk assessments, escalating issues as necessary
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to improve data workflows, infrastructure, and security protocols

• Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
• Retirement plan contributions with additional matching options
• Paid life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment coverage
• Paid time off including PTO, compassionate leave, volunteer days, holidays, and parental leave
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Pre-tax transit benefits and flexible spending accounts
• Supplemental insurance options
• Summer hours for improved work-life balance
• Eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program

Candid is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees and applicants are treated with respect and fairness. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, and termination. We believe diversity strengthens our organization and are dedicated to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all.