Working at Thinking Machines
Thinking Machines is a technology consultancy building AI & data platforms to solve high-impact problems for our clients. Our vision is a future where data-driven decision-making is a norm and where AI is used to support humans in making excellent decisions. To do that, we create data cultures, one organization at a time.
We’re a company made up of intellectually curious, civic-minded, forever-learning individuals. We believe that great data science products are built with care for people and that the best way to drive inclusive innovation is to start with a diverse team.
Our field of work is incredibly dynamic, so we want to work with people who are committed to growing with us. We want to hire people who can demonstrate an ability to learn, then provide personalized coaching, growth opportunities, and a great working environment to get them to world-class.
Role Description
Data science ain’t data science without data. As a Data Engineer, you will collect and consolidate data from various sources, secure them and transform them into useful forms so that you and your team can work data science magic on them. From a security perspective, we work with many confidential datasets, so make sure that Eve and Trudy don't get their grubby paws on them.
You will be responsible for building systems for collecting, transforming, and storing data. This can range from writing a short script that periodically calls an API, to creating a website scraper, to architecting and building a complete data collection and data warehousing system.
On a normal day, you might be architecting an analytics platform for a SaaS company, debugging a data ETL pipeline for an international NGO, and optimizing then deploying a machine learning model to TensorFlow mobile.
You'll be expected to help out on engineering tasks that may come up in any department. Since the tech space can get crazy, we are looking for someone who is up for any kind of challenge and has the initiative to seek out ways to be useful. We move fast, and we expect you to keep up!
Role Requirements
We’re looking for someone who has:
- 3+ years of work experience in a data engineering or software engineering role.
- Proficiency in Python programming language and SQL — Postgres is our favorite flavor of RDBMS, but you have to be ready to use tools such as dbt, BigQuery, and Snowflake. You must be very comfortable with writing and explaining code.
- Experience managing various cloud environments — Especially IaaS such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Bonus points if you love MS Azure!
- Experience working with Google and/or Azure stack — Big points if you’re comfortable with BigQuery, Dataflow, TensorFlow, Azure Data Factory, Databricks and other similar tools. More bonus points if you know how to handle data that doesn’t fit your machine’s RAM!
- Security-conscious mindset — Handling client data is part of our daily job. We have security guidelines and protocols in place but a single blunder can cost huge damage.
- Ability to make or build things fast — Time is our most precious resource. You can always throw money at things to make them faster but that’s not very engineer-y.
- Demonstrated mentorship and/or project leadership experience — Alongside technical expertise, you’ll mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of learning and growth. You’ll guide team members through project tasks, offer constructive feedback, and support their development.
- Strong communication skills — You’ll be explaining things during most conversations either internal or external. Therefore, you need to know how to phrase yourself to be understandable depending on who you’re talking to. You will collaborate with external clients and internal teams alike, helping the team hit project targets efficiently and fill in any knowledge gaps, all while adhering to best practices. Documenting your code is a given, and you also need to write technical documentation in the form of manuals, proposals, guidelines, etc.
- Consultative mindset — Beyond technical skills, this role involves working closely with clients to understand their challenges, guide them through solutions and provide strategic recommendations or, when necessary, gently realign expectations. You'll build trust by listening actively, asking the right questions, and offering clear, actionable insights that drive the best results.
- Generalist point of view — You are someone eager to explore roles and opportunities beyond data engineering. We’re seeking an engineering consultant with strong technical expertise and attention to detail, who can dive into the nitty-gritty while also connecting the dots to see the bigger picture and drive strategic outcomes.
- Initiative — Sometimes, the team won’t know that they need you. You need to be aware about the projects people are working on and support when applicable.
Ideal Candidates Have
- People management experience — Ensuring the well-being of your juniors, and helping them set meaningful development goals while staying on track to achieve them
- People management or project leadership aspirations — Actively looking for opportunities get into or working on stepping into people management or project leadership
Benefits and Perks
We Offer The Following Compensation And Benefits
- Competitive salary — the compensation amount is positively correlated with the difficulty of the job, relevant experience, fit, and skill factors.
- Hybrid Set-Up — Hybrid-remote means employees are required to come in an average of two days a week for client engagements and internal in-person days intended for collaboration, socials, and strategic planning.
- Individual professional development budget — an annual budget for conferences, training courses, books, and software is available to sharpen your skills and build new ones to help you grow in your role.
- Full health benefits — generous health insurance package upon hiring, with options to include dependents.
- Apprenticeship and yearly performance reviews with the leadership team to discuss career and personal goals, job progress and any questions and concerns.
