Open Architects (OA) seeks a Lead Data Engineer to strategically enhance our ETL processes and data connectors, enabling reliable, sustainable, and scalable integration with diverse data systems. Reporting directly to OA’s Director of Technology, you will guide the development of our data engineering strategy, drive key architectural decisions, and build pipelines to extract customer data. Our ideal candidate is an experienced Python developer with a complementary DevOps skillset that allows them to make informed decisions.

OA supports school districts, municipalities, and education non-profits with custom-built visualizations and data tools that empower leaders to make informed decisions. In our ninth year, OA provides a collaborative and inclusive environment driven by a deep commitment to our clients and the students they serve, and we eagerly get into the trenches to help solve our clients’ problems. We are also a learning organization that embraces the messiness of the work and has fun along the way. We take our work seriously but not ourselves.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead and implement strategic improvements to OA’s ETL infrastructure and processes.
• Build and maintain robust data connectors to dozens of systems, ensuring reliability, scalability, and sustainability.
• Monitor data pipeline performance, proactively troubleshooting and resolving issues to maintain data integrity and system uptime.
• Collaborate with district IT departments to address and resolve technical issues beyond client service capabilities.
• Develop internal documentation, guidelines, and best practices to support growth and onboarding.
• Influence platform and technology decisions to improve pipeline resilience and transparency.

Qualifications

Required Technical Skills and Experience

• 4+ years of experience as a data engineer with Python as the primary programming language
• Strong DevOps skills in a Linux environment, including CI/CD, Git, and containerization tools such as Docker
• Experience with data pipeline orchestration and management technologies (e.g., Docker, Airflow, Kubernetes)
• Proven ability to establish and document technical standards and operational best practices.
• Bachelor’s degree required

Required Personal Skills and Experience

• Highly self-motivated and able to structure independent work effectively in a fully remote environment.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of translating complex technical concepts clearly
  for internal stakeholders and clients.
• Enthusiastic collaborator, comfortable working within a flexible and flat organizational structure.
• Commitment to maintaining strict confidentiality and ethical standards when handling
  sensitive client data.
• Experience effectively engaging with diverse stakeholders, especially education and
  municipal leaders.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Familiarity with educational technology (EdTech) or experience working with student data
  systems.
• Availability during standard U.S. Eastern Time business hours.

Salary and compensation

Benefits

💰 401(k)

🤓 Vision insurance

🦷 Dental insurance

🚑 Medical insurance

🏖 Unlimited vacation

🏖 Paid time off

💰 401k matching

🏔 Company retreats

🎅 We hire old (and young)

We are seeking a Data Engineer with a strong Python and SQL skillset to join our team and expand our capacity to meet the demands of our growing client base. In this role, you will develop key data transformations to make data available to our analyst team.

Open Architects (OA) is a Massachusetts-based organization that supports school districts, municipalities, and education non-profits by providing custom-built visualization dashboards to give leaders the information they need to make data-informed decisions. 

We believe that high-quality systems and effective use of data are critical foundations that enable excellent schools. OA’s dashboards seamlessly collect, combine, transform, analyze, and display data from disparate data sources to provide insights to school leaders. Staffed by former practitioners, OA creates the analytical tools and provides the insights that we wish we had when we worked in districts and municipalities. 

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

As part of a dynamic, growing startup, you will report to OA’s Director of Technology, work closely with the analyst team, and serve as the lead developer for OA’s data warehouse. We work remotely and maintain a strong team culture through daily meetings, quarterly step-backs, and an annual in-person retreat. 

Our ideal candidate is an experienced Python and SQL developer with a history of building data transformation processes that scale. The right individual should have a meticulous approach to writing quality code and following best practices; enjoy the challenge of manipulating and transforming data; understand the importance of reliability; and view security with utmost importance.

Our data warehouse will change how Open Architects operates and the products we offer our customers; this role provides the candidate with an opportunity to shape and impact the growth of an EdTech startup.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Technical Skills and Experience 
●    3+ years of experience as a data engineer with Python and SQL as the primary toolset
●    2+ years of experience working with BigQuery (or another columnar database)
●    Strong understanding of Object-Oriented Programming and the ability to write, maintain, and extend an application
●    Proficiency with Pandas (current solution is built around Pandas)
●    Demonstrable experience working with, transforming, and loading large data sets (10’s of millions of records)
●    Strong understanding of error handling, logging, and alerting for reliability
●    Ability to write configurable and extendable ETLs so they are executable for multiple use cases
●    Practical experience writing and executing tests
●    Diligent with commenting, documentation, and version control
●    Bachelor’s degree required
●    Must be able to provide examples of work products

Required Personal Skills and Experience
●    Ability to work in a fully remote environment (Slack, Zoom)
●    Works well with internal stakeholders and can translate needs into technical solutions
●    Self-motivated and able to independently structure work time to achieve assigned objectives
●    Excited to work in a collaborative team environment with a flat and flexible organizational structure 
●    Adheres to the utmost ethical standards in preserving confidentiality with client data
●    Works effectively with diverse stakeholders including school and district leaders

Other Preferred Skills and Experience
●    Required: Willingness to work US standard business hours
●    EdTech and/or student data experience
●    Familiarity with Power BI (our analysts use this extensively)
●    Experience working in a Linux environment and with Docker images/containers

COMPENSATION

●    Salary: $90,00-110,000 
●    Generous benefits package (health, dental and 401(k)) and flexible paid time off policy 
●    100% remote work (most meetings occur during Eastern Standard hours) 
●    Chance to join a growing startup with the opportunity to shape the company and your role 

HIRING PROCESS

1.    Applications screened for qualified candidates
2.    First-round interview with company leadership
3.    Live hiring exercise
4.    Final interview
5.    Offer extended!

Salary and compensation

Benefits

💰 401(k)

🌎 Distributed team

⏰ Async

🤓 Vision insurance

🦷 Dental insurance

🚑 Medical insurance

🏖 Unlimited vacation

🏖 Paid time off

💰 401k matching

🏔 Company retreats

👀 No monitoring system

🚫 No politics at work

🎅 We hire old (and young)

Job Description              

We are seeking a Full Stack Python Web Developer to join our team and expand our capacity to meet the demands of our growing client base. In this role, you will manage a key piece of Open Architects’ product— the Partner Portal.

Open Architects (OA) is a Massachusetts-based organization that supports school districts, municipalities, state agencies, and education non-profits by providing custom-built visualization dashboards, data tools, and maps to give leaders the information they need to make data-informed decisions.

We believe that high-quality systems and effective use of data are critical foundations that enable excellent schools and municipalities. OA’s data tools seamlessly collect, combine, transform, analyze, and display data from disparate data sources to provide insights to school leaders. Staffed by former practitioners, OA creates the analytical tools and provides the insights that we wish we had when we worked in districts and municipalities.

Now in our seventh year of operation, OA provides an open, collaborative team environment, where diverse perspectives and backgrounds are valued. We are driven by a deep sense of service to our clients and the students and communities they serve, and eagerly get into the trenches to help solve our clients’ problems. We are also a learning organization that embraces the messiness of the work and has fun along the way.  We take our work seriously but not ourselves.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

As part of a dynamic, growing startup, you will report to OA’s Director of Technology, work closely with the product innovation team, and serve as the lead developer for OA’s Partner Portal. We work remotely and maintain a strong team culture through daily meetings, quarterly step-backs, and an annual in-person retreat.

Our ideal candidate is an experienced full-stack developer with a history of building, maintaining, and extending web applications. The right individual should have a meticulous approach to writing quality code and following best practices; enjoy the challenge of finding the best way to implement new features; have an eye for user experience; and view security with utmost importance.

You will refactor and reengineer portions of our Partner Portal to realign with growth in product and scope, work with the product innovation team to add new features and enhancements, and continually optimize the full stack to improve user experience and product functionality.

Our Partner Portal is the entry point for all OA products and services; this role provides the candidate with an opportunity to shape and impact the growth of an EdTech startup.

QUALIFICATIONS

●          3+ years of experience as a full stack web developer with a Python and SQL backend (Flask, SQLAlchemy, MySQL)

●          Advanced skills in Javascript, HTML, and CSS

●          Experience writing, maintaining, and extending APIs

●          Strong understanding and use of asynchronous functions

●          Experience working with OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, and JWT standards and flows

●          Ability to deploy a web application via Docker

●          Practical experience writing and executing tests

●          Diligent with commenting, documentation, and version control

●          Bachelor’s degree required

●          Must be able to provide examples of work products (example applications)

●          Ability to work in a fully remote environment (Slack, Zoom)

●          Thrives in a fast-paced work environment with the ability to manage multiple projects and deliverables simultaneously  

●          Self-motivated and able to independently structure work time to achieve assigned objectives

●          Excited to work in a collaborative team environment with a flat and flexible organizational structure

●          Adheres to the utmost ethical standards in preserving confidentiality with client data

●          Balances quick work output without compromising quality

●          Flexible and willing to roll up sleeves to support the internal team with both client-facing and marketing needs, including work on both short-term assignments and longer-range project

●          Experience on Microsoft Azure platform

●          Experience working in a Linux environment and with Docker images/containers

●          Familiarity with reverse proxies and web server gateway interfaces

●          EdTech and/or student data experience

COMPENSATION

●          We offer a competitive compensation package depending on experience and qualifications

●          Generous benefits package (health, dental and 401(k)) and flexible paid time off policy

●          100% remote work (most meetings occur during Eastern Standard hours)

●          Chance to join a growing startup with opportunity to shape the company and your role

HIRING PROCESS

1.        Applications screened for qualified candidates

2.        First round interview with company leadership

3.        Homework assignment / explanation meeting

4.        Final interview with the team

5.        Offer extended!

Salary and compensation

Benefits

💰 401(k)

🤓 Vision insurance

🦷 Dental insurance

🚑 Medical insurance

🏖 Paid time off

💰 401k matching

🏔 Company retreats