Application Guide

How to Apply for Staff Data Engineer

at Workiva

🏢 About Workiva

Workiva specializes in integrated ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting, helping organizations achieve transparent climate impact tracking and compliance. The company stands out by focusing on streamlining complex reporting processes into accessible customer-facing products. This mission-driven focus on sustainability and transparency makes it appealing for data engineers who want their work to have measurable environmental and social impact.

About This Role

As a Staff Data Engineer at Workiva, you'll architect and build high-performance data solutions that directly power customer-facing ESG reporting features using Snowflake, dbt, and Kafka. This role involves leading complex data projects end-to-end while acting as a bridge between product teams and the internal data platform team. Your work will directly influence how organizations measure and report their climate impact, making this role critical to Workiva's core mission.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might involve designing resilient data pipelines using DLT and Snowpipe for enterprise-scale ESG data, then collaborating with Application Engineering teams to advocate for upstream data quality improvements. You could be leading discovery sessions with Product Managers to translate new customer reporting needs into technical requirements, while also reviewing data models and establishing observability standards for your domain's critical data assets.

🚀 Application Tools

Generate Cover Letter

AI-powered, tailored for Workiva

Interview Prep

Practice questions for this role

🎯 Who Workiva Is Looking For

  • Has 8+ years of data engineering experience specifically building solutions for customer-facing products, not just internal analytics
  • Demonstrates proven ability to lead large-scale projects independently from concept to completion with minimal supervision
  • Possesses exceptional communication skills to evangelize data strategy to non-technical stakeholders and influence application engineering teams
  • Has hands-on experience with Workiva's tech stack (Snowflake, dbt, Kafka, DLT, Snowpipe) and understands how to build resilient, production-grade pipelines for enterprise-scale workloads

📝 Tips for Applying to Workiva

1

Highlight specific examples where you've built data solutions that directly powered customer-facing features, not just internal dashboards or reports

2

Demonstrate your experience with the exact technologies mentioned (Snowflake, dbt, Kafka, DLT, Snowpipe) and how you've used them in production environments

3

Showcase your ability to work 'embedded with Application Engineering teams' by describing cross-functional collaboration experiences

4

Emphasize your experience as a 'Lead Customer' for data platforms - times when you've identified platform gaps and contributed to strategic roadmaps

5

Quantify the scale of data workloads you've handled, especially if you've worked with enterprise-scale data with low latency requirements

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your experience building data solutions that directly power customer-facing products, with specific examples', "How you've successfully translated customer needs into technical data requirements while working with Product Managers", 'Your approach to establishing and evangelizing data modeling, observability, and performance standards', "Why you're specifically interested in ESG reporting and climate impact data, connecting your values to Workiva's mission"]

Generate Cover Letter →

🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Workiva's specific ESG reporting products and how they help organizations with climate impact tracking and compliance
  • → The company's recent announcements about their data platform or technical infrastructure developments
  • → How Workiva's mission of 'transparent climate impact' translates into their product offerings and customer use cases
  • → The competitive landscape of ESG reporting software and where Workiva positions itself

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Describe a complex data project you led from discovery to production deployment, including how you handled stakeholder alignment
2 How have you influenced application engineering teams to improve upstream data quality in previous roles?
3 Walk through your experience with Snowflake, dbt, and Kafka in production environments, including challenges you've overcome
4 How would you approach identifying gaps in a data platform's capabilities and contributing to its strategic roadmap?
5 Discuss your experience with 'Data-as-a-Product' mindset and how you ensure data solutions meet both technical and business excellence standards
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on internal analytics or business intelligence experience without demonstrating customer-facing product data solutions
  • Presenting yourself as purely technical without showing evidence of stakeholder management and cross-functional influence
  • Having experience only with supervision or in highly structured environments, rather than demonstrating independent execution in ambiguous situations

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Workiva!

← Back to Job Listing Apply Now →