Checkr is building the data platform to power safe and fair decisions. Over 140,000 companies and millions of people rely on Checkr for AI-powered verification in the moments that matter most — getting a new job, a new place to live, a car ride, childcare, even a date. Customers include Uber, Pennymac, Airbnb, DoorDash, Amazon, and Anthropic.

A career at Checkr means collaborating with brilliant minds, disrupting an industry, and opening channels of employment to often overlooked candidates. Checkr is recognized on the Forbes Cloud 100 2025 List and is a Y Combinator 2024 Breakthrough Company.

About the Role

As a Staff Data Engineer on the People Data team, you'll help build and evolve the centralized platform that powers every Checkr product. This platform stores and serves the identity and people records that underpin Checkr's Workforce, Mortgage, Tenant, Trust, and Personal products — making it foundational to the company's AI-powered verification platform and every high-stakes decision our customers make.

In this role, you'll own the core services, data pipelines, and architecture that keep this platform scalable, reliable, and ready for the next generation of Checkr products. You'll solve complex distributed systems and data engineering challenges while meaningfully influencing the technical direction of one of the company's most critical platforms.

Responsibilities

Architect, design, lead, and build an end-to-end, performant, reliable, and scalable data platform
Work as an independent contributor — solve complex problems and deliver high-quality solutions with minimal oversight and strong personal ownership
Mentor and guide junior engineers to deliver complex, next-generation features
Bring a customer-centric, product-oriented mindset — collaborate with customers and internal stakeholders to resolve product ambiguities and ship features that solve real problems
Partner with engineering, product, design, and other cross-functional stakeholders to design and architect new capabilities
Validate customer needs through experimentation — take autonomy and empowerment to gain team buy-in and ship rapid MVPs
Treat quality as a non-negotiable part of every software deliverable
Instrument and deploy new product experiments using a data-driven, analytical approach
Monitor, triage, and resolve production issues for the team's services
Create and maintain data pipelines and foundational datasets to support product and business needs

Requirements

10+ years of experience designing, implementing, and delivering highly scalable, performant data platforms
Proven experience building large-scale data processing pipelines using ETL/ELT, batch, and stream processing
Expert-level proficiency in PySpark, Python, and SQL
Deep expertise in data modeling, relational databases, and NoSQL data stores (e.g., MongoDB)
Hands-on experience with big data technologies including Kafka, Spark, Iceberg, data lakes, and the AWS stack (EKS, EMR, Serverless, Glue, Athena, S3, and more)
Strong knowledge of security best practices and data privacy considerations
Exceptional problem-solving skills and meticulous attention to detail
An A-player mindset with a strong bias for action — you raise the bar, move with urgency, stay resilient through ambiguity, and take ownership to deliver meaningful outcomes

Nice to Have

Experience with data processing platforms such as Databricks or Snowflake

Benefits

$3,000 USD per year learning and development reimbursement allowance
Competitive compensation with opportunity for professional and personal advancement
100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents
Additional vacation benefits including 5 extra days and flexibility to take time off
Hybrid work environment with hub locations in Denver, CO; San Francisco, CA; Nashville, TN; and Santiago, Chile — with in-office expectations of 3+ days per week
In-office perks including lunch five days a week, a commuter stipend, and an abundance of snacks and beverages
A collaborative, fast-moving international environment with the opportunity for meaningful impact

**Our Commitment to Diversity & Equal

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About Checkr - Chile

Checkr is a technology company specializing in AI-powered verification and background screening solutions, serving over 140,000 businesses across hiring, housing, transportation, and other high-stakes industries. The company builds data platforms that enable safe and fair decisions for employers, landlords, rideshare services, and more, with customers including Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, and DoorDash. Recognized on the Forbes Cloud 100 list and backed by Y Combinator, Checkr is committed to expanding employment opportunities while delivering intelligent, reliable verification at scale.