Senior AI Data Engineer

Employment Type: Full-time

Location: Remote in CA, TX, NC, WA, ID, NV, AZ, CO, KS, AR, LA, AL, GA, FL, SC, TN, VA, MD, NJ, DE, IL, WI, MI, OH, MA, PA, NH, CT

Company: Cortica

About Cortica:
Cortica is a rapidly growing healthcare company pioneering effective treatment methods for children with neurodevelopmental differences. Our mission is to design and deliver life-changing care, envisioning a world that cultivates the full potential of every child. At Cortica, every team member is instrumental in achieving our mission.

About the Role:
Cortica is looking for a Senior AI Data Engineer to join its growing team. You will serve as both architect and builder of our data ecosystem, managing the complete engineering lifecycle from gathering stakeholder requirements to designing, building, testing, and deploying solutions to production. This role will work across data lakes, analytics pipelines, and lightweight application development, embodying a multi-disciplinary, full-stack approach to data.

You will work closely with data science, finance, and clinical operations teams to design intelligent, automated data solutions that power care decisions, financial planning, and operational efficiency. AI augmentation is the standard working mode.

What You Will Do:

• Full Lifecycle Project Ownership: Engage stakeholders, translate requirements into architected data solutions, own end-to-end testing, and deploy/monitor solutions.
• AI-First Data Engineering: Conduct parallel AI coding sessions (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, Codex), build context files for data projects, design verification loops, build MCP or equivalent integrations, and leverage frontier models for architectural decisions.
• Data Platform & Pipeline Engineering: Design and build complex data pipelines ingesting from various sources into AWS Data Lake and Snowflake. Implement and evolve data models using Kimball methodology. Optimize pipeline performance, manage data quality, and develop orchestration workflows in Python and AWS Glue.
• Analytics & Reporting Enablement: Build and support Power BI data models and reports. Empower analytics team members for self-service. Build reusable pipeline components for data analysts and scientists.
• Application Development: Build lightweight internal data applications and tooling. Design for agentic workflows, creating AI-powered data tools accessible via web interfaces or Slack.
• Security, Governance & Collaboration: Ensure data security and HIPAA compliance. Partner with IT to enforce data governance standards. Document architecture and collaborate across departments.

We'd Love to Hear From You If You Have:

• 5+ years of hands-on data engineering experience, including building and operating production data pipelines.
• Expert-level Python skills for ETL, pipeline orchestration, and automation.
• Deep SQL proficiency (query optimization, data modeling, stored procedures).
• 2+ years of experience working with AI-first development workflows.
• 4+ years of experience with AWS (S3, Glue, Lambda, Redshift) and/or Azure big data services.
• 1+ year of experience with Snowflake.
• 2+ years of experience with orchestration frameworks.
• 2+ years of Salesforce experience with Apex and configurations.
• Experience with Kimball dimensional modeling (star schemas, conformed dimensions).
• Power BI (or equivalent BI tool) experience (data model design, report development).
• API integration experience (REST, GraphQL, event streaming).
• Application development literacy (e.g., Python/Flask, Node).
• Residency in one of the specified states: CA, TX, NC, WA, ID, NV, AZ, CO, KS, AR, LA, AL, GA, FL, SC, TN, VA, MD, NJ, DE, IL, WI, MI, OH, MA, PA, NH, CT.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Base pay range: $160,000 - $200,000.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) plan with company matching and rapid vesting.
• Paid holidays and wellness days.
• Life insurance, disability insurance options.
• Tuition reimbursements for professional development.
• Referral bonuses.

Equal Opportunity & E-Verify:
Cortica celebrates diversity and fosters an inclusive environment. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications and ability. This employer participates in E-Verify.