Senior Data Engineer (Databricks)

Fluent is building the next generation advertising network, Partner Monetize Advertiser Acquisition.  Our vision is to build an ML/AI first network of advertisers and publishers to achieve a common objective, elevating relevancy in E-commerce for everyday shoppers. 

As a Senior Data Engineer, you will leverage your Databricks and Spark expertise to execute on building enterprise-grade data products that power Fluent’s business lines. These products serve as the foundation for sophisticated representations of customer journeys and marketplace activity across our ecosystem.

You will partner with Data Architects, Data Scientists, and Product Managers to transform Enterprise Data Models into optimized physical data models and real-time pipelines. You will elevate standards across the team in code quality, observability, and architecture design—while actively contributing as a hands-on engineer.

This role is fully remote in Ontario, with occasional travel to NYC or Toronto offices.

What You’ll Do 

• Design, build, and support scalable real-time and batch data pipelines using PySpark and Spark Structured Streaming.
• Develop pipelines following the Bronze → Silver → Gold architecture using Delta Lake and Enterprise Data Model best practices.
• Integrate with Kafka for event-driven ingestion and stream processing.
• Orchestrate workflows with Databricks Workflows/Jobs and DABs.
• Implement monitoring and observability—Databricks metrics, dashboards, and alerts to ensure pipeline reliability and performance.
• Collaborate cross-functionally in agile sprints with Product Managers, Data Scientists, and downstream data consumers.
• Partner closely with Data Architects to translate Enterprise Data Models into performant physical data models.
• Write clean, modular, and version-controlled code in Git-based CI/CD environments; perform rigorous peer reviews.
• Implement robust logging, error handling, and data quality validation throughout pipelines.
• Utilize AWS services (S3, IAM, Secrets Manager) for storage and infrastructure.
• Evangelize engineering best practices through brown bags, tech talks, and documentation.
• Stay current on emerging trends within the Databricks and data engineering ecosystem.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in Data Engineering, including strong Spark (PySpark) and SQL expertise.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience building pipelines on Databricks (Workflows, Notebooks, Delta Lake).
• Deep understanding of Apache Spark distributed processing model and internals.
• Strong experience with streaming data architectures and event-driven processing using Kafka.
• Familiarity with Databricks metrics, observability, and monitoring features.
• Understanding of Unity Catalog and Lakehouse architecture.
• Knowledge of idempotent processing patterns and robust data modeling.
• Proficiency in Git-based, CI/CD-driven development workflows.
• Strong debugging, optimization, and performance tuning skills.
• Proven experience building large-scale data pipelines handling massive volumes of data.

Nice-to-Haves

• Familiarity with schema management tools such as Schema Registry.
• Experience with data validation frameworks (Great Expectations, Deequ).
• Exposure to real-time ML systems and feature pipelines.
• Prior experience in startups or small agile teams.
• Exposure to test-driven development in data engineering.

About Us

Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT) is a commerce media solutions provider connecting top-tier brands with highly engaged consumers. Leveraging diverse ad inventory, robust first-party data, and proprietary machine learning, Fluent unlocks additional revenue streams for partners and empowers advertisers to acquire their most valuable customers at scale. Founded in 2010, Fluent uses its deep expertise in performance marketing to drive monetization and increase engagement at key touchpoints across the customer journey. For more insights visit https://www.fluentco.com/.

Benefits

At Fluent, we like what we do, and we like who we do it with. Our team is a tight-knit crew of go-getters; we love to celebrate our successes! In addition, we offer a fully stocked kitchen, catered lunch, and our office manager keeps the calendar stocked with activity-filled events. When we’re not eating, working out, or planning parties, Fluent folks can be found participating in networking events, and bonding across teams during quarterly outings to baseball games, fancy dinners, and a variety of activities. And we have all the practical benefits, too…

• Competitive compensation
• Ample career and professional growth opportunities
• New Headquarters with an open floor plan to drive collaboration
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Pre-tax savings plans and transit/parking programs
• 401K with competitive employer match
• Volunteer and philanthropic activities throughout the year
• Educational and social events
• The amazing opportunity to work for a high-flying performance marketing company!

Salary Range: $110,000 to $150,000 CAD + Bonus - The base salary range represents the low and high end of the Fluent salary range for this position. Actual salaries will vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance.

Candidates may be at risk of targeting by malicious actors seeking personal information. Fluent recruiters will only reach out via LinkedIn or email with an @fluentco.com domain. Any outreach by Fluent via other sources (e.g. text, other domains etc) should be ignored.

Fluent participates in the E-Verify Program. As a participating employer, Fluent, LLC will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. Fluent, LLC follows all federal regulations including those set forth by The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC). The OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision (§ 274B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.