Analytics Engineer

The Organization: Merit America

The American economy is broken. Today, 53 million working adults–nearly half of the U.S. workforce–do not earn a living wage. These talented workers have few options to advance: college is too long and expensive, full-time boot camp programs don’t offer enough flexibility, and online courses don’t have the structure or support to translate learning into a new career. The result? Talented workers, disproportionately people of color and women, get stuck in low-wage roles with no way to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Merit America is a national nonprofit that creates pathways to family-sustaining careers for Americans stuck in low-wage work. Our fast, flexible solutions are built for working adults: We start by analyzing tens of millions of job postings to identify in-demand, high-paying tech careers and then work with industry-recognized partners to train for these roles with part-time programs that combine flexible online learning with best-in-class coaching. Finally, we support our learners in their job search, helping them connect with a broad constellation of local and national employers such as JPMorgan Chase and Infosys to land higher-earning, family-sustaining jobs. Merit America is on a mission to build a scalable pathway for workers to join the middle class through merit, not money. Since our founding in 2018, we’ve generated a projected $1 billion in near-term wage gains for our learners.

Role overview:

Merit America is seeking an Analytics Engineer to own the analytics platform that powers reporting, analysis, and decision-making across the organization. We're looking for someone who treats this as their platform: someone who takes responsibility for the data models, semantic layer, and reporting standards that teams rely on, and who proactively makes them more trustworthy, scalable, and easier to use rather than waiting for work to be assigned.

Our stack runs on BigQuery, dbt, Lightdash, and Fivetran. The core of the role is transforming raw source-system data into canonical models, governed metrics, and self-service reporting that teams across the organization can trust. Much of the challenge lies in the business domain itself: learner lifecycle, funnel, and outcomes definitions evolve as programs change, so judgment, curiosity, and strong communication matter as much as technical skill. We are also exploring how AI can improve how we build, maintain, and use our analytics platform, and are looking for someone who is excited to experiment thoughtfully with these tools.

This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role reporting to the Head of Data & Technology and working closely with data analysts, software engineers, and stakeholders across Program, Growth, Finance, and Operations.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Analytics Engineer will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Own and improve canonical data models

• Own and evolve the dbt models that transform raw source-system data into durable, reporting-ready tables.
• Improve models over time by reducing duplication, clarifying grain, and documenting business logic. 
• Turn recurring reporting needs into reusable models rather than one-off queries.
• Identify opportunities to simplify the data model and make reporting easier to understand and maintain.

Govern metrics and the semantic layer

• Own the Lightdash semantic layer so core metrics are defined consistently and documented where they're used. 
• Maintain source-of-truth definitions, promoting and deprecating metrics as the business changes. 
• Improve the reporting ecosystem over time by making analytics more self-service and easier to use.

Maintain data quality and platform reliability

• Build and maintain observability, testing, and monitoring across the analytics stack so data quality issues are identified early and resolved across source systems, transformations, and BI outputs.
• Maintain strong development practices: version control, PR review, documentation, testing 

Partner with analysts and stakeholders

• Review analytics work for modeling quality and maintainability, and help analysts use the stack effectively. 
• Cross-train teammates so knowledge is shared rather than concentrated.

Skills and Competencies

We recognize that some individuals from underrepresented backgrounds may hesitate to apply if they don’t meet 100% of the listed qualifications.  Please don’t let that discourage you from applying! We value the unique skills, experiences, and perspectives that each applicant brings, and we encourage you to apply if you believe your background demonstrates the required skills and competencies:

Must Haves for all roles at Merit America: 

• Committed to Merit America’s mission to pave pathways to family-sustaining careers, break the poverty cycle, and create upward mobility for low-wage workers
• Demonstrated history of embodying our values, which inform our work and drive our organization's culture
• Shared sense of responsibility and ownership for our collective work in making a positive impact on the community we support, true to our value of Win & Lose Together
• Committed to continuous learning and growth in advancing inclusive excellence and closing gaps across lines of difference
• Passionate about fostering a workplace culture that embraces and values individual differences, aligned with our core value of inclusivity

Must Haves

Analytics engineering and data modeling

• 4+ years working with SQL and a modern cloud data warehouse
• Strong hands-on experience with dbt
• Experience building and maintaining canonical data models and governed metrics that support reporting and self-service analytics
• Experience working with a semantic layer or governed BI environment (Lightdash, LookML, dbt Semantic Layer, or similar).
• Strong grasp of data modeling concepts, and the judgment to work effectively in complex, evolving business domains
• Comfort experimenting with AI tools as part of technical work, with strong judgment around validation, privacy, and data quality.

Ownership and collaboration

• Demonstrated history of proactively improving data models, reporting systems, or governance processes without waiting for every need to be fully scoped
• Strong communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including explaining tradeoffs and limitations clearly
• Strong development discipline: version control, code review, testing, documentation
• Ability to help analysts and business partners use data in sustainable, governed ways

Nice to Haves

• Experience with BigQuery, Lightdash (or Looker), and Fivetran
• Experience diagnosing data issues from Salesforce, LMS platforms, survey tools, or other operational systems
• Experience designing and implementing data observability, monitoring, and testing frameworks (Elementary, Monte Carlo, Great Expectations, or similar)
• Familiarity with Python for integrations, automation, or data investigation.
• Experience with CI/CD and modern analytics engineering workflows
• Experience with Terraform or other infrastructure-as-code tools
• Experience in nonprofit, education, workforce development, or other mission-driven environments

Other Logistics 

• This position is full-time: 4-day work week (Fridays are an operating day if there is a holiday closure during the week)
• Location: Remote
• Salary: $152,000

Our goal is to have competitive and equitable compensation.  We have a market-based compensation approach, which means we benchmark each role from reputable data sources. We compare our benchmarks against similarly sized non-profit organizations with comparable annual budgets and geographical areas. We pay the same rate for the same roles and adjust to comply with statutory mandates.

We take care of our employees by providing the following perks and benefits (please note that some of the benefits do not apply to temporary employees): 

• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance (100% Paid Employee Only Coverage)
• Flexible Spending Account and Health Savings Account
• Dependent care Flexible Spending Account
• Health Reimbursement Account fully funded by Merit
• Education & personal development reimbursement
• Catalog of courses for professional learning and development
• Short and long-term disability
• Unlimited vacation (after a 90-day introductory period)
• Paid Parental Leave and Adoption benefits (after 1 year of employment)
• 11 federally recognized holidays
• 2 week holiday office closure in December/January
• 401(k) retirement plan with automatic Merit contribution
• Wellness Benefits/Wellness Resources
• Discount perks at work program
• Phone/technology stipend
• Home office setup stipend
• Affinity groups and community building via virtual, in-person, and/or regional meetups
  

*Eligibility for some benefits may vary based on employment status, full-time or part-time. Eligibility will be outlined during the hiring process.

Remote Work & Sponsorship

Candidates must reside within the 50 states or District of Columbia and have full authorization to work in the 50 U.S. states & the District of Columbia (international work abroad, including the U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and other islands are excluded). In addition, Merit America doesn't offer employment visa sponsorship.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Building an inclusive, high-performing team that is diverse across lines of personal identity is integral to our success and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

This means we do not discriminate against any job applicant or employee because of their race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

We actively strive and evolve to develop and maintain workspaces that are fully inclusive. We encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.

Still excited about our work?  You can learn more about our work in this video we made with our founding partner, Google.

Fair Chance Ordinance

Applicants who have arrest or conviction records and are in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County will be considered in accordance with the state’s fair chance ordinance law. Employment under the ordinance includes part-time work, seasonal work, contract work, contingent work, work on commission, and work through the services of a temporary or employment agency.

E-Verify Statement

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the I-9 Form.