Staff Engineer

TL;DR

We are hiring our first ‘beyond senior’ technical role - Staff Engineer - to further elevate our technical team. 

The Staff Engineer is the "tip of the spear" for technical excellence, acting as a force multiplier who not only delivers on the most complex projects but also elevates the entire engineering team and builds client trust.

The role is ideal for someone already at or beyond senior level experience, demonstrating strong business skills, who would like to drive organization-level impact while staying on the technical career track. This will be our most senior individual contributor (not managing people), reporting directly to Datapao Leadership. 

What will you do?

You will steer and drive the high-level technology direction of Datapao, including how we deliver projects, build solutions, scale and enable our technical teams.

• Oversee the technology strategy of Datapao, including key technical areas, projects, capabilities, standards, and roadmaps; and aligns them with business needs
• Drive our technical solution development, working in a cross-functional solutions core team, from architecture design to hands-on implementation, while also liaising with cross-functional stakeholders
• Accelerate the scaling of Datapao as a solution provider by overseeing technical enablement, including leveraging synergies across teams, facilitating enablement and internal training program
• Create best practices and SoPs to standardize the Datapao way of working, including architecture patterns, quality standards and more
• Innovate service offerings, to evolve our solutions in line with dynamically evolving customer needs
• Oversee or lead our key projects, with hands-on involvement in technical leadership, planning, project delivery, technical escalation handling and quality assurance
• Act as a technical thought leader for Datapao and Databricks teams, key customer stakeholders and the data community.

What will you bring?

🎯 Must-Have

• Technical excellence - you played a senior role in teams that designed and implemented data-intensive software and solutions and you have strong hands-on experience with SQL and Cloud. You have experience building complex (data engineering, data science or AI) solutions in a senior technical contributor role, and you demonstrated your excellence by achieving objectives beyond direct technical impact. 
• Deep technology mastery in Databricks and Cloud - you implemented production-grade data or AI solutions on the Databricks Platform and you are proficient with at least one major cloud provider (AWS or Azure) 
• Strategic focus - you have attention to implementation details and architecture-level considerations at the same time, navigating across multiple abstraction levels with ease 
• Consultative approach - you thrive in a customer-facing environment, where uncovering customer needs and translating them into technical solutions is the name of the game
• Excellent communication & presentation skills - you can adjust your communication style, and articulate complex, technical concepts to all types of audiences, especially for senior management (e.g. CTOs and CDOs);
• Capability and willingness to lead - you thrive in leading individuals and teams towards achieving challenging technical and business objectives
• Mentoring skills & strong predisposition to knowledge-sharing - are things that excite you. We consider ourselves a learning organization and believe that these are meaningful tools for one to compound his/her impact across the organization. Thus technical mentoring and/or people management  hands-on experience is a big plus;
• You are fluent in English and willing to travel (mainly in the EU and normally within a short business trip setup) up to 15% of your time.

🚀 Nice-to-Have

• Experience within a start-up or scale-up environment – we are at a stage in our growth journey when being adaptable and dynamic is a key asset.
• Experience with Generative AI and MLOps - while these are not part of all our projects, their emerging importance makes them a significant plus
• Public Thought Leadership - you share your thought with the data community and with customers, be it at conferences, technical content or via  significant contributions to open-source projects
• SME in an industry vertical  - you have deep subject matter expertise in a key industry (e.g. finance).
• Multi-cloud or Competitor knowledge - having mastery of multiple cloud platforms (AWS, Azure and GCP), and/or having experience with other data solutions is a significant plus

What will the selection process look like?

• Screening Interview (~45 minutes). One of our Recruiters will run it. The purpose is to better understand your motivation for the role and assess how you match the role's core requirements.
• Technical Interview (~90-120 minutes). A Resident Solution Architect will run this round. The main objective is to determine the breadth and depth of your experience in areas such as software development, Databricks, Cloud and Architecture. 
• Take-home Assignment. We’ll ask you to prepare plans for 1) creating a complex technical solution and 2) technical enablement. This allows you to demonstrate your thinking and show how you would drive success in the position.
• Panel Presentation (~60 minutes). During this round, you will discuss your take-home assignment submission with our Head of Consulting, and one or two other team members you'll work closely with (e.g., engineering managers, subject-matter experts). 
• Cultural Fit Interview (~60 minutes) with our Head of People. The focus will be on discussing more in-depth ways of working, debriefing your performance during the interview process, and pre-aligning on possible goals and focus post joining.

How will we measure success in this role?

Making an impact in this role will be a function of:

• Creating and executing a technology strategy
• Creating new technical solutions 
• Delivering and overseeing customer projects
• Accelerating our scaling while maintaining quality

What do we offer?

• Educational benefits: A unique opportunity to switch to the world of data & AI. We'll grant you access to Databricks' public and internal courses to learn all the tricks of Distributed Data Processing, MLOps, Apache Spark, Databricks, and Cloud Migration from the best. Additionally, we'll pay for various data & cloud certifications. You'll also get dedicated time for learning during work hours and access to our internal library. 
• Flexible PTO and Working Hours: We’re flexible about your working routine and how many days you take off if it does not conflict with customer success, company goals, and the work you do. 
• Flexible Office: It is up to you which days you spend in the office. However, as a strong community is one of DATAPAO's value propositions, we’d expect you to spend one day per week in the office on average. 
• 30 Calendar Days of Paternity Leave (if applicable): We think it’s essential for both parents to be there when it matters the most. 
• Private Medical Insurance: We provide a private medical package via Generali. 
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Through EAP, we offer our employees access to psychological, financial, and legal consulting services via phone or in person.
• Top-notch working equipment: Working comfortably means working well. Therefore, you will get a MacBook, a Herman Miller office chair, standing desks in the office, and whatever else is needed to give your best.
• The chance to make an impact in a high-transparency culture: Open feedback and a no-politics environment are things we value a lot at DATAPAO. Additionally, you'll get the chance to shape the future of a rapidly growing tech company, to work with cutting-edge technologies, and to help some of the biggest and most innovative companies in the world sort out their data puzzles.
• A cozy and modern office in the heart of Budapest: Located in a vibrant, central part of the city (Opera/Oktogon), it's designed to foster focus, creativity, and team connection. You'll find open spaces for group work, quiet corners for deep thinking, and plenty of natural light. It’s well-stocked with snacks, drinks, coffee, and beverages. Optional Friday evening beers, movie, and wine-tasting nights with the team are also on us.

Total compensation

The gross salary for this position is up to 2 500 000 HUF/month, depending on your assessed seniority level during the selection process.