Data Engineer

What You Bring To The Role

About The Role

This role is remote eligible*

As a Staff Data Engineer at The Real Real you ll lead automation, personalization, and data pipeline initiatives. You will be on a small, high impact team who both decides on the best architectural decisions and implements them. We are in the process of moving our ETL job from batch to streaming/event based and need thought leaders to help support the future of large realtime pipelines.

These pipelines will make a big impact for the business through analytical insights, building machine learning products, and supporting realtime personalization through our website. You will own critical systems throughout the platform and be responsible for their development, adding new, valuable features, and ensuring that these systems perform correctly.

• States Not Eligible: AK, AR, DE, KS, MS, ND, SD, WY

• Design and build integrations between our data platform and internal and external services.
• Own end to end delivery of data infrastructure projects, from requirements gathering through production deployment and monitoring
• Build scalable data models and transformations using dbt, establishing data contracts and quality standards
• Architect systems that balance technical excellence with business needs, considering scalability, reliability and maintainability
• Collaborate with Engineering, Product and Business Analyst teams to solve complex data challenges
• Mentor engineers through code reviews, architectural guidance and knowledge sharing
• Operate primarily in AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate development and deliver solutions faster

Minimum Requirements:

• 7+ years of relevant data engineering experience
• Strong systems design skills with experience architecting data platforms from the ground up
• Proven experience building integrations with external services (REST APIs, webhooks, streaming platforms)
• Strong hands-on experience with dbt data modeling, testing, incremental models and project organization
• Proficiency with cloud data platforms. GCP (preferred) or AWS or Azure
• Expert level command of git, code reviews and CI/CD workflows
• Active experience using AI coding tools (Cursor, Claude etc) to enhance productivity
• Excellent communication skills, able to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders
• Track record of owning projects end-to-end with minimal supervision

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience with data orchestration tools (Airflow)
• Familiarity with streaming platforms (Kafka, Pub/Sub)
• Python proficiency for scripting and automation
• Experience establishing data quality frameworks and monitoring systems
• Background working in fast-paced, iterative environments

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan
• 401K with Company Match
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Unlimited Discretionary Time Off (DTO)
  * and 10 Paid Company Holidays
• * Unlimited DTO with Manager approval

The expected salary range for this role is $-$. To determine starting pay we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location and an evaluation of a candidate’s skills, experience, market demands, and internal parity. Additionally, salary is just one component of TRR’s total rewards package. Depending on role, employees may also be eligible for a bonus program, incentive pay and benefits.

The Real Real is the world’s largest online marketplace for authenticated, resale luxury goods, with 37 million members. With a rigorous authentication process overseen by experts, The Real Real provides a safe and reliable platform for consumers to buy and sell their luxury items. We have hundreds of in-house gemologists, horologists, and brand authenticators who inspect thousands of items each day.

As a sustainable company, we give new life to pieces by thousands of brands across numerous categories—including women s and men s fashion, fine jewelry and watches, art, and home—in support of the circular economy. We make selling effortless with free virtual appointments, in-home pickup, drop-off, and direct shipping. We handle all of the work for consignors, including authenticating, using AI…