Senior Staff - Data Platform Engineering

Company Description

Freshworks makes it fast and easy for businesses to delight their customers and employees. We do this by taking a fresh approach to building and delivering software that is affordable, quick to implement, and designed for the end user. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freshworks has a global team operating from 13 global locations to serve more than 65,000 companies -- from startups to public companies – that rely on Freshworks software-as-a-service to enable a better customer experience (CRM, CX) and employee experience (ITSM). 

Freshworks’ cloud-based software suite includes Freshdesk (omni-channel customer support), Freshsales (sales automation), Freshmarketer (marketing automation), Freshservice (IT service desk), Freshchat (AI-powered bots), supported by Neo, our underlying platform of shared services.

Freshworks is featured in global national press including CNBC, Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg and has been a BuiltIn Best Place to work in San Francisco and Denver for the last 3 years. Our customer ratings have earned Freshworks products TrustRadius Top Rated Software ratings and G2 Best of Awards for Best Feature Set, Best Value for the Price and Best Relationship. 

Job Description

As a Senior Staff Engineer - Data at Freshworks, you’ll drive the design, development, and optimization of our data and application backend infrastructure, enabling seamless data access and insights for the organization. This role requires deep expertise in data engineering, backend application development, and infrastructure management, ensuring high performance, scalability, and reliability. You’ll collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, mentor engineers, and play a vital role in defining technical strategy across our data and backend platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Backend System Design & Architecture: Lead the design and architecture of large-scale, distributed backend systems, ensuring high availability, scalability, and fault tolerance. Architect EDW, Datalake, and real-time decision systems

• Application Backend Development:
  Develop, deploy, and maintain microservices and RESTful APIs, enabling seamless integration with frontend applications, third-party services, and data pipelines.

• Infrastructure Setup and Planning:
  Define infrastructure requirements and oversee the setup and management of cloud and containerized environments. Lead planning for infrastructure scaling, high availability, and disaster recovery.

• Kubernetes and Container Management:
  Design, deploy, and maintain Kubernetes (K8s) clusters to support microservices and data applications. Optimize resource management and ensure smooth deployment and operation of backend and data services.

• Drive DataOps and Automation:
  Implement DataOps practices to streamline deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of data and backend pipelines. Automate CI/CD workflows, data quality checks, and system monitoring to support operational excellence.

• Technical Leadership and Mentorship:
  Provide technical guidance and mentorship to data and backend engineers, conducting code reviews and enforcing best practices. Foster a collaborative engineering culture that emphasizes innovation, quality, and continuous improvement.

• Collaboration and Cross-Functional Engagement:
  Work closely with analytics, product, and infrastructure teams to define data and backend requirements, translating business needs into scalable solutions. Partner with DevOps for effective infrastructure and operations planning.

• Performance Optimization and Monitoring:
  Continuously monitor and optimize data and backend services for performance, storage efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. Establish monitoring and alerting to proactively detect and resolve issues.

Qualifications

• Educational Background:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field.

• Experience:

  • 12+ years of experience in data and backend engineering, with strong expertise in data lakes, data warehouses, and backend infrastructure.

  • Familiarity with monitoring and performance tuning at the backend level, including database and API optimization.

  • Experience with data streaming platforms (e.g., Apache Kafka, AWS Kinesis).

  • Hands-on experience with cloud-based data warehousing (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery), data lake frameworks (e.g., Delta Lake, Apache Hudi, Iceberg), and application backend development.

• Technical Skills:

  • Backend Development: Advanced SQL skills and proficiency in at least one backend language (Python, Java, Sprintboot, or any MVC framework, EKS)

  • Data Engineering: Expertise in data processing frameworks like Apache Spark and Apache Flink for large-scale data transformation.

  • Experience with real-time data streaming technologies such as Apache Kafka and Kinesis.

  • Hands-on experience with ETL tools and orchestration frameworks (e.g., Apache Airflow, dbt, NiFi).

  • Deep understanding of Kubernetes (K8s) for container orchestration and microservices architectures.

  • Proficient with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure) and infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like Terraform.

  • Strong knowledge of CI/CD practices, automation tools, and DataOps best practices.

  • Experience with data governance tools (e.g., OpenMetadata, DataHub) and data quality frameworks.

• Soft Skills:

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a strategic approach to backend and data engineering challenges.

  • Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with a proven ability to work across both technical and business teams.

Additional Information

What We Offer

• Impact and Ownership: Take charge of high-impact projects with significant autonomy, influencing our data and backend platform strategy.

• Growth Opportunities: Work with a talented team and gain exposure to cutting-edge technologies and architectural challenges across data and backend engineering.

• Inclusive Culture: Join a collaborative environment that celebrates diversity and innovation, encouraging creativity and continuous improvement.

At Freshworks, we are creating a global workplace that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion irrespective of their background, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. We are committed to providing equal opportunity for all and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer work environment that advances the goals of our employees, communities and the business.