Senior Infra Engineer - Data Governance
Remote - Americas
Somewhere in Shopify's data platform, someone's right to be forgotten is waiting to be honored. Somewhere else, a newly created table needs its access controls enforced. The Platform Governance team handles both. We run some of the most compute-intensive batch workloads at the company AND build the authorization infrastructure that governs who can access what across our Data Warehouse, Kafka and a growing list of storage systems. We're looking for a T-shaped individual: deep in large-scale data infrastructure, with the range to bring strong data security practices across all of them.
What you'll be working on
You'll own the engineering and operation of systems that keep Shopify's data secure and compliant. That means two things:
Privacy processing at scale — designing and optimizing large-scale batch jobs that handle petabytes of data across massive compute clusters. The problem space is well-defined but the execution challenge is relentless. You'll think carefully about how data is stored, how compute is managed, and how to build pipelines that are correct and efficient enough to run at this scale without eating resources.
Authorization infrastructure — policy engines, row-level security, credential vending, and fine-grained access controls applied consistently across heterogeneous storage systems that each have their own access models. The challenge is designing abstractions that are correct, auditable, and hold up at Shopify's data scale.
You'll move between both depending on what's the highest-impact. If you're a data engineer who's been the builder of tools and not just the user, and you want problems that span security, privacy, and raw infrastructure all at once, this is the role.
You'll need to have
Strong data engineering fundamentals - SQL, Java, and hands-on experience with large-scale compute frameworks (Spark, Flink, or similar)
Experience designing and optimizing pipelines that process very large datasets
A real understanding of how data is stored and transformed at scale - not just how to write queries, but how to make them run efficiently
Comfort working across multiple storage and streaming systems and learning their security surfaces quickly
An interest in data privacy and responsible data handling, you don't need to know GDPR word for word, but you should care about getting it right
It's great if you also have
Experience building or operating authorization frameworks (RBAC, ABAC, row-level security, credential vending)
Prior exposure to privacy engineering, data deletion, or compliance-driven data workflows
Experience with Terraform, policy engines (OPA/Rego, Cedar, or homegrown), or infrastructure-as-code patterns
Experience managing or optimizing large compute clusters
Background at a company where "who can access this data" was a hard problem, not a checkbox
Engineering. It’s our DNA.
Engineering isn't a department at Shopify. It's our DNA. The engineers who thrive here care about the code, the system, and the merchants relying on both. They want hard problems and uncomfortable growth. They find solutions without waiting for permission. They ship weekly. They want commerce to work better for everyone. So does our founder, Tobi, who still codes and still shapes where this thing is going.
They're open source nerds. They pair program because two brains write better code than one. New tools, new models, new approaches. They experiment constantly. Most of what's standard here started as someone hacking on something.
They use AI like a keyboard, reflexively and everywhere, to clear the mundane and make room for thinking. And they work in the open. The fastest way to learn here is to watch someone better than you do the work. If that sounds like you, come build with us.
Infrastructure engineering
Infrastructure Engineers at Shopify build and maintain the systems that handle millions of requests per second and billions of dollars in transactions. At that scale, performance gains matter and weak assumptions surface quickly. Your systems power the experience for millions of entrepreneurs and buyers every minute of every day, including peak events like Black Friday.
Engineers at Shopify spend the majority of their time actually writing code to build and improve infrastructure. You’ll solve problems that don’t exist anywhere else, with challenges that push what’s possible. If that lights you up, come build with us.
Mastery-matched compensation.
~Mastery
At Shopify, getting better at your craft and increasing your impact is how you grow. Twice a year, we assess both in our ~Mastery cycle, Shopify’s performance review. Achieving higher ~Mastery is a promotion, and when you earn a promotion your total rewards grow with it. Crafter and manager are equal paths, so you can pursue excellence in the craft you’re best at.
Total Rewards
With Flex Comp, your Rewards Wallet gives you agency over your compensation mix. Adjust your mix of cash, restricted share units, and stock options (including programs like Long-Term Equity)* to where it makes sense for you, and mix it up anytime as life and priorities change. Buying a house? Want more skin in the game? Just experimenting? It’s your call.
* Flex Comp program offerings vary based on location, role, and employment type. Full details are set out in our Terms & Conditions and related plan documents.
Room for the rest of your life.
Flexible work, remote by design
A flexible vacation policy means most Shopifolk can take the vacation days they feel they need to recharge.
If a change of everyday scenery is more your jam, Destination 90 means you can work from (almost) anywhere in the world for 90 days of the year.
Your setup
Your battlestation is your home base. Request the desk, chair, and AV gear you need to get shit done.
Benefits
You need ‘em, we’ve got ‘em. Our health and welfare benefits may include health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance depending on your country. If you’re in a country without a package, you'll receive a monthly allowance. We also offer mental health support for you and your dependents, including immediate and confidential services like counseling and coaching sessions.
Family support
We offer fertility benefits globally, along with paid parental leave to welcome a new family member.
The Life Story is how we understand the themes of your career journey so far, human to human. What you’ve learned, and how you made a difference. Show us the trophies and the bruises: the problems you’ve solved, the challenges you encountered, the decisions you made, and the lessons you learned along the way.
We’re looking for world-class crafters. Crafters obsessed with pursuing excellence in their field. Our craft assessment looks at your personal journey toward mastery, and your potential to go broader and deeper in novel ways.
You’ll start with an online assessment, followed by a craft assessment. Show us what you do best, and how you do it. Shopify’s bar is high, and code wins arguments around here. Let your skills do the talking.
Building on your craft assessment, these interviews dive deeper into your experience and technical aptitude. Depending on the role, this may include technical deep dives focusing on projects you've previously worked on, collaborating in a design critique, exploring a dataset using SQL, or taking the lead on solving a problem with your interviewer as your co-pilot.