Lead Data Steward (Remote - Austin, or U.S.)

Introduction:

The Zebra, named a Best Place to Work in Austin four years running, is revolutionizing how connected consumers research and shop for insurance. We intentionally strive to build diverse teams that feel inclusive for all. Our motto is "All Stripes Welcome," and we put that into practice by valuing both traditional and non-conventional backgrounds and perspectives. Our Zeebs are passionate about learning, growing, & working together to tackle exciting problems.

The Zebra is seeking a Lead Data Steward for our dynamic, data-focused herd! This person will be responsible for the management, quality, accuracy, and documentation of our data. You will immediately contribute to the goal of leveraging our rich datasets to make informed business decisions by becoming the go-to person for questions about the data meaning and availability in this fast-growing company. You will manage the lifecycle of datasets, establish data quality metrics and requirements, document data and terminology, and ensure protection and appropriate data governance. You will define and implement the day-to-day operational policies and procedures for working with our data and data governance tooling, and then train data consumers across the company to use them.

You will be supported by a modern, stable data platform, a mature engineering culture, an advanced analytics team, and some of the latest data tools and technologies. You will manage other data stewards and act as an advocate for data governance across the organization with an opportunity to mentor junior data stewards and data power users. If you are passionate about data governance and want to lead the charge in making it a reality at The Zebra, we want to talk to you!

Location:

While we are open to remote work across the contingent US, we are still in the process of establishing our company to support work in all states! We’ve recently made the shift from an in-office organization to a hybrid model and love the flexibility it allows our employees. We are set up to support employees who want to be fully remote, in-office only, and a mix of the two. Please note - we will not be supporting work based out of the following states: CA, MA, NY, NJ.

What You'll Do:

• Manage & develop a team of data stewards
• Own data quality and data accuracy for multiple subject areas or work with designated data authorities in those subject areas.
• Establish guidelines and protocols to govern the data proliferation and privacy control.
• Design and implement the auditing and reporting of adherence to the established data policies and procedures, quality metrics and governance requirements.
• Educate others about data governance and the policies, procedures and tooling.
• Lead initiative to catalog The Zebra data including data flows, cross data flows/logic, data dependencies, relationships, definitions, known discrepancies/issues, and metadata to support product development self-discovery.
• Facilitate discussions about the impact of changes to data meaning, naming, grouping, and categorization.
• Educate product managers and developers on the consideration and understanding of data and impact to data early in the product development process and drive them towards process improvements

What We're Looking For: 

As we evaluate candidates across all roles, we look for folks who have a good sense of ownership, superb communication and collaboration skills, and a dedication to continuous improvement.

• 5+ years (or equivalent) hands-on, professional data experience (eg, data steward, data engineer, etc)
• Demonstrated leader or manager in data governance
• Proficient in data modeling and analytics
• Proficient with SQL and relational databases
• CI/CD standard processes and bash scripting
• Containerization concepts in Docker and/or Kubernetes
• Experience with Data Warehouses such as Snowflake
• Experience with BI platforms such as Looker or Tableau
• Ability to enthusiastically communicate Data Governance principles to technical and non-technical people

Experience that will Impress the Heck Out of Us: 

• A fundamental understanding of Rest or GraphQL API concepts
• Novice to intermediate coding experience, preferably in Python or another object oriented language
• Programming experience in Python or SPARQL
• Experience with DBT (Data Build Tool) or a data catalog tool
• Advanced STEM degree (or equivalent)
• Experience with building a successful data governance program from scratch at a company

Benefits & Perks:

Inclusive and healthy environments are crafted intentionally. All of our employees can join and participate in (or create your own!) Employee Resource Groups. Here are some other wonderful perks of working here:

• Competitive Compensation & Stock Option Offering
• Health, Dental, Vision & Disability Coverages
• HSA offering + employer contribution
• 401k plan + employer match
• Unlimited PTO (paid time off)+ the flexibility to enjoy it
• Paid Parental Leave Program
• Wellness perk ($100/month)
• Pet Adoption Reimbursement ($300/year)
• Learning & Development Opportunities
• Join a team that truly lives their values (outside of the office. Cliche, we know… but we really mean it)

About The Zebra:

The Zebra is the nation’s leading, independent insurance comparison site. With our dynamic, real-time quote comparison tool, consumers can identify insurance companies with the coverage, service level, and pricing to suit their unique needs. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, The Zebra has sought to bring transparency and simplicity to insurance shopping since 2012 -- it's “insurance in black and white.”

We've garnered attention and investment of some of the nation’s top venture capitalists. Check out all of our awards & recognition!

Our core mantra is "All Stripes Welcome." As part of our dedication to maintaining an inclusive and diverse workforce, we provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform core job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.