PFF is a leading sports analytics company that transforms complex football data into powerful insights. They are seeking a Senior Data Engineer to lead the architectural redesign of their PostgreSQL database and optimize data delivery for client-facing APIs and internal tools.
Responsibilities:
- Lead the Architectural Redesign: Analyze and re-architect the existing highly-normalized PostgreSQL database, driving the transition to a modern, high-performance analytical data model
- Optimize for Performance: Redesign schemas, balancing normalization with analytical read efficiency. Strategically apply denormalization, materialized views, and dynamic queries to support high-speed data access
- Scale Data Delivery: Introduce advanced PostgreSQL strategies including robust indexing, partitioning, caching, and replication to ensure high-throughput and low-latency access for client-facing APIs and internal tools
- Data Pipeline Excellence: Design, implement, and maintain scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT frameworks across distributed systems to ensure data reliability and freshness
- Technical Leadership: Act as a subject matter expert, guiding the engineering team on best practices for data modeling, query optimization, and architectural decisions
Requirements:
- 5+ years of experience as a Senior Data Engineer, Database Architect, or equivalent role in high-scale, read-heavy data systems
- Expert-level proficiency in PostgreSQL schema design, optimization, and performance tuning (e.g., query planning analysis, configuration tuning)
- Proven track record of successfully re-architecting complex, highly normalized OLTP systems into efficient OLAP/analytical data warehouses
- Deep practical knowledge of advanced database concepts including indexing strategies, partitioning, caching mechanisms, and replication patterns
- Strong experience with building and managing data ingestion pipelines and ETL/ELT processes in a modern cloud environment
- Exceptional communication and collaboration skills. Must be proactive, articulate, and comfortable managing technical scope and expectations with leadership and product stakeholders
- Prior professional experience working with data systems in sports analytics, betting, or digital media
- Experience operating within a globally distributed team spanning the US and UK time zones
- A pragmatic, hands-on approach: a willingness to dive into legacy schema cleanup while simultaneously designing future-state systems and leading by example