# Senior Software Engineer, Data Platform

**Company:** [Skydio](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/skydio)
**Location:** San Mateo, CA
**Role:** Data Engineering
**Salary:** $180k – $240k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Databricks, Palantir Foundry, Python, SQL, Data Pipelines, Data Lakehouse, Spark, Delta Lake, dbt, Airflow, Kubernetes, Telemetry Processing, Predictive Analytics, Ai Data Tools, Data Governance
**Posted:** 2026-02-19

> Builds scalable data infrastructure for drone telemetry ingestion, transformation, and analysis using Databricks and Palantir Foundry. Enables AI-driven insights, predictive models, and self-serve analytics for autonomy teams. Requires 5+ years experience with data engineering and software skills.

## Job Description

## How you'll make an impact
- Design and scale the data infrastructure that ingests live telemetry from tens of thousands of autonomous drones — reliably, efficiently, and with the scale to support the next generation of flight intelligence.
- Build and evolve our Databricks and Palantir Foundry environments to empower every Skydian to query data, define jobs, and build dashboards — turning raw telemetry into accessible, actionable insights.
- Develop data systems that make our products truly data-driven — from predictive analytics that anticipate hardware failures, to 3D connectivity mapping, to in-depth flight telemetry analysis that sharpens drone performance.
- Create and integrate AI-powered tools for data analysis, transformation, and pipeline generation — lowering the technical barrier and democratizing how teams access and build with data.
- Champion a data-driven culture by defining and enforcing best practices for data quality, lineage, and governance, keeping Skydio’s data lakehouse secure, performant, and cost-effective at scale.
- Collaborate with autonomy, manufacturing, and operations teams to unify how data flows across the company — enabling faster, smarter decision-making and unlocking AI-driven insights end-to-end.
- Lead and mentor data engineers, analysts, and stakeholders across Skydio — guiding teams toward better architecture, more reliable data models, and a shared culture of excellence.
- Ensure platform reliability by implementing robust monitoring, observability, and contributing to the on-call rotation for critical data systems.

## What would make you a good fit
- 5+ years of professional experience, including 2+ years in software engineering and 2+ years in data engineering with a bias towards getting your hands dirty.
- Deep experience with Databricks building pipelines, managing datasets, and developing dashboards or analytical applications.
- Proven track record of operating scalable data platforms, defining company-wide patterns that ensure reliability, performance, and cost effectiveness.
- Proficiency in SQL and at least one modern programming language (we use **Python**), and comfort working across the full data stack — from ingestion and transformation to orchestration and visualization.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across all levels and functions — from engineers and analysts to senior leadership — and to translate data into clear narratives and decisions.
- Demonstrated ability to lead technical direction, mentor teammates, and promote engineering excellence and best practices across the organization.
- Familiarity with AI-assisted data workflows, including tools that accelerate data transformations or enable natural-language interfaces for analytics.

**Bonus:** Experience in robotics, IoT, or autonomous systems, or building data systems that integrate with real-world hardware.

## Compensation
Annual base salary range: **$180,000-240,000**. Includes equity, comprehensive benefits, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, 401K.

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