Staff Software Engineer - Data Governance

The role

You will set the technical direction for how Plaid enforces data governance at scale. You will lead the design of distributed backend systems to delete, restrict, and track data across services.

What you will do

• Own the technical architecture for Plaid's data-governance platform
• Lead the design and delivery of multi-quarter, cross-team initiatives
• Drive design reviews and set engineering standards for reliability, correctness, and auditability
• Partner with Legal, Privacy, Security, and product-engineering teams
• Mentor engineers and level up the team's technical judgment
• Act as a technical point of contact for governance concerns raised by other teams

Required qualifications

• Extensive experience (typically 8+ years) building and operating backend distributed systems at scale, in a language like Go, Java, or similar
• A track record of leading the design of complex systems and driving cross-team technical initiatives to completion
• Strong fundamentals in data stores, consistency, and reliability
• Demonstrated ability to turn ambiguous requirements into clear technical plans and align multiple stakeholders
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including working effectively with non-engineering partners

Nice to have

• Prior experience with data privacy, governance, or compliance systems (e.g., GDPR/CCPA deletion, data-use/consent enforcement, cataloging/classification, or auditing)

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• 401(k)

About the company

Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. The company works with thousands of companies to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to apps and services.