Principal Business Intelligence Engineer

As a Principal Business Intelligence Engineer at Klaviyo, your key responsibilities will include leading the design and implementation of data systems, managing the internal data infrastructure, and mentoring team members to enhance their skills. You will architect both batch and real-time data solutions, maintain the source of truth for the company’s data, and ensure compliance with security standards while influencing technical directions. Your role is integral to driving data-informed decision-making across all departments.

Klaviyo seeks a Principal Business Intelligence Engineer with a strong foundation in cloud technologies, particularly AWS, and at least 7 years of data development experience alongside proficiency in SQL and object-oriented programming. Familiarity with big data technologies, data modeling, and building real-time data pipelines is essential. A proven track record in leading technical projects and effective communication skills will enhance your candidacy.

The Principal Business Intelligence Engineer at Klaviyo collaborates closely with cross-functional teams, including Platform Engineering, Security, Product, and Marketing. By understanding the unique data and analytical requirements of these teams, you will help develop and maintain systems that support their goals. Your role is essential in aligning business needs with data solutions, ensuring that all departments can effectively utilize data for decision-making.

At Klaviyo, the Principal Business Intelligence Engineer will work with a range of technologies, including AWS services like EC2, S3, and Lambda, as well as big data frameworks such as Snowflake and Spark. You'll also use orchestration tools like Airflow, Docker for containerization, and Terraform for infrastructure management. This diverse tech stack empowers you to build robust data solutions that meet the organization’s evolving needs.

Klaviyo prides itself on fostering a collaborative and inclusive workplace culture. As a Principal Business Intelligence Engineer, you’ll be encouraged to bring your whole self to work and contribute to a culture of learning and innovation. With ample opportunities for mentoring and professional development, you’ll be part of a community where diverse backgrounds and experiences are valued and all Klaviyos can thrive together.

When answering this question, focus on specific experiences you have had with cloud platforms, particularly AWS if relevant to Klaviyo. Discuss projects you’ve completed, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them. Emphasize any cost-saving solutions, performance improvements, or scalability achievements that resulted from your cloud technology expertise.

To effectively answer, outline a systematic approach you take to monitor and evaluate data quality. Discuss practices such as implementing validation rules, using automated testing, and conducting regular audits. Share specific examples where your strategies led to significant improvements in data integrity and how you work with teams to ensure compliance with standards.

Highlight your belief in the importance of mentorship by discussing your philosophy on guiding junior team members. Share methods you use, such as one-on-one sessions, pair programming, or knowledge-sharing workshops. Provide an example of a successful mentorship experience where your guidance helped elevate a team member’s skills.

In your response, walk the interviewer through a specific project detailing the system design, the technologies employed, and the end goals. Discuss the challenges encountered during development or implementation, how you addressed them, and the overall outcome. This showcases your problem-solving and technical skills ideally suited for Klaviyo.

Outline your understanding and experience with implementing real-time data pipelines. Reference specific technologies used like Kafka or AWS Kinesis and discuss projects where real-time processing impacted business decisions or efficiency. Highlight your role in designing these solutions and any innovative approaches you implemented.

Employ strategies that showcase your commitment to continuous learning. Discuss resources you utilize such as online courses, webinars, forums, or conferences. Mention any influential thought leaders in the data space that you follow and any personal projects you may take on to experiment with emerging technologies.

Describe a structured approach to data governance by emphasizing policies, standards, and practices you implement to safeguard data. Discuss how you collaborate with stakeholders to meet compliance and regulatory requirements while ensuring data accessibility for those who need it. Provide examples to clarify your process.

Discuss your strategic approach to optimizing performance, which might include techniques like data partitioning, indexing, and utilizing caching layers. Emphasize your analytical mindset to diagnose performance issues and the tools or metrics you rely on for ongoing evaluations. Demonstrate how these optimizations supported business goals.

This question assesses your interpersonal skills. Discuss a specific instance where conflicts arose, the differing perspectives, and how you mediated a resolution. Highlight communication techniques used, focus on maintaining a collaborative environment, and the positive outcome that resulted from your handling of the situation.

Prepare for this question by discussing your data analysis process, including tools used for data cleaning, exploration, and visualization. Explain how you interpret findings, derive actionable insights, and effectively communicate them to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. If possible, mention a successful prior analysis that impacted decision-making.