Robots and Pencils
AI Engineering
StaffDataEngineer
Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Senior candidates.
“Staff Data Engineer at Robots and Pencils. Skills: Data architecture, Data platforms, AI/ML data pipelines. Define data architecture. Define platform strategy”
What You'll Achieve.
Deliver measurable results; Ship AI into production; Ship production-ready AI; Create measurable impact
Industry & Context.
Problem-solving; Navigate ambiguity
Applications outside Colombia/Brazil not considered
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
7+ years data engineering experience, System architecture background, Expert proficiency in Python, Expert proficiency in Scala, Expert proficiency in SQL, Deep expertise cloud-native data platforms, Enterprise data warehousing expertise, Data pipeline orchestration experience, Data processing experience, Streaming platforms experience, Real-time data processing experience, Data modeling expertise, Data transformation experience, Data quality frameworks experience, Data governance frameworks experience, Compliance frameworks experience, Container orchestration experience, CI/CD for data systems experience, Data pipelines for AI/ML systems experience, Embeddings experience, Vector stores experience, RAG data preparation experience, Feature stores experience, Training data flows experience, Inference data flows experience, Demonstrated leadership experience, Technical mentoring experience, Stakeholder communication skills, Expert knowledge AI-forward coding tools, Excellent problem-solving skills, Ability to navigate ambiguity
Nice to Have
Experience with data mesh concepts, Experience with data fabric concepts, Lakehouse architectures experience, Governance framework implementation experience
What You'll Do.
Define data architecture
Define platform strategy
Lead design across pipelines
Lead design across warehouses
Lead design across data lakes
Build scalable data pipelines
Optimize scalable data pipelines
Support batch processing
Support real-time processing
Define data governance standards
Enforce data governance standards
Define data quality standards
Enforce data quality standards
Define compliance frameworks
Enforce compliance frameworks
Build monitoring for data pipelines
Build logging for data pipelines
Build alerting for data pipelines
Contribute to CI/CD workflows
Drive data platform modernization
Optimize for performance
Optimize for scalability
Design data contracts
Implement data contracts
Implement event flows
Design data pipelines for AI/ML
Implement data pipelines for AI/ML
Integrate data services with APIs
Integrate data services with middleware
Integrate data services with third-party systems
Partner with leadership on data strategy
Translate technical depth into decisions
Align data platforms with goals
Advocate for data quality
Advocate for data governance
Advocate for platform best practices
Establish data engineering standards
Mentor junior engineers
Mentor mid-level engineers
Make architectural decisions
Consider long-term tradeoffs
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Engineering teams; Analytics teams; AI teams; Product teams; Backend teams; Platform teams
Communication Scope
Stakeholder communication
Full Job Description
APPLICATIONS FROM OUTSIDE COLOMBIA AND BRAZIL WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS ROLE Robots & Pencils is an applied AI engineering firm building the next frontier of business architecture. We design and ship AI co-workers that integrate into enterprise operations and deliver measurable results for our clients. We're all in on AWS, combining deep UX capability with senior engineering talent to get AI into production fast and keep it there. We’ve earned the trust of leaders across Consumer Products and Retail, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing and more, and earned a reputation as the nimble alternative to traditional global systems integrators. Founded in 2009, with delivery centers in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, we are smaller, faster, and more senior by design. Our teams average 15+ years of experience. We move fast, sweat the details, and build things that actually ship. Position Overview We’re looking for a Staff Data Engineer to join a multi-disciplinary engineering team building modern, enterprise-grade data platforms. This role is ideal for an experienced engineer who can define data strategy, own platform decisions end-to-end, and contribute to technical leadership across the team. In this role, you will design scalable data lakes, warehouses, and pipelines, define governance and quality standards, and drive data platform modernization across real, in-flight work where performance, reliability, and security are critical. You’ll mentor more junior engineers, partner with leadership on data strategy, and bring an AI-forward mindset. Why This Role Matters At Robots & Pencils, we design AI systems for a human world. Our name says it all. Robots and pencils means engineering paired with creativity, because every agent we ship has to work for real people in real workflows. That balance is baked into how we operate. Every role here contributes directly to that mission. Here, you shape how AI systems i
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