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Senior Data Engineer
About R-Zero
R-Zero offers smart building technology that delivers real-time occupancy and energy insights, which ultimately helps buildings reduce energy costs, improve net operating income and increase asset value. R-Zero’s occupancy based demand control ventilation solutions include IAQ and comfort monitoring, high-efficiency HVAC filtration, space utilization sensors, occupancy-based building controls, and real estate performance analytics. R-Zero’s intuitive, secure and scalable platform enables owners, operators, and their tenants to cut building operating expenses and carbon emissions, with zero upfront costs. Learn more at www.rzero.com.
About the Role
R-Zero's smart building technology is at an inflection point. Our ODCV (Occupancy-based Demand Control Ventilation) implementations deliver real, measurable energy savings for commercial buildings—and demand is outpacing our ability to deliver. Our data infrastructure is straining to keep up with the pace of new projects.
We're looking for a Staff Data Engineer to define and build the data architecture that will power R-Zero's next phase of growth. You'll own the technical vision for how we handle millions of IoT data points daily, mentor engineers, and make decisions that shape our platform for years to come.
We need someone who can think strategically about data architecture while still getting their hands dirty when it matters.
As our Staff Data Engineer, you'll be the technical leader for all things data. You'll design the systems that transform how we handle IoT and building management system (BMS) data—from manual, project-by-project processes to automated, scalable pipelines that support 15-20+ simultaneous implementations right off the bat and scale for future data products. You'll partner with engineering leadership to set technical direction, influence product roadmap decisions, and build the foundation for AI-driven building optimization.
What You'll Own
Architecture & Technical Vision
- Define the data architecture strategy for R-Zero's IoT platform, making build vs. buy decisions and selecting technologies that will scale with our growth.
- Design a real-time data infrastructure capable of ingesting thousands of data points per minute from diverse BMS protocols (BACnet, Modbus, LonWorks)
- Architect ML-ready data pipelines that will power predictive energy models, anomaly detection, and automated optimization—laying the groundwork for AI capabilities
- Establish data quality frameworks, monitoring standards, and observability practices to catch issues in hours rather than weeks.
Technical Leadership
- Partner with engineering leadership to align data infrastructure investments with business priorities and product roadmap
- Drive technical decisions across teams, providing guidance on data modeling, pipeline design, and integration patterns.
- Mentor engineers on data engineering best practices, conduct design reviews, and raise the technical bar across the organization.
- Translate complex technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders, helping leadership understand tradeoffs and make informed decisions.
Why This Role Matters
Every ODCV installation generates incredibly rich data—energy consumption patterns, occupancy trends, HVAC performance metrics, environmental conditions—millions of data points that hold enormous untapped potential. With the right infrastructure, we can fully leverage it. The architecture you build will unlock not just operational efficiency, but entirely new possibilities.
In the near term, you'll dramatically reduce the manual effort required for each implementation, enabling us to scale project delivery 3-4x. But the bigger opportunity is what comes next: data products that marry our real-time sensor data with building metadata to deliver insights no one else can offer—predictive energy modeling, automated optimization recommendations, and benchmarking across our entire customer portfolio.
The technical decisions you make now will shape what's possible for years to come. You'll have the autonomy to make those calls and the accountability for the outcomes.
About You
We need someone who combines deep technical expertise with the judgment to know when to build, when to buy, and when to push back on requirements. You should be energized by ambiguity and comfortable making decisions with incomplete information.
- 8+ years of data engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a staff-level role
- A track record of designing and implementing data architectures that scaled—you've made technology choices you'd make again
- Deep expertise in data orchestration (Airflow, dbt, Prefect), streaming systems, and time-series databases
- Experience building data platforms that support ML/AI workloads—you understand what data scientists need to be productive
- Strong opinions on data modeling, loosely held—you can articulate tradeoffs and change your mind with new information
- The communication skills to influence without authority and build consensus across engineering, product, and leadership
Preferred
- Experience with IoT data pipelines or building management systems
- Background building data infrastructure at a growth-stage company (you've seen what breaks at scale)
- Experience with real-time streaming architectures (Kafka, Kinesis, Flink)
- Passion for sustainability and energy efficiency
- Experience with CI/CD pipelines for automated data processing.
About the Team
We're a small, collaborative team where technical leaders have real influence over company direction. We value clear communication, documented decisions, and speaking up when something doesn't feel right. Our development cycle is predictable, but we're always open to better approaches—especially from people with the experience to know what "better" looks like. You'll work closely with engineering leadership, product, and customer success. Your architectural decisions will have an immediate, visible impact on our ability to scale and win in the market.
Physical Requirements
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Physical Requirements |
Rarely (0 – 12%) |
Occasionally (13 – 33%) |
Frequently (34 – 64%) |
Regularly (65 – 100%) |
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Seeing: Must be able to read reports & computer monitors. |
x |
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Hearing: Must be able to hear well enough to communicate with others. |
x |
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Sitting: Must be able to sit for prolonged periods of time. |
x |
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Standing: Must be able to stand for prolonged periods of time. |
x |
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Reaching/Climbing/Stooping/Kneeling: |
x |
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Grasping/Feeling: Must be able to write & use a keyboard, tablet or phone system. |
x |
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Lifting/Pulling/Pushing: Must be able to lift, push and pull at least 75 lbs. |
x |
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Lifting Requirements |
Rarely (0 – 12%) |
Occasionally (13 – 33%) |
Frequently (34 – 64%) |
Regularly (65 – 100%) |
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0 – 25 lbs. |
x |
|||
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26 – 50 lbs. |
x |
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51+ lbs. |
x |
The salary range for this position will vary based on candidate level, experience, and location. The base salary for this position contemplates a range of $X - $Y. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Proof of eligibility to work in the United States and a background check is required upon employment.
Compensation Information
$130,000 - $200,000 USD
R-Zero’s benefits program includes:
- Generous time-off policies and paid holidays
- Competitive total compensation with equity
- Health benefits (medical, dental, vision) and 401(k) program starting on day one
- Up to 12 weeks paid parental leave
- Monthly stipend to support home internet and cell phone for work purposes
- Budget for WFH equipment
- Monthly in-office lunches and happy hours for people based in the SF Bay Area
- Learning and development support
- Hybrid work environment with only 1-2 mandatory days per month in office for people based in the SF Bay Area
Working Environment For employees in the San Francisco Bay Area: Work is at the Company’s work location in San Francisco, in an office setting and is performed during the Company’s core business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The noise level in the office is usually moderate. You will be required to bring your R-Zero provided lap top and sit at the provided office workstations. Sitting for prolonged periods of time is required as are the additional physical requirements listed below. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
DISCLAIMER STATEMENT
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of employees in this classification. The Company reserves the right to add or make changes at any time. This is not intended to change the at will relationship.
EEO STATEMENT
R-Zero is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. We welcome all qualified applicants to apply at R-Zero and we strive to select the best qualified applicant for each position in our organization. Applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic data, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or other legally protected status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law. R-Zero complies with all laws and regulations relating to employment discrimination and is always committed to doing what's right.
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you freely give informed consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of your personal information as described therein.
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