Staff Data Engineer

About UsVisa is a world leader in payments technology, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories, dedicated to uplifting everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid.At Visa, you'll have the opportunity to create impact at scale — tackling meaningful challenges, growing your skills and seeing your contributions impact lives around the world.Join Visa and do work that matters – to you, to your community, and to the world. Progress starts with you.Job DescriptionRole SummaryThe Staff Data Engineer is a senior technical contributor responsible for designing, building, and scaling reliable data platforms that support analytics, reporting, and ML‑enabled use cases across Visa Direct and related platforms.This role is data‑engineering led, with additional exposure to Machine Learning workflows, enabling close collaboration with Data Scientists and ML Engineers while ensuring production‑grade data foundations.Key ResponsibilitiesDesign, build, and own large‑scale batch and streaming data pipelines using Spark, Kafka, and PythonDefine and maintain robust data models to support analytics, reporting, and ML consumptionEnsure data quality, reliability, observability, and performance across production pipelinesAct as a technical lead for complex data initiatives spanning multiple teamsPartner with Data Science teams to:Enable ML feature pipelinesSupport model training and inference data flowsOperationalize ML outputs into downstream systemsDrive best practices in data engineering, including code quality, testing, and production readinessMentor engineers and raise overall engineering standards across the data platformRequired Skills & Experience8+ years of experience in Data Engineering or Platform EngineeringStrong hands‑on expertise in:PythonApache SparkKafka or streaming platformsAdvanced SQLDeep understanding of:Distributed data systemsData warehousing conceptsETL / ELT design patternsExperience building and supporting production‑grade data platforms at scaleStrong problem‑solving skills and ownership mindsetAdditional / Preferred Skills (ML Exposure)Experience supporting Machine Learning pipelines, such as:Feature engineering workflowsData preparation for model trainingBatch or real‑time inference pipelinesFamiliarity with ML concepts such as:Model lifecycle (training, validation, inference)Offline vs online featuresModel monitoring inputs/outputsExperience collaborating closely with Data Scientists or ML EngineersExposure to ML tooling (e.g., feature stores, model metadata, experimentation frameworks) is a plus(Note: This is not a Data Scientist role; strong data engineering fundamentals are mandatory.) Visa requires at least 3 days in office, expectations of these days will be confirmed by your Hiring Manager.QualificationsRequired QualificationsBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience8+ years of hands‑on experience in Data Engineering, Platform Engineering, or Backend Engineering rolesStrong proficiency in Python for building data pipelines and production systemsExtensive experience with distributed data processing frameworks such as Apache SparkHands‑on experience with streaming technologies (e.g., Kafka or similar event‑driven platforms)Advanced knowledge of SQL, including complex query optimization and performance tuningSolid understanding of data warehousing concepts, data modeling, and ETL/ELT design patternsExperience building, deploying, and supporting large‑scale, production‑grade data pipelinesStrong problem‑solving skills and the ability to operate independently on complex technical problemsPreferred / Additional Qualifications (Machine Learning Exposure)Experience supporting Machine Learning or Data Science workflows, including feature engineering and data preparationVisa is an EEO EmployerQualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or protected veteran status. Visa will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with EEOC guidelines and applicable local law.