Senior AI Data Engineer

Zendesk is a company focused on customer experience, powering analytics for over 125,000 global brands. The Senior AI Data Engineer role is part of the Zendesk Analytics Prototyping (ZAP) team, responsible for building and maintaining fine-grained datasets that power customer-facing analytics applications and internal analytics.

• 5+ years of data engineering experience with data pipelines and ETL in big data environments.
• Extensive experience with SQL, especially in data modeling and analysis.
• Hands-on production experience with dbt and knowledge of Data Modeling methodologies (Kimball, Inmon).
• Programming skills in Python or a similar language focused on data transformation and automation.
• Experience with cloud columnar databases such as Google BigQuery, Amazon Redshift, and Snowflake.
• Proven expertise in performance testing, capacity planning, and cost optimization for large-scale data systems.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Preferred:

• Experience with AI-augmented engineering practices including agentic IDE workflows and prompt/skill engineering.
• SnowPro Core certification or equivalent hands-on expertise.
• Hands-on production experience with Apache Spark (Spark SQL / PySpark).
• Familiarity with Lean/6 Sigma principles and CRM analytics.

• Develop and maintain ELT pipelines, ensuring data reliability and scalability for reporting and analytics.
• Build and optimize SQL-based data models using dbt and other ETL tools.
• Support progress toward AI-enabled operating models using emerging technologies.
• Identify and implement improvements in data delivery, processing performance, and system efficiency.
• Collaborate with team members to define requirements and translate them into scalable data models and pipelines.
• Contribute to the team’s technical vision with innovative solutions to enhance data systems.

Artificial intelligence (AI) or automated decision systems may be used to screen or evaluate applications in accordance with company guidelines and applicable law. Zendesk is an equal opportunity employer and complies with AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabled employment regulations. Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities.