Principal Data Engineer/Architect

Scribd, Inc. is on a mission to advance human understanding. Our four products — Scribd®, Slideshare®, Everand™, and Fable — help billions of people across the globe move beyond access and into insight, application, and expertise.Culture at Scribd, Inc.We support a culture where our employees can be real and be bold; where we debate and commit as we embrace plot twists; and where every employee is empowered to take action as we prioritize the customer.We believe the best work happens when individual flexibility is balanced with meaningful community connection. Scribd Flex empowers employees to choose the workstyle and location that support their best performance, while committing to intentional in-person moments that strengthen collaboration and culture. Occasional in-person attendance is required for all Scribd, Inc. employees, regardless of location.So what are we looking for in new team members? At Scribd, Inc., we hire for “GRIT.” Traditionally defined as the intersection of passion and perseverance toward long-term goals, GRIT reflects the mindset we expect from every employee. For us, it also serves as a practical framework for how we work: setting and achieving Goals, delivering Results within your role, contributing Innovative ideas and solutions, and strengthening the broader Team through collaboration and attitude.This posting reflects an approved, open position within the organization.About The TeamScribd’s Data Platform team builds the data pipelines, storage layers, and developer tooling that power analytics, experimentation, ML, and product features across Scribd, Everand, and Slideshare. We’re in the middle of a multi-year investment to modernize our data architecture, with a strong focus on building well-modeled, governed, and trusted data that teams across the company can rely on.At Scribd, data drives everything—from product decisions and experimentation to understanding subscriber behavior and key business metrics. This role sits at the center of that effort and will play a critical part in shaping how data is structured, governed, and leveraged across the organization — including how data powers emerging AI-driven experiences.What You’ll DoAs a Principal Data Engineer/Architect, you will serve as a technical leader across data modeling, data engineering standards, and platform evolution.You WillDefine and own Scribd’s enterprise data modeling standards, including grain, keys, relationships, and schema designDesign conceptual, logical, and physical data models that translate complex business domains into reusable datasetsLead the evolution of our medallion architecture (Bronze → Silver → Gold) and define what belongs in each layerEstablish best practices for building reliable, idempotent, and cost-efficient data pipelinesDefine standards for partitioning, incremental processing, data validation, and performance optimizationPartner with the Data Platform team to shape the tooling and infrastructure roadmap to support scalable data product developmentDefine and evolve data ingestion patterns, including rebuilding and scaling our Bronze layerOwn and drive Scribd’s data governance strategy, including data contracts, lineage, ownership, and quality standardsEnsure data is trusted, discoverable, and well-documented across the organizationPartner closely with Product, Analytics, Data Science, and Engineering teams to translate business needs into scalable data solutionsAct as a bridge between business concepts and technical implementation, ensuring consistency in metrics and data definitionsMentor and coach engineers on data modeling and data engineering best practices, and review designs for quality and consistencyInfluence technical direction through hands-on contributions and architectural leadershipHelp define and build Scribd’s AI enablement layer, enabling natural language interaction with dataEnsure data models and metadata provide the context required for accurate and trustworthy AI-driven insightsDrive adoption of AI-assisted development workflows, improving developer productivity while maintaining data correctness and governanceEstablish guardrails to ensure AI-generated pipelines and queries remain reliable and aligned with standardsRequired Skills10+ years of experience in data engineering or data architectureDeep expertise in data modeling, including:defining table graindesigning fact/dimension or normalized modelsmanaging relationships and schema evolutionAdvanced SQL skills and strong experience with Python or ScalaProven experience building scalable, reliable data pipelinesStrong understanding of:incremental processingpartitioning strategiesperformance optimizationdata correctness and idempotencyExperience working with modern data platforms such as Databricks/Delta Lake, Snowflake, or BigQueryExperience defining and implementing data governance, quality, and lineage practicesProven ability to translate business requirements into technical data solutionsExperience mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction across teamsPreferred SkillsExperience designing and evolving medallion architecturesExperience building or scaling data ingestion frameworks and Bronze layersFamiliarity with streaming systems (Kafka, Kinesis, etc.)Experience building semantic layers or curated datasets for analytics and BIExperience working in subscription, payments, or consumer product domainsAt Scribd, Inc., your base pay is one part of your total compensation package and is determined within a range. Our pay ranges are based on the local cost of labor benchmarks for each specific role, level, and geographic location. San Francisco is our highest geographic market in the United States.In the state of California, the reasonably expected salary range is between $203,000 [minimum salary in our lowest geographic market within California] to $300,000 [maximum salary in our highest geographic market within California].In the United States, outside of California, the reasonably expected salary range is between $167,000 [minimum salary in our lowest US geographic market outside of California] to $285,000 [maximum salary in our highest US geographic market outside of California].In Canada, the reasonably expected salary range is between $212,500 CAD[minimum salary in our lowest geographic market] to $268,000 CAD[maximum salary in our highest geographic market].We carefully consider a wide range of factors when determining compensation, including but not limited to experience; job-related skill sets; relevant education or training; and other business and organizational needs. The salary range listed is for the level at which this job has been scoped. In the event that you are considered for a different level, a higher or lower pay range would apply. This position is also eligible for a competitive equity ownership, and a comprehensive and generous benefits package.Working at Scribd, Inc.Are you currently based in a location where Scribd, Inc. can employ you? Employees must have their primary residence in or near one of the following cities. This includes surrounding metro areas or locations within a typical commuting distance:United StatesAtlanta | Austin | Boston | Dallas | Denver | Chicago | Houston | Jacksonville | Los Angeles | Miami | New York City | Phoenix | Portland | Sacramento | Salt Lake City | San Diego | San Francisco | Seattle | Washington D.C.CanadaOttawa | Toronto | VancouverMexicoMexico CityBenefits At Scribd, Inc.Scribd Flex (flexible work model)Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverageMental health support and disability coverageGenerous paid time off, including vacation, sick time, holidays, winter break, volunteer time, and sabbaticalsPaid parental leave and family support benefitsRetirement matching and employee equityLearning and development programs and professional growth opportunitiesWellness and home office stipendsComplimentary access to the Scribd, Inc. suite of productsEnterprise access to leading AI toolsGet to Know Scribd, Inc.About Scribd, Inc.Life at Scribd, Inc.We want our interview process to be accessible to everyone. You can inform us of any reasonable adjustments we can make to better accommodate your needs by emailing accommodations@scribd.com about the need for adjustments at any point in the interview process.Scribd, Inc. is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply, and believe that a diversity of perspectives and experiences create a foundation for the best ideas. Come join us in building something meaningful.