Principal Data Engineer
$160k - $206k USD
About Waymark
Waymark is a mission-driven team of healthcare providers, technologists, and builders working to transform care for people with Medicaid benefits. Our community-based care teams—powered by proprietary data science and ML technologies—support care for tens of thousands of Medicaid members across multiple states, driving measurable reductions in avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations. We’re designing tools and systems that bring care directly to those who need it most—removing barriers and reimagining what’s possible in Medicaid healthcare delivery and we are seeking a highly experienced Data Engineer to join this mission.
This is a principal-level individual contributor role who combines deep backend engineering fundamentals with specialized expertise in Electronic Health Record (EHR) data integration. You will report to data engineering leadership and setting the technical direction for our clinical data platform by leading the design, development, and optimization of data pipelines that ingest, normalize, and transform clinical data from diverse EHR and payer systems.
If this resonates with you, we invite you to bring your creativity, energy, and curiosity to Waymark.Key Responsibilities
EHR & Partner Integrations- Architect production-grade data pipelines that integrate clinical data through multiple channels—direct EHR connections (e.g., Epic, Cerner, Athenahealth), health information exchanges (HIEs), health alliance networks, and third-party integration vendors—via FHIR R4 APIs, HL7v2 feeds, CCDA documents, and bulk data exports, while enforcing healthcare standards and clinical terminologies (ICD-10, SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm), targeting sub-hour latency from clinical event to actionable insight and ≥99.9% pipeline reliability
- Lead end-to-end integration efforts with health plan partners, HIEs, health alliance networks, provider organizations, and data integration vendors—owning partner technical evaluation, connectivity, data mapping, validation, and production rollout
Data Platform & Tooling
- Build and optimize cloud-native data infrastructure (AWS) and ETL/ELT workflows using modern orchestration tools (e.g., Step Functions, dbt) with robust data quality monitoring and lineage tracking
- Develop reusable backend frameworks, libraries, and internal tooling that accelerate onboarding of new data sources—whether direct EHR feeds, HIE connections, or vendor integrations—with the goal of reducing new-partner integration time by 50% or more while improving developer productivity and reducing operational toil across engineering
ML/AI Enablement & Product Collaboration
- Partner with data science and data analytics teams to build and operationalize the data foundations for predictive risk scores, care gap identification, clinical alerting, and patient outreach prioritization
- Collaborate with product and clinical teams to translate care delivery requirements into scalable, production-grade technical solutions and influence.
Security & Compliance
- Ensure all data systems comply with HIPAA, HITECH, and applicable privacy regulations, implementing access controls, audit logging, encryption, and de-identification processes for PHI
Leadership & Mentorship
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers across Waymark, raising the bar on healthcare data best practices.
Minimum Qualification
- 8+ years of software engineering experience, with substantial time focused on healthcare data engineering or EHR integration
- Expert-level proficiency in Python (required) and experience in at least one compiled or concurrent language (such as Elixir)
- Deep understanding of distributed systems, cloud computing, and backend system design: API architecture (REST), microservices, event-driven systems, message queues (RabbitMQ), caching strategies, and distributed systems patterns
- Strong background in data modeling, schema design, performance optimization, and both relational (PostgreSQL) and columnar/analytical databases (Redshift)
- Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies (e.g., Docker (required), Kubernetes)
- Design data integration systems resilient to inconsistent, incomplete, and delayed clinical data across heterogeneous EHRs and payer systems either directly or through HIEs, health alliance networks, or integration vendors, using FHIR APIs, HL7v2 interfaces, or CCDA parsing
- Strong experience in mapping/normalizing healthcare standards such as ICD-10, SNOMED CT, LOINC, RxNorm
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Comfort with operating as a principal IC with influence over multiple teams, without direct reports.
Nice-to-have
- Advanced degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
- Experience working in value-based care, population health, or Medicaid/Medicare data environments
- Experience with ML/AI frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) and MLOps practices for healthcare applications
Salary Range
US Employees in San Francisco/Bay Area, New York City - $160,000 - $206,000
US Employees in Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC - $147,200 - $189,700
US Employees in Arlington, Denver, San Diego, Sacramento - $140,800 - $181,500
US Employees in Albany, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Central/Southern, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Portland, Research Triangle, Salt Lake City, Twin Cities - $128,000 - $165,000
US Employees in Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Charleston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Daytona Beach, Indianapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Omaha, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa - $124,160 - $160,000
In addition to salary, we offer a comprehensive benefits package. Here’s what you can expect:
Stock Options: Opportunity to invest in the company’s growth.
Incentive Program: This role includes a performance based bonus for meeting agreed upon goals.
Work-from-Home Stipend: A dedicated stipend for your first year to help set up your home office.
Medical, Vision, and Dental Coverage: Comprehensive plans to keep you and your family healthy.
Life Insurance: Basic life insurance to give you peace of mind.
Paid Time Off: 20 vacation days, accrued over the year, plus 11 paid holidays.
Parental Leave: 16 weeks of paid leave for birthing parents after six months of employment, and 8 weeks of bonding leave for non-birthing parents.
Retirement Savings: Access to a 401(k) plan with a company contribution, subject to a vesting schedule.
Commuter Benefits: Convenient options to support your commute needs.
Professional Development Stipend: A dedicated stipend supports professional development and growth.
Offer of employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
Don’t check off every box in the requirements listed above? Please apply anyway! Studies have shown that some of us may be less likely to apply to jobs unless we meet every single qualification. Waymark is dedicated to building a supportive, equal opportunity, and accessible workplace that fosters a sense of belonging – so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every preferred qualification in the job description, we encourage you to still consider submitting an application. You may be just the right candidate for this role or another one of our openings!