Staff Data Platform Engineer

Vercel is seeking a Principal Engineer to lead the architecture and development of its next-generation Data Platform. This role involves designing systems for real-time analytics, observability, and future AI/ML capabilities. The engineer will combine hands-on development with technical leadership, setting the vision for the data ecosystem, building scalable distributed systems using technologies like Kafka, ClickHouse, Tinybird, and Snowflake, and aligning data strategy with product and engineering goals across the company.

Must Have

• Architect and build scalable data platform for batch and real-time workloads.
• Design streaming and event-driven systems using Kafka and related tooling.
• Implement modern lakehouse foundations, including Iceberg-based storage and governance.
• Partner with engineering, product, and leadership to define data strategy and technical direction.
• Establish best practices for ingestion, modeling, storage, quality, and security.
• Write production-grade code and set engineering standards.
• Improve reliability through strong observability, monitoring, and fault tolerance.
• Drive long-term architectural decisions and evaluate build-vs-buy tradeoffs.
• Support analytics and ML teams by delivering high-quality data systems and tooling.
• 8+ years in data engineering or data architecture, including senior/principal-level work.
• Deep experience designing and operating large-scale distributed data systems.
• Strong expertise with Kafka and analytics/lakehouse technologies (ClickHouse, Tinybird, Snowflake, Iceberg).
• Strong cloud experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Experience with data governance, reliability, and secure data operations.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence across teams.
• Demonstrated leadership through mentorship, design ownership, or technical direction.

Perks & Benefits

• Competitive compensation package, including equity.
• Inclusive Healthcare Package.
• Mentorship and events to build network and skills.
• Flexible Time Off.
• Provided gear for the role and a WFH budget.

About the Role

We are looking for a Principal Engineer to lead the architecture and development of Vercel’s next-generation Data Platform. You will design the systems that power data across our products and internal teams, enabling real-time analytics, observability, and future AI/ML capabilities.

This role combines hands-on engineering with technical leadership. You will set the vision for our data ecosystem, build scalable distributed systems using technologies like Kafka, ClickHouse, Tinybird, and Snowflake, and work across the company to align data strategy with product and engineering goals.

What You Will Do

• Architect and build a scalable data platform for batch and real-time workloads.
• Design streaming and event-driven systems using Kafka and related tooling.
• Implement modern lakehouse foundations, including Iceberg-based storage and governance.
• Partner with engineering, product, and leadership to define data strategy and technical direction.
• Establish best practices for ingestion, modeling, storage, quality, and security.
• Write production-grade code and set engineering standards across the team.
• Improve reliability through strong observability, monitoring, and fault tolerance.
• Drive long-term architectural decisions and evaluate build-vs-buy tradeoffs.
• Support analytics and ML teams by delivering high-quality data systems and tooling.

About You

• 8+ years in data engineering or data architecture, including senior/principal-level work.
• Deep experience designing and operating large-scale distributed data systems.
• Strong expertise with Kafka and analytics/lakehouse technologies (ClickHouse, Tinybird, Snowflake, Iceberg).
• Strong cloud experience (AWS, GCP, or Azure).
• Experience with data governance, reliability, and secure data operations.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence across engineering and product teams.
• Demonstrated leadership through mentorship, design ownership, or technical direction.

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation package, including equity.
• Inclusive Healthcare Package.
• Learn and Grow - we provide mentorship and send you to events that help you build your network and skills.
• Flexible Time Off.
• We will provide you the gear you need to do your role, and a WFH budget for you to outfit your space as needed.

The San Francisco, CA base pay range for this role is $196,000-$294,000. Actual salary will be based on job-related skills, experience, and location. Compensation outside of San Francisco may be adjusted based on employee location. The total compensation package may include benefits, equity-based compensation, and eligibility for a company bonus or variable pay program depending on the role. Your recruiter can share more details during the hiring process.

Vercel is committed to fostering and empowering an inclusive community within our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Vercel encourages everyone to apply for our available positions, even if they don't necessarily check every box on the job description.