Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.
Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.
We are looking for a heavy-hitter to build the "Data Backbone" of our company. You will be responsible for the architecture, scaling, and reliability of the infrastructure that powers our Data Engineering and ML teams. Your goal is to provide a seamless, self-service environment where data scientists can go from a JupyterHub notebook to a massive Ray cluster or Trino query without worrying about the underlying hardware.
Responsibilities- Data Plane Ownership: Architect and manage the lifecycle of high-throughput data tools including Trino, Ray, and JupyterHub on Kubernetes.
- GitOps & Automation: Drive a "zero-manual-touch" philosophy using ArgoCD and Terraform to manage complex, stateful data environments.
- Observability at Scale: Build high-cardinality monitoring systems using VictoriaMetrics and Vector to track pipeline health, data ingestion rates, and system performance.
- ML Lifecycle Support: Maintain and optimize MLflow for model tracking, ensuring it integrates deeply with our compute and storage layers.
- Engineering Sovereignty: As a self-starter, you will identify performance bottlenecks in data processing and proactively implement infrastructure-level optimizations.
- Reliability: Participate in on-call rotations for the data stack, treating "data downtime" with the same urgency as a site outage.
Focus Area
Technologies
Orchestration
Kubernetes Expert (Scheduling, Affinity, Local NVMe, Resource Quotas).
Data Compute
Deep experience with Trino (Presto) and Ray (Head/Worker patterns).
Stream & Logs
High-performance routing via Vector and monitoring with VictoriaMetrics.
AI/ML Tooling
MLflow and JupyterHub (Zero-to-JupyterHub on K8s).
Code & Deploy
Terraform (Advanced modules) and ArgoCD (ApplicationSets/Blue-Green).
Qualifications:
- The "Data-Aware" Engineer: You understand that scaling a database or a Ray cluster is different from scaling a stateless API. You know how to handle persistent volumes and data gravity.
- Senior Leadership: You’ve spent time in the trenches. You’ve been on-call for 2:00 AM outages and have built the automation to ensure those outages never happen twice.
- Tooling Polyglot: You don't just use tools; you contribute to them. You are comfortable writing Go or Python to extend Kubernetes Operators or automate data workflows.
- Self-Directed: You thrive in ambiguity. You can take a high-level requirement ("Make Trino faster") and turn it into a multi-week infrastructure roadmap.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Successful candidates must be able to demonstrate U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or status as a protected individual to satisfy ITAR, contractual, and/or regulatory requirements.
Please note that this job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position and does not include an exhaustive list of responsibilities and qualifications
At Archer we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent that possess the skills and leadership necessary to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Company’s business strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay between $182,400 - $228,000. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer’s People Team at [email protected]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Engineering or equivalent practical experience
- Deep experience with Trino and Ray
- Expert in Kubernetes and automation using Terraform and ArgoCD
- Proficient in ML tooling like MLflow and JupyterHub
- Experience in writing Go or Python to automate data workflows
Archer Aviation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Archer Aviation and has not been reviewed or approved by Archer Aviation.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage includes medical, dental, and vision, alongside HSA/FSA options and an Employee Assistance Program, forming a comprehensive base. Wellness activities and company-sponsored outings are additionally referenced.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time off includes generous PTO, paid sick days, and paid holidays, with unlimited PTO noted for exempt employees. This breadth provides above-average flexibility for a hardware-focused environment.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Ownership opportunities include company equity, performance bonuses, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a purchase discount. Equity is used to keep packages competitive in high-demand roles, creating meaningful upside potential.
Archer Aviation Insights
What We Do
Archer is an aerospace company building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft focused on improving mobility in cities. The company's mission is to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. Archer is designing, manufacturing, and operating a fully electric aircraft that can carry four passengers for 60 miles at speeds of up to 150mph while producing minimal noise. Archer's team is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
