Senior Data Engineering Manager

This is a hybrid role based in our Chicago or Bay Area (SF or Palo Alto) offices and will require you to be in office Tuesdays and Thursdays.

What’s so interesting about this role?

We’re looking for a process-oriented, high-EQ, customer-focussed Senior Data Engineering Manager to lead Grindr’s Data Engineering and Core Product Analytics team - a small but mighty group that sits at the center of Grindr’s data strategy. This is a high-autonomy, high-impact role, with real ownership over how our data platform evolves and how data is used across the business.

We recently finished a lift-and-shift of our PB-scale Data Lake to Snowflake and we’re now entering the next phase: redesigning our pipelines and data models to unlock richer real-time analytics, more robust ML use cases, and platform-wide data quality. Key initiatives include building a common event taxonomy, supporting A/B testing frameworks, and improving observability and monitoring. You’ll help shape the long-term technical direction of the platform - driving tool evaluation (e.g., Iceberg, dbt), standardizing practices, and reducing tech debt.

The Data Engineering and Core Product Analytics team has visibility and impact on a broad set of crucial business functions - including Product, Finance, Trust & Safety, and Marketing. We support both long-term, multi-quarter initiatives with these squads and also operate a Data Desk that triages incoming requests from many internal customers throughout the company, with an SLA to ensure responsiveness and internal success. You’ll work closely with a dedicated Data Technical Program Manager to manage these workflows and keep things running smoothly.

You’ll also play a critical role in SOC1/SOC2 compliance and vendor onboarding — owning how new data tools are evaluated, integrated, and secured in a regulated environment. This work is essential to Grindr’s ability to scale responsibly and safely.

Finally, Grindr’s unique mission-driven culture is supported by a deep investment in career development, diversity and inclusion, and empathy and care. These behavioral character traits are a must have priority for success in this role.

What’s the job?

• Lead a team of 6–7 Data Engineers and Analytics professionals (with headcount to grow) in building and maintaining high-quality, scalable pipelines and infrastructure.

• Act as both a hands-on technical lead and strategic manager — spending about 70% of your time guiding and unblocking the team, and 30% diving in technically when needed.

• Drive the evolution of our data platform — identifying tooling gaps, evaluating emerging tech (like Iceberg), and setting the 1–2 year roadmap for our infrastructure.

• Own and operate core systems like Snowflake, Astronomer (Airflow), and Looker, with responsibility for quality, security, and uptime.

• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Finance, Marketing, and Trust to align data solutions with company priorities.

• Collaborate closely with Data Science and ML teams to ensure the platform is ready for real-time and feature-rich applications.

• Lead critical SOX/SOC1/SOC2 compliance initiatives — including onboarding new SaaS vendors, security reviews, and data handling policies. This is a core accountability with company-wide impact.

• Promote engineering excellence and autonomy — designing practices that support on-call rotations, observability, runbooks, and a culture of ownership.

What we'll love about you

• BS or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field

• 8 - 12+ years of industry experience in data engineering and technical leadership, including several years managing high-impact teams and working directly with VP- and C-level stakeholders to align technical direction with high-level business strategy

• You bring a strong sense of ownership and thrive in roles with significant autonomy and decision-making power - especially around platform design, tooling, and team practices

• Hands-on experience with modern data stack components like Snowflake, Airflow (Astronomer), and Looker, and a practical mindset when balancing innovation with stability

• Deep understanding of SQL, data modeling, and building reliable, scalable pipelines used across an organization

• Proven experience leading SOC1/SOC2 compliance initiatives - including vendor onboarding, legal/security reviews, and designing policies to support a regulated environment. This work is critical to Grindr’s ability to operate and grow

• Comfortable evaluating and integrating new technologies (e.g., Iceberg, dbt, streaming) - with a strong point of view on what the data platform should look like 1-2 years from now, and the initiative to make it real

We’ll really swoon if you have

• Experience as a Data Engineer, particularly with tools like Snowflake, Databricks, or other modern cloud data platforms

• Expertise in relational databases with solid CS fundamentals in SQL / business data storage/retrieval

• Expert in advanced analytics (used Tableau, Looker, or Power BI in an expert capacity.)

• Significant understanding of dimensional data modelling for a Data Lake / Warehouse

• Knowledge of ETL and ELT (managing high-quality reliable ETL pipelines)

What you'll love about us

• Mission and Impact: Your role will impact the lives of millions of LGBTQ+ people around the world. Through our success, we are making a world where the lives of our community are free, equal, and just.

• Family Insurance: Insurance premium coverage for health, dental, and vision for you and partial coverage for your dependents.

• Retirement Savings: Generous 401K plan with 6% match and immediate vest in the U.S.

• Compensation: Industry-competitive compensation and eligibility for company bonus and equity programs.

• Queer-Inclusive Benefits: Industry-leading gender-affirming offerings with up to 90% cost coverage, access to Included Health, monthly stipends for HRT, and more.

• Additional Benefits: Flexible vacation policy, monthly stipends for cell phone, internet, wellness, food, and commuting, breakfast/lunch provided onsite, and yearly travel & leisure stipend.

About Grindr

With more than 13.5 million monthly active users, Grindr has become a fundamental part of the LGBTQ+ community and is charting a path to make the world more free, equal, and just. Since 2015, Grindr for Equality has advanced safety, health, and human rights for millions of Grindr users and the global LGBTQ+ community in partnership with more than 100 community organizations in every region of the world.

Our next evolution is underway as a public company that continues to grow and build meaningful experiences for our users. From social issues to product innovations, we're setting audacious goals for our community and the business, and leveraging the latest tech stacks and a culture of engineering excellence to make it happen. At the heart of our work in this new chapter is a shared set of operating principles centered around cultivating curiosity, thinking big, setting and expediting our ambitious goals, and growing through iteration; all while keeping our users #1.

Grindr is headquartered in West Hollywood, California, with offices in the Bay Area, Chicago, and New York. With a track record of strong financial performance and plans for continued headcount growth, we’re building a team of talented, passionate, and open-minded people who want to disrupt the dating app space, innovate products, and advance LGBTQ+ culture. Come be a part of this exciting journey with us.

Grindr is an equal-opportunity employer

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