Senior ETL Engineer

Company Introduction

WorldStrides is the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. WorldStrides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports. Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world – and themselves – in new ways.

Job Description

The Senior ETL Engineer is responsible for the design, development, optimization, and long-term stewardship of enterprise data pipelines, data warehouse, and lakehouse solutions that support reporting, analytics, and advanced data use cases. This role goes beyond individual pipeline delivery, providing technical leadership, mentorship, and architectural collaboration across the data warehousing function.

The Senior ETL Engineer partners closely with business stakeholders, data scientists, analysts, and BI teams to ensure data products are reliable, scalable, secure, and aligned with business strategy. This role plays a critical part in shaping data standards and ensuring the quality and integrity of enterprise reporting data. Key customers include data science, analytics, and marketing teams operating across marketing, operations, customer insights, and finance.

Senior ETL Engineer Job Duties:

Data Engineering

Design, build, and maintain scalable, high-performance ETL/ELT pipelines supporting analytics, reporting, and advanced data use cases

Define and enforce data engineering standards, best practices, and reusable patterns for pipeline development

Lead data modeling efforts to ensure datasets are optimized for analytics, performance, and usability

Evaluate and recommend improvements to existing data architectures, tools, and processes to support growth, scalability, and cost efficiency

Leverage AI tools responsibly to improve ETL development productivity and quality, including accelerating pipeline development, test generation, documentation, anomaly detection, and operational troubleshooting

Data Quality, Reliability & Operations

Establish and enforce data quality, validation, fault-tolerance, and automated testing frameworks across all pipeline stages

Ensure data integrity, accuracy, freshness, and lineage throughout the data lifecycle

DataOps, Automation & Optimization

Lead DataOps and CI/CD practices for data pipeline deployment and management

Drive automation to reduce manual processes in all stages of development

Continuously optimize pipeline performance through query tuning, architectural improvements, and technology enhancements

Identify and eliminate waste in data flows, reducing redundant processing and improving overall efficiency

Evaluate, test, and adopt new tools, platforms, processes, and solutions aligned with modern data engineering best practices

Leadership & Mentorship

Serve as a technical lead for complex or high-impact data initiatives

Mentor and coach ETL Engineers, and collaborate on data architecture evolution

Share knowledge through documentation, design artifacts, and technical guidance

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

Partner with business stakeholders to understand business requirements and translate into scalable data solutions

Lead technical discussions to resolve ambiguous or competing data needs

Communicate complex concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences

Collaborate with data scientists, analysts, and BI engineers to adopt data products, and improve data usability and trust

Act as a trusted advisor on data feasibility, trade-offs, risks, and prioritization

Security, Governance & Compliance

Ensure data pipelines adhere to enterprise security, privacy, and governance standards

Implement access controls, data protection measures, and compliance requirements

Support data lineage, auditability, and metadata management initiatives

Senior ETL Engineer Skills & Qualifications:

Advanced experience with SQL, relational databases, and data warehouse design

Strong expertise with Microsoft Fabric and modern data platform concepts

Proficiency in Python for ETL development, automation, and testing

Deep understanding of data modeling, query optimization, and performance tuning

Strong knowledge of DataOps, CI/CD, and automated testing for data platforms

Experience designing and supporting production-grade, enterprise-scale pipelines

Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills

Proven ability to lead multiple initiatives and influence without formal authority

Education & Experience

5+ years of experience in data engineering, BI development, or analytics engineering

Bachelor’s degree in a technical or analytical discipline required

Work Perks:

Fun & driven environment.

Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage, life, accidental death and dismemberment, accident, critical illness, and disability insurance, FSA healthcare, FSA dependent care, HAS with employer contribution, and generous 401k match.

10 paid floating corporate holidays, 1 paid volunteer day & 25 PTO days to start – accrue up to 28 over 3 years, 4 mental health days, and 5 bereavement days.

Tuition reimbursement up to five thousand, two hundred fifty dollars annually or one thousand dollars towards professional certification annually.

Opportunities for paid and discounted travel.

Flexible work schedule providing on-site, remote, and virtual office opportunities.

Encouraged participation in our Employee Resource Groups and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion council.

Fitness Center and café onsite at select locations.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Paid Parental, Caregiver, and Disability leave.

Team Member Discount Program.

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

California Salary Range
$100,000—$130,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

Maryland Salary Range
$100,000—$130,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

New York Salary Range
$100,000—$130,000 USD

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount WorldStrides is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

Massachusetts Salary Range
$100,000—$130,000 USD

WorldStrides, a global organization, is committed to educate and serve communities worldwide. Our commitment is fueled by the passion of our team members and partners to make experiential learning accessible, while also being socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible. Together, we accomplish this by investing in initiatives to promote inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, WorldStrides is committed to building a diverse workforce, supported by an environment that promotes inclusion and belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

WorldStrides will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, J-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire. Select seasonal roles may consider students on J-1 or F-1 visas.