Manager, Data Engineering

Niche is a school search company that helps people research and enroll in schools and helps schools recruit students. The Manager, Data Engineering will lead a team of data engineers, oversee the development and operation of scalable data platforms and pipelines, drive roadmap execution, and promote engineering best practices and team development.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage a team of 3-5 data/software engineers to execute on the data product roadmap
• Oversee the design, development, and maintenance of scalable, secure, and observable data pipelines and warehouse layers using Python, SQL, Snowflake, DBT, Airflow, and Kafka to support content delivery, analytics, reporting, and operational systems
• Drive a strong execution culture by managing sprint planning, work estimation, standups, and retrospectives
• Collaborate closely with cross-functional partners in Analytics, Product, and Engineering to understand data requirements and deliver solutions aligned with business priorities
• Ensure operational excellence by guiding the team on monitoring, troubleshooting, and resolving production issues
• Implement and uphold engineering best practices including testing, CI/CD, code reviews, and documentation
• Coach and mentor team members on technical execution, communication, and career development
• Identify and remove process bottlenecks to improve development velocity, delivery quality, system performance, and overall cost efficiency across the data platform
• Participate in hiring efforts and help onboard new team members
• Learn about Niche by meeting with various team members to learn more about our company through our Onboarding meetings
• Build trust with team members and cross-functional stakeholders
• Review current data systems, pipelines, and platform architecture
• Lead team rituals (standups, planning, retros) with consistency and clarity
• Oversee day-to-day execution of data platform and pipeline projects
• Partner with stakeholders across Analytics, Product, and Engineering to align priorities
• Begin coaching team members on execution, communication, and growth areas
• Drive accountability and delivery for key roadmap initiatives
• Identify and resolve process bottlenecks; promote technical best practices
• Guide the team on data quality, pipeline reliability, and operational excellence
• Participate in hiring and onboarding new engineers
• Demonstrate measurable impact on platform scalability, data availability, and team performance
• Evolve team structure, goals, and operating model to meet growing business needs
• Serve as a strategic partner across Niche to improve how data is acquired, transformed, governed, and delivered

Requirements:

• 6+ years of experience in data engineering, with 1–2 years of team leadership experience
• Proven experience in managing and mentoring data engineers
• Deep knowledge of modern data platforms (Snowflake, DBT, Airflow, Airbyte, RudderStack, Kafka, etc.)
• Strong skills in Python, SQL, and data modeling (3NF, dimensional, data vault)
• Experience delivering robust, observable, secure, and scalable data pipelines
• Familiarity with Agile product delivery and cross-functional collaboration
• Strong communication skills and a bias for clarity and action
• Niche will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future for this opening
• Experience of the ingestion and processing of third-party data sources (e.g., CRMs, Google Analytics, ad platforms, social media), lead delivery pipelines, marketing attribution, customer segmentation, and personalized user experiences
• Exposure to data monetization / licensing,  or external data product delivery
• Background in working with external datasets or geospatial data
• Demonstrated success in fostering a high-performing, inclusive team culture