Principal Data Engineer

Role Overview

We are seeking a Principal Data Engineer and Data Governance Lead with deep Snowflake expertise, strong Master Data Management (MDM) skills, and proven experience leading data governance and managing data and reporting teams. This role is central to unifying data across Salesforce, HubSpot, Gong, BigCommerce, LMS systems, and internal delivery platforms, enabling accurate segmentation, forecasting, GTM insights, operational efficiencies, and AI-driven automation.

This role owns both the technical data foundation and the governance and people leadership required to make data trustworthy and usable at scale. You will architect robust data pipelines, establish the enterprise data model, design AI-ready semantic layers, lead the data and reporting function, and coach cross-functional teams on data stewardship while operating effectively in a matrixed environment.

Why This Role Matters for Teachstone

Teachstone is entering a phase where reliable, unified, and well-governed data is essential to achieving our 2026 goals: strengthening profitability, improving predictability, expanding digital delivery, diversifying markets, and deepening customer engagement.

Today, critical data lives in disconnected systems with inconsistent definitions, duplicated records, and manual reporting workarounds. This role provides the technical, governance, and leadership backbone needed to:

• Create and enforce a single source of truth across Growth, Delivery, CS, Finance, and Product
• Lead and mature the data and reporting team to deliver consistent, high-impact insights
• Establish sustainable data governance practices that scale beyond individuals
• Enable advanced reporting, forecasting, and AI-driven decision support
• Reduce manual reporting, rework, and operational friction across the organization

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Data Architecture & Pipeline Development

• Design, build, and maintain high-performance ELT/ETL pipelines into Snowflake across Enterprise systems
• Architect optimized Snowflake schemas, warehouses, and data models that support analytics, forecasting, and operational workflows
• Build scalable transformation logic using SQL, Python, dbt, and other modern data tools

Data Governance, MDM & Stewardship

• Own and lead Teachstone’s data governance framework, including standards, policies, operating cadences, and decision rights
• Define and maintain canonical enterprise data models for accounts, customers, products, segments, and lifecycle stages
• Establish and enforce field definitions, naming conventions, data lineage, and documentation standards
• Lead cross-system deduplication, normalization, and data quality initiatives
• Chair or co-lead an enterprise data governance council, driving alignment across Growth, Delivery, CS, Finance, and Product
• Ensure governance practices are practical, adopted, and embedded into day-to-day workflows—not theoretical

Data & Reporting Team Leadership 

• Manage and develop the data engineering and reporting team, including analysts and analytics engineers as applicable
• Set clear priorities, standards, and delivery expectations for data pipelines, dashboards, and reporting outputs
• Balance short-term reporting needs with long-term platform and governance maturity
• Coach team members on best practices in data modeling, governance, and stakeholder partnership
• Establish sustainable operating rhythms for intake, prioritization, and delivery of data work

Data Quality, Reliability & Controls

• Implement validation frameworks to monitor data accuracy, completeness, and consistency
• Develop automated error detection, alerting, and traceability for critical pipelines
• Ensure adherence to performance, privacy, and compliance requirements

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Enablement

• Partner with Growth, CS, Delivery, Product, Marketing, and Finance to translate business needs into governed, scalable data solutions
• Coach non-technical stakeholders on data ownership, stewardship, and responsible data practices
• Help leaders understand how upstream data decisions affect downstream reporting, metrics, and AI use cases
• Operate effectively within a matrixed organization with shared ownership and competing priorities

Performance Optimization & Innovation

• Optimize Snowflake compute usage, storage strategies, and query performance
• Evaluate emerging tools and technologies to strengthen the data platform
• Support long-term modernization, including real-time ingestion, event-driven pipelines, and AI/ML enablement

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years of experience in data engineering, including people leadership or functional leadership of data/reporting teams
• 4+ years of hands-on Snowflake experience (RBAC, warehouse design, performance tuning, cost management)
• Snowflake certification required
• Advanced SQL and proficiency in Python or another data-oriented language
• Experience with dbt, Matillion, Fivetran, Airflow, Prefect, or similar tools
• Experience leading analytics engineering or enterprise reporting functions
• Demonstrated familiarity with semantic layers and AI/ML-enabled analytics
• Demonstrated experience designing and leading data governance and MDM initiatives
• Strong communication skills with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Comfort operating in a matrixed organization

Preferred

• Experience in SaaS, education, or services-based delivery environments
• Prior participation in enterprise data strategy or governance council

What We Offer:Fair, Competitive Pay: We ensure equal pay for equal work, using consistent salary bands based on market benchmarks, reviewed annually. Prior salaries, negotiation skills, or fear of conflict don’t influence your pay.
Salary Range: $135,000 - $175,000, determined by your experience, skills and internal equity.
Comprehensive Benefits: Medical/dental, 401(k), PTO, insurance, development opportunities. Details provided at offer. Eligibility depends on your role and employment status.

Ready to Make a Difference?At Teachstone, we believe that every interaction shapes a brighter future. If you're passionate about transforming education and want to be part of a team that's committed to meaningful impact, we want to hear from you. Apply today and help us create classrooms where every child thrives!

At Teachstone, we encourage all individuals to apply and bring their unique perspectives to our team. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. We value the different experiences and ideas our team members bring and believe they are essential to solving complex challenges and driving our mission forward.