Senior Back End Engineer (Data Platform)

• Engineers on this team build our rules-based calculation engine for processing sales commissions
• This might sound simple if you have never been exposed to sales compensation plans, it is not
• We are low on meetings and high on accountability
• Most of the team is in the EST time zone, with a few located in PST and Central as well
• We are still evolving many areas of the platform, which means there is meaningful room to improve the design, reliability, and scalability of the systems we build
• Reporting to the Manager of Data Platform, you will play an important role in the evolution of our Spark-based data platform
• You’ll design and build data-rich platform capabilities, contribute to system design discussions, and help ensure our data systems remain reliable, maintainable, and scalable as Forma grows
• As a Senior Engineer, Data Platform, you are expected to operate with strong ownership and sound technical judgment
• This includes identifying risks in the work you own, surfacing edge cases, asking thoughtful questions, and proposing improvements that strengthen the quality and reliability of the platform
• Design, build, and improve Spark-based data pipelines and platform services
• Work with complex data models representing sales compensation plans, hierarchies, relationships, and enterprise datasets
• Build reliable, deterministic data systems that customers and internal teams can trust
• Improve testing, observability, data quality, and production reliability across the systems you work on
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Analytics to translate complex business requirements into scalable data designs
• Participate in design reviews, code reviews, technical discussions, and knowledge sharing
• Use AI tooling to improve delivery speed while maintaining strong engineering standards
• Technologies we use:
• Frontend: JavaScript, React, TypeScript
• Backend: Java/Spring Boot, Django, Postgres
• Data Platform: Spark
• Infrastructure: AWS, Docker
• What success looks like: 30/60/90 days:
• First 30 days:
• You’ll focus on building context across Forma’s product domain, data platform, calculation engine, data models, and engineering practices
• By the end of your first 30 days, you will have:
• Set up your development environment and become comfortable navigating the codebase, data platform, services, and infrastructure
• Built a clear understanding of the product domain, Spark-based data flows, and key data models
• Learned the team’s practices around testing, observability, deployment, data quality, and reliability
• Built relationships with Engineering, Product, and Analytics partners
• Shipped small improvements or fixes to build familiarity with the system
• First 60 days:
• You’ll begin owning meaningful data platform work and contributing to technical decisions
• By the end of your first 60 days, you will have:
• Taken ownership of a data pipeline, platform component, workflow, or feature area
• Designed and delivered maintainable data platform code aligned with team standards
• Partnered with Product, Engineering, and Analytics peers to translate requirements into scalable data designs
• Identified risks, edge cases, data quality issues, or inconsistencies in the systems you work on
• Contributed to improvements in data modeling, pipeline reliability, testing, observability, or service boundaries
• First 90 days:
• You’ll be operating as a trusted senior contributor within the team
• By the end of your first 90 days, you will have:
• Designed and delivered a meaningful data platform initiative or major feature
• Improved important data models, Spark pipelines, platform services, or workflow handling
• Contributed to technical direction through clear, well-reasoned design decisions
• Improved the reliability, observability, scalability, or maintainability of data-intensive systems
• Helped the team deliver complex calculation and data workflows with greater confidence and clarity

Benefits

• Unlimited + Min. Vacation: All Formadillos (cute, right?) are required to take a minimum of three weeks vacation. If you need more, just ask!
• Meaningful Compensation: In addition to being paid above the industry average, you’ll join in Forma.ai’s success with our employee equity plan.
• Healthcare with Benefits: Enjoy a healthcare benefits package that includes extended medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and paid parental leave.
• Learning & Development: Access the resources you need to grow in your personal and professional life with a yearly training stipend.
• Flexible Working: North American employees can work from where they are most productive, whether that’s in our Toronto HQ, from home, or a combination of both.
• Growth & Opportunity: Our rapid growth and novel approach is an opportunity to gain the kind of unique experience you can build a career on.

• Ability to reason through technical tradeoffs, identify risks, and propose practical improvements
• Strong SQL, relational schema design, and data modeling skills
• Experience improving scalability, reliability, observability, or maintainability in data-intensive systems
• Strong experience building data systems or backend systems in production
• Experience with large-scale, hierarchical, graph-like, relationship-heavy, or workflow-driven datasets
• Strong communication skills and comfort collaborating across Engineering, Product, and Analytics
• Proficiency in at least one production-grade language such as Python, Java, Scala, Kotlin, Go, C#, or similar
• Experience with Spark or similar data processing / ETL frameworks
• Experience building SaaS products for mid-market or enterprise customers
• Experience with rule-driven systems, validation workflows, calculation engines, or approval/governance platforms
• Familiarity with AWS-based infrastructure and Kubernetes
• Familiarity with graph databases or graph-based modeling concepts
• Exposure to Sales Performance Management, RevOps, Incentive Compensation, or related domains
• We know that applying to a new role takes a lot of effort. You’re encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn’t precisely match the job description. There are many paths to a successful career and we’re looking forward to reading yours