Senior Data Engineer – Governance & Security
Posted on July 20, 2025 (about 11 hours ago)
About the Senior Data Engineer– Governance & Security at Headspace
At Headspace, our mission is to transform mental healthcare to improve the health and happiness of the world. Core to this mission is our ability to responsibly and ethically leverage data to provide personalized care to each of our members, meeting them where they are on the mental health continuum. We are seeking experienced engineers to help us turn great data into trusted, compliant, and secure data. As our Senior Data Engineer specializing in Governance & Security, you will harden our cloud data platform, embed privacy-by-design practices into every pipeline, and act as the technical bridge between Data Engineering, InfoSec, and Compliance teams.
Location
This is a hybrid role located in our San Francisco office, working 3 days per week from the office.
What you will do
- Design and Build Scalable Data Infrastructure: Architect and implement robust data pipelines to ingest, aggregate, and index diverse data sources into the organization’s data lake.
- Develop a World-Class Data Warehousing Platform: Lead the creation of a secure, compliant, and privacy-focused data warehousing solution tailored to meet the healthcare industry’s stringent requirements.
- Enable Business Insights: Partner with the data analytics team to deliver a data platform that supports accurate, actionable reporting on key business metrics.
- Empower Data Science and Machine Learning Innovation: Collaborate with the data science and machine learning teams to build tools and capabilities that foster rapid experimentation and innovation.
- Foster a Data-Driven Culture: Mentor and coach data engineers while championing a culture that values data as a strategic asset across the organization.
What you will bring
- 7+ years building production data pipelines on modern cloud stacks (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
- Expert-level Python and PySpark; comfortable tuning Spark 3.x jobs.
- Strong Pyspark experience (dataframe API) and understanding of internal architecture and optimization techniques.
- Direct ownership of data-governance initiatives (catalogs, lineage, quality, stewardship).
- Deep understanding of encryption at rest/in transit, key management, tokenization, hashing, and masking strategies.
- Proven track record mapping GDPR / CCPA / HIPAA controls to data-platform implementations.
- Demonstrated expertise in architectural patterns for building high-volume real-time and batch ETL pipelines.
- Hands-on experience with one or more security-layer tools (e.g., Apache Ranger, Unity Catalog, Lake Formation).
- Strong SQL skills across columnar and relational engines (Databricks SQL, Postgres).
- Ability to articulate trade-offs between security, performance, and cost to technical and non-technical audiences.
- Exceptional oral and written communication abilities, facilitating effective cross-functional collaboration.
- A history of making decisions that positively influence team dynamics and organizational culture.
- BA/BS degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
Nice-to-haves
- Experience automating compliance evidence collection with Terraform, Policy-as-Code, or OPA.
- Familiarity with data-quality/testing frameworks (Great Expectations, Soda, dbt tests).
- Event-stream processing with Kafka/Kinesis and Schema Registry governance. Incident-response or blue-team background (logs, SIEM, forensics).
Pay & Benefits
The anticipated new hire base salary range for this full-time position is $122,400-$195,500 + equity + benefits.
Our salary ranges are based on the job, level, and location, and reflect the lowest to highest geographic markets where we are hiring for this role within the United States. Within this range, individual compensation is determined by a candidate’s location as well as a range of factors including but not limited to: unique relevant experience, job-related skills, and education or training. Your recruiter will provide more details on the specific salary range for your location during the hiring process.
At Headspace, base salary is but one component of our Total Rewards package. We’re proud of our robust package inclusive of: base salary, stock awards, comprehensive healthcare coverage, monthly wellness stipend, retirement savings match, lifetime Headspace membership, generous parental leave, and more. Additional details about our Total Rewards package will be provided during the recruitment process.
About Headspace
Headspace exists to provide every person access to lifelong mental health support. We combine evidence-based content, clinical care, and innovative technology to help millions of members around the world get support that’s effective, personalized, and truly accessible whenever and wherever they need it.
At Headspace, our values aren’t just what we believe, they’re how we work, grow, and make an impact together. We live them daily: Make the Mission Matter, Iterate to Great, Own the Outcome, and Connect with Courage. These values shape our decisions, guide our collaborations, and define our culture. They’re our shared commitment to building a more connected, human-centered team—one that’s redefining how mental health care supports people today and for generations to come.
Why You’ll Love Working Here
- A mission that matters—with impact you can see and feel
- A culture that’s collaborative, inclusive, and grounded in our values
- The chance to shape what mental health care looks like next
- Competitive pay and benefits that support your whole self
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Headspace is committed to bringing together humans from different backgrounds and perspectives, providing employees with a safe and welcoming work environment free of discrimination and harassment. We strive to create a diverse & inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, feel a sense of belonging, and do impactful work together.
As an equal opportunity employer, we prohibit any unlawful discrimination against a job applicant based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, family or parental status, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We respect laws enforced by the EEOC and are dedicated to fostering diversity across our workplace.
Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation. Please inform the Talent team via the provided form if assistance is needed during application or interview process.
How to Apply
Please apply through the Headspace job board on Greenhouse platform at the URL: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/hs/jobs/6569196
Additional Information
Headspace participates in the E-Verify Program.
You may find the Privacy Statement and Applicant Notice for Headspace on their website linked in the job post.