Data Engineer

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform already reaches 40 million residents across 50+ agencies in 17 states.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn’t be a luxury in government. It’s how you earn trust back.

The DI team exists to make Kaizen faster, smarter, and more effective at every level. The team runs four pillars:

• External Analytics: Best-in-class reporting for customers inside Kaizen's platform

• Automation: Finding repetitive workflows across the org and building tools to eliminate them

• AI Enablement: Making sure every person at Kaizen knows how to use AI effectively

• Internal Analytics: Trusted dashboards and data models that give every level of the org what they need to make faster decisions

We’re looking for a Data Engineer who can operate across the full spectrum of modern data work. This is not a narrow role. You will build and maintain the data models that power our internal and customer-facing reporting, design and ship automations that eliminate repetitive manual work, develop AI-powered tools that make teams faster and smarter, and build the internal tools that keep the whole operation running. One week you might be writing dbt models and tuning a Snowflake pipeline. The next you are building an internal application that transforms how a team operates, or standing up an AI workflow that cuts hours of manual work down to minutes.

We are looking for someone who brings both technical depth and business instinct. You will work directly with team leads across the company, translate their problems into solutions, and own those solutions from concept to production. If you are energized by variety, thrive without a lot of hand-holding, and want your work to have a direct and visible impact on a growing company, this is the role.

You are a versatile data and analytics professional who thrives in ambiguity. You do not wait to be told what to build - you find the problem, propose the solution, and ship it. You are equally comfortable writing a dbt model, standing up an N8N automation, and pulling an ad hoc analysis for a leadership meeting. You care about doing clean work, and you understand that in a small team, your output is highly visible.

• Build and maintain dbt models that power internal dashboards and external customer reporting

• Develop and maintain automation workflows in N8N and similar tools, eliminating repetitive manual work across the org

• Support the build-out of external analytics inside Kaizen's platform, ensuring customers have clear, actionable data at their fingertips

• Contribute to internal dashboards and analyses that keep leadership and team leads informed

• Partner with the team lead to identify and prioritize new automation and analytics opportunities across the organization

• Help shape the analytics layer of Kaizen's platform as the product scales

• 3-5 years of experience in a data, analytics, or engineering role (slope matters more than seniority)

• Strong SQL skills: you can write complex queries and think in data models

• Hands-on experience with dbt (or a strong willingness to ramp quickly)

• Experience building workflows and automations in tools like N8N, Zapier, or similar tools

• Comfort working across a modern data stack (Snowflake or similar)

• Understanding a second programming language is a strong plus (Python, JavaScript, etc.)

• Genuine fluency with AI tools: not just using them, but building with them

• Low ego, high output: you are a builder who gets things done without a lot of hand-holding

• Experience in a fast-paced startup environment

• Genuine curiosity about AI and how it can be applied to real workflows

• Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United, including Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option

• Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents

• $100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA. 401(k) access through Guideline

• 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents

• Unlimited PTO and closed for all federal holidays

• Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas

• One-time home office or desk setup stipend up to $750

• $50/month commuter benefit

• $100/month for wellness or productivity; your call on how you use it

• $500/year for professional development

• $250/year for recreation

• Company-provided laptop

• Expensed lunch while in the office

Kaizen is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. If you need an accommodation during the interview process, email us at [email protected].

The government technology modernization wave is happening. Agencies are being pushed to change, and they need partners who can move fast and build well.

We have the contracts. We have the agency relationships. We have the platform. We need the engineers.

If you want to spend the next few years shipping software that actually matters — not another B2B SaaS dashboard, not an internal tool nobody uses — and you want to do it at a company moving aggressively into one of the most consequential markets in tech, this is the role.

You need a detailed ticket to know what to build next. You think AI tools are a crutch. You want to own one layer of the stack and never leave it. You're more comfortable in a 500-person organization than a small team where everyone's accountable. You need the problem fully defined before you start moving. Or if you're looking for low-stakes work — because what we build touches real people in real moments that matter: accessing benefits, families navigating public services, constituents interacting with their government at its most critical touchpoints. This work is serious. The people we serve deserve serious teams.