Data Engineer

The Role: We are seeking a skilled Data Engineer with deep domain knowledge in the K-12 education ecosystem to join our team. In this role, you will be responsible for building and maintaining integrations, automating data workflows, and ensuring data accuracy and availability across educational platforms. You’ll play a key role in supporting school operations. You will directly solve the complex data challenges faced by schools – ensuring accurate attendance syncs, reliable enrollment tracking, and automated pipeline execution so educators have trusted data when they need it. What You'll Be Doing: Develop and maintain custom integrations and ETL processes between K-12 data and internal/external systems. Design, implement, and optimize data pipelines. Collaborate with stakeholders to understand data needs and deliver robust, scalable solutions. Maintain technical documentation for systems, data models, and processes. Monitor and troubleshoot data flow issues and respond to API changes. Participate in cross-functional projects related to school operations, enrollment, attendance, and performance data. Perform quality assurance (QA) on downstream data to ensure accuracy, consistency, and alignment with customer requirements. About You: 4+ years of experience in a software engineering, data engineering, or SIS specialist role. Must have hands-on experience with Student Information Systems (PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Skyward, or similar platform), including APIs, data exports/imports, and plugin development. Strong skills in SQL, Python, and ETL/ELT tools. Experience engineering data solutions specifically within K-12 education. Experience working with RESTful APIs, SFTP, and other data exchange methods. Experience working with data warehouses. Experience with data quality assurance practices and tools, including validation and reconciliation of datasets. Strong attention to detail and ability to translate customer data requirements into technical specifications and QA checks. Ability to work independently in a fully remote position. Why you’ll love working at Newsela: Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical benefits with employer contribution to premiums and to HSA accounts. Additional benefits such as gym reimbursement, pet insurance, free access to the Calm app, Rocket Lawyer and more to help you stay healthy: mind, body, and soul. Work From Home: We are a fully remote company. We provide a monthly tech stipend to support your WFH needs! Supporting ALL Families: Inclusive benefits to support you and your family, including parental leave, fertility support, adoption, and more! Financial Wellbeing: Invest in your future with our 401(k) plan, which includes a employer match to help you build long-term financial security. Time Off: Flexible PTO, paid sick time off, company holidays plus winter break (Dec 24th - Jan 1st). Professional Development: Newsela offers an annual learning and development allowance to employees to attend external training sessions, classes, workshops, conferences, and educational materials to foster professional growth within their current role and career aspirations at Newsela. Make A Difference: No matter your role or department, the work you do each day helps share the future of education and improves the lives of students and teachers. About Newsela: Newsela is a leading education technology company dedicated to meaningful classroom learning for every student. We deliver integrated, AI-powered solutions designed to unlock student engagement, empower teachers, and drive meaningful learning outcomes. Our suite of products supports knowledge and skill development, writing practice, daily instruction, assessment, and data-informed decision-making across K–12 classrooms. Grounded in learning science research, Newsela’s solutions integrate content, assessment, and analytics to help educators track progress, understand student outcomes, and deliver high-impact instruction that supports every learner. #LI-Remote Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate’s individual skills, qualifications, and experience. Total compensation for this role also includes incentive stock options and benefits. Base Compensation Range $100,000 — $120,800 USD