Head of Data Engineering

VSCO’s creators generate billions of data points every single day. Our platform must reliably, efficiently, and securely process this data, make sense of it, and leverage it to build features our creators love. You will manage and create the systems that allow VSCO to bring value directly to our members.

VSCO is seeking a Head of Data Engineering to lead a small team of Data Engineers and Machine Learning Engineers. This team is responsible for evaluating, building and scaling all of our data pipelines and systems. In this role, you will collaborate with stakeholders across Data Science, Marketing, Product, and Engineering to set the team’s priorities, develop a clear roadmap and influence all facets of the data engineering strategy to help VSCO grow. The data your team produces will be used to help make business decisions and inform future product strategy. The machine learning team builds server and client infrastructure to provide custom user experiences to our creators.

You care deeply about complex data and understand the importance of streamlining a robust and growing system. You have strong technical expertise in data platform and data architecture, a proven track record of leading and scaling teams, operational expertise to drive efficiency and speed, agile planning practices, and a vision for how data can proactively drive insights that improve the product and business. 

The day-to-day

• Drive the technical vision and deliver a world-class data platform on which critical business decisions are made
• Continuously evaluate a build-versus-buy decision on parts of our data infrastructure and tooling
• Manage the backlogs of work for machine learning and work with product to develop a robust machine learning feature set
• Collaborate with cross-functional partners and leaders on defining and designing scalable data infrastructure 
• Lead planning and create a frame with which the team manages decisions and priorities based on the needs of the business 
• Drive the design, building, and launch of new data models and data pipelines at scale, knowing when to guide vs when to be more hands-on
• Proactively manage the team’s backlog and priorities, and operate within existing systems to ensure expectations are clear and being met for all stakeholders  
• Drive data quality across datasets and systems by defining and managing SLAs
• Facilitate team rituals including, stand-ups, planning, demos, backlog refinement, and retrospectives
• Manage, mentor and grow a team of skilled data engineers proactively with continuous feedback, thought leadership, partnership, and formal reviews

Qualifications

• 6+ years experience in software development for data systems at scale
• 4+ years of experience managing other engineers
• Experience using metrics to drive product and business decisions
• Solid track record of solving business challenges with strategic thinking, working across departments and solving challenges both in and out of engineering
• Proven history of shipping data platform products and have successfully achieved pay-off threshold 
• Clear point of view on scaling data systems and implementation approaches informed by your experience
• Experience working on data platform, ETL, data warehouses on AWS
• Expertise in Python, SQL, Scala and Golang
• Robust knowledge of agile principles and Scrum practices, including relative estimation, prioritization, planning, refinement, and retrospectives
• Track record of recruiting, managing, and retaining talented engineers

Nice to have

• Experience working with consumer product data 
• Experience building a culture that positively impacts all of engineering
• A deep appreciation for photography, video and/or other aspects of the arts

About VSCO

VSCO is a mobile app that helps you create beautiful, professional-looking photos and videos right from your mobile phone. We offer extensive high-end photo, and video editing features, including 200+ presets, and access to a vibrant global community that inspires people to create and share their diverse experiences. VSCO’s mission is to help everybody fall in love with their creativity across all products and services.

Job Perks

Equity, health, vision, dental insurance for families, flexible vacation policy, Creative Fridays, and a quarterly “Hack Week” to foster engineering ingenuity! 

Why VSCO?

Creative Freedom

We value the creative process and our employees’ opinions — input is encouraged, regardless of your position or title. We want to work with people who are driven and demonstrate initiative in taking our mission to the next level.

The Working Life

At VSCO, everyone works hard but also takes the time to enjoy life outside of the office. Balance is important to us.

It Won’t Be Boring

Try new things. Think outside the box. We celebrate an environment that fights stagnation and challenges the status quo.

Interested in this position?

Tell us why you want to work at VSCO and what we should know about you.

VSCO believes in building a safe place for creative expression and celebrating what makes us human, welcoming unique and personal backgrounds and experiences. We’re proud to foster diverse perspectives within VSCO as we continue to build an inclusive culture.

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