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HackerRank

Lead Data Engineer

🇮🇳 Hybrid - Bengaluru, Karnataka 🕑 Full-Time 💰 TBD 💻 Data Science 🗓️ September 14th, 2026
SaaS

Edtech.com's Summary

HackerRank is hiring a Lead Data Engineer to lead the next phase of its AI-optimised data platform, built on StarRocks, Apache Hudi, Trino, and Spark. The role owns in-product data features like exports, insights dashboards, and interview analytics, while enforcing data security and access controls at scale. It also sets technical direction, leading design reviews and partnering with product and business stakeholders to scope new AI-enabled data use cases.

Highlights
  • Lead technical design reviews and set engineering standards for the data team.
  • Build clean, structured datasets that power natural language querying and AI features for HackerRank for Work customers.
  • Own in-product data features, including exports, insights dashboards, interview analytics, and Custom Reports.
  • Enable self-service data pipelines for internal AI, analytics, and go-to-market teams.
  • Enforce data security through access controls, Apache Ranger policies, and confidence-scoring guardrails.
  • Partner with product managers and business stakeholders to scope AI-enabled data use cases.
  • Work across a hybrid AWS and self-managed open-source environment.
  • Deep hands-on expertise with OLAP databases such as StarRocks, ClickHouse, or Druid.
  • Proficient with distributed query engines like Trino and Presto, and batch or streaming compute with Apache Spark.
  • 6+ years of data engineering experience, including at least 2 years in a senior or lead capacity.

Lead Data Engineer Full Description

HackerRank helps companies like NVIDIA, Amazon, and Microsoft hire and upskill the next generation of developers based on skills, not pedigree. Our platform is trusted by over 2,500 of the world’s most innovative companies to build strong engineering teams ready for what’s next.

Software has entered an era where humans and AI build side by side. As this shift accelerates, the definition of strong technical talent is changing. We give companies better ways to identify and invest in next-generation skills.

People at HackerRank care deeply about the impact of their work and sweat the small details so our customers can be wildly successful with products they genuinely love to use. We move with urgency and believe great outcomes come from high standards.
About the role
HackerRank's data platform is at an inflection point. We've completed a multi-year modernisation - migrating from Redshift to StarRocks + Apache Hudi - and cut export latencies from 25 seconds to under 5 seconds. The infrastructure groundwork is done. Now we're building the AI-native data layer that will power revenue-generating features like natural language querying for HackerRank for Work customers.
As Lead Data Engineer, you'll be a senior individual contributor at the heart of the data organisation - owning complex platform decisions, collaborating cross-functionally with AI, product, and go-to-market teams, and shipping data-driven features that directly drive revenue. This is a greenfield opportunity to shape the next phase of data at HackerRank.
What you will do
  • Own and evolve the data platform - StarRocks (OLAP), Apache Hudi (Data Lake), Trino, Spark, and Apache Ranger - ensuring performance, reliability, and security at scale.
  • Build the next-gen AI-optimised data layer: clean, structured datasets that power natural language querying and AI add-on features for HackerRank for Work customers.
  • Own in-product data features - exports, insights dashboards, interview analytics, and the self-serve Custom Reports interface.
  • Enable self-service pipelines for internal teams (AI platform, analytics, go-to-market), reducing ad-hoc data requests and scaling data access across the org.
  • Enforce robust data security - access controls, Apache Ranger policies, and confidence-scoring guardrails for AI-generated outputs.
  • Lead technical design reviews and define engineering standards for the data team.
  • Partner with PMs and business stakeholders to proactively identify and scope AI-enabled data use cases.
Who you are
  • 6+ years of data engineering experience, with at least 2 years in a senior or lead capacity.
  • Deep hands-on expertise with OLAP databases - StarRocks, ClickHouse, Druid, or similar.
  • Strong experience with data lake technologies - Apache Hudi, Iceberg, or Delta Lake.
  • Proficient with distributed query engines (Trino / Presto) and batch/streaming compute with Apache Spark.
  • Solid understanding of data security, RBAC, and access control tools like Apache Ranger.
  • Comfortable working in a hybrid AWS + open-source self-managed environment.
  • Strong communicator who can translate technical decisions for non-technical stakeholders and drive cross-functional projects independently.
Even better if you have
  • Hands-on experience with AI/LLM-adjacent data work - confidence scoring, agentic pipelines, RAG architectures, or vector stores.
  • Prior exposure to agentic workflows and understanding how to operationalise emerging AI concepts at production scale.
  • Experience scaling data infrastructure at a SaaS or B2B product company.
  • Familiarity with natural language querying interfaces or building data products for end-customer consumption.
You will thrive in this role if
  • You're energised by working on a platform that's both technically mature and still has enormous greenfield ahead of it.
  • You don't wait for a PM to hand you a roadmap - you proactively connect data capabilities to business outcomes.
  • You care as much about how other teams use data as you do about the pipelines that produce it.
  • You're genuinely curious about AI and want to be close to where data and intelligence intersect.
  • You thrive in lean, cross-functional environments where your decisions have visible, company-wide impact.
Want to learn more about HackerRank? Check out HackerRank.com to explore our products, solutions and resources, and dive into our story and mission here.
HackerRank is a proud equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. We provide equal opportunity to everyone for employment based on individual performance and qualification. We never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital, veteran, or disability status. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. 
Notice to prospective HackerRank job applicants:
  • Our Recruiters use @hackerrank.com email addresses.
  • We never ask for payment or credit check information to apply, interview, or work here.