Staff Data Engineer - AI Platform

Build a Safer World.

TRM Labs provides AI-powered intelligence solutions that help public and private sector agencies investigate and disrupt crime. TRM's platforms enable investigators to trace illicit activity, build cases, and construct operating pictures of threat networks. Leading agencies and businesses worldwide rely on TRM to make the world safer and more secure.

TRM's government cloud environment gives public sector investigators the same real-time analytical power our commercial customers rely on, and this role keeps that environment fast, reliable, and compliant as it scales. You'll join the Data Platform Serving team, working on the StarRocks-backed serving layer that sits underneath government cloud investigations, alongside the engineer who currently owns this domain solo. This is a chance to build hands-on distributed systems experience in one of the most operationally demanding environments at TRM: a regulated, high-availability government cloud deployment.

The impact you will have:

• You will own performance tuning on the StarRocks serving layer, using AI-assisted query profiling (Claude, internal tooling) to find and fix slow query patterns before they become customer-facing incidents.

• You will build and harden data pipelines feeding government cloud investigations, using AI code review workflows to ship reliable changes faster in a high-compliance environment where mistakes are costly.

• You will reduce single-point-of-failure risk on GovCloud data infrastructure by becoming the second engineer who can independently operate and troubleshoot the serving layer, cutting incident response time when the primary owner is unavailable.

• You will use AI-assisted debugging and log analysis to triage production issues in a regulated environment, turning multi-hour investigations into rapid root-cause fixes.

What we’re looking for:

• U.S. citizenship is required for this role due to government cloud data access requirements.

• Hands-on experience operating distributed OLAP or serving-layer systems (StarRocks, Trino, ClickHouse, or similar), including query tuning and performance optimization at scale.

• Experience owning data pipeline reliability and incident response, and comfort using AI tools (Claude, Cursor, or similar) to accelerate debugging, code review, and documentation.

• Independent ownership mindset: you can pick up an unfamiliar piece of production infrastructure, use AI-assisted research and code exploration to ramp quickly, and take on-call responsibility with minimal oversight.

About the Team:

• The Data Platform Serving team owns the layer that turns TRM's data into fast, reliable answers for the teams and systems built on top of it.

• We're distributed, not distant: the team communicates constantly across Slack and async docs, with a bias toward direct, evidence-based technical discussion.

• Decisions are made close to the data: engineers who operate the systems make the calls on architecture and tradeoffs, with input from the broader Data Platform org.

• We work closely with Forward Deployed Engineering and Product teams to keep the government cloud environment at parity with our commercial platform.

Team Operating Rhythms:

• Weekly team sync to review open incidents, in-flight infrastructure work, and upcoming compliance milestones.

• Async daily updates in Slack on pipeline health, ongoing tickets, and blockers.

• Sprint-based planning cycles with clear ownership assigned per workstream.

• Retro after any production incident to capture learnings and adjust runbooks.

Learn about TRM Speed in this position:

• A production database migration broke search-attribute registration across two environments right before a critical audit deadline. The on-call engineer traced the root cause, shipped a fix, and had both environments passing smoke tests again within the same day.

• With a compliance deadline days away, the team needed off-cluster backups for the government cloud database with zero prior tooling in place. An engineer designed and shipped the full backup and restore pipeline — three stacked PRs — in under two weeks.

• Audit log retention needed to jump to meet a new compliance floor with no advance notice. The engineer used AI-assisted config generation to update retention policies across the environment and verify compliance the same week.

Application Instructions

If you’re interested in joining TRM, we encourage you to apply directly. Every application is reviewed by our Talent team.

Before applying, review the job description carefully and highlight the experience and impact that best demonstrate the required qualifications. Please also provide thoughtful and accurate answers to the application questions, as these will be used to evaluate your qualifications for the role.

If you send your resume directly to someone at TRM, we can’t guarantee it will reach the appropriate hiring team. Applying directly is the best way to ensure you’re considered.

What to Expect From Our Interview Process

Our process is designed to understand how you think, solve problems, and deliver impact, while giving you the opportunity to evaluate TRM. Most interview processes include a case study, AI skills assessment, and Leadership Principles interview.

• Recruiter Intro: Explore your experience, motivations, and alignment with the role.

• Hiring Manager: Dive deeper into your relevant experience, skills, and impact.

• First Round: Typically 1–2 interviews focused on the skills most critical to the role.

• Final Round: Typically 3–5 interviews to go deeper on your craft, problem-solving, and alignment with TRM.

• References: We’ll speak with former colleagues who can provide perspective on your work and impact.

• Offer: If it’s a mutual fit, your recruiter will walk you through your offer and answer your questions.

• Welcome to TRM: Once you sign, we’ll get you ready for your first day and onboarding.

Your recruiter will share your specific interview plan and preparation guidance along the way.

Learn more about interviewing at TRM

Life at TRM

We are building a safer world. That promise shows up in how we work every day.

TRM moves quickly. We are a high velocity, high ownership team that expects clarity, follow-through, and impact. People who thrive here are energized by hard problems, experimentation, and continuous feedback. If something takes months elsewhere, it will ship here in days.

Our work sits at the intersection of AI, national security, and fighting crime. The problems are complex, the stakes are real, and the environment evolves quickly. The pace and intensity of the work reflect the importance of the mission. As a result, the way we operate requires a high level of ownership, adaptability, collaboration, and creative problem-solving.

At TRM, you should expect:

• Priorities and targets to change quickly as we experiment and iterate

• Work that often requires operating with a high degree of ambiguity

• A high level of personal ownership and accountability

• Close collaboration across teams and functions

• Frequent, high-touch communication

• Creative problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking

• A pace that rewards urgency, adaptability, and outcomes

This environment is energizing for people who enjoy building, solving hard problems, and making progress in situations that are not always fully defined. It also requires comfort navigating ambiguity, adjusting course as new information emerges, and maintaining focus and positivity in a fast-moving and intense environment.

We also recognize that this style of operating is not for everyone. If you are primarily optimizing for predictability or a consistently balanced workload, we encourage you to use the interview process to pressure test whether this environment is truly the right fit. We want teammates who thrive here, not just survive here.

At the same time, many people find this work deeply rewarding. If you are excited by meaningful problems, motivated by ambitious goals, and energized by working alongside mission-driven colleagues, there is a good chance you will find TRM to be an exceptional place to grow and contribute. Learn more: Interviewing at TRM: How We Hire and What Success Looks Like

AI Fluency at TRM

AI fluency is a baseline expectation at TRM.

We believe AI meaningfully changes how top performers operate. We expect every team member to use AI to accelerate and reimagine their craft, not just automate surface tasks.

At TRM, AI fluency means you are among the top 10 percent of operators in your function in how you apply AI to:

• Accelerate repeatable workflows

• Structure and solve problems

• Improve output quality

• Increase speed and leverage

You will be evaluated on applied AI fluency during the interview process.

Leadership Principles

We hire and grow against three leadership principles. They’re the standards for how we operate, treat each other, and make decisions.

• Impact-Oriented Trailblazer: We put customers first and move with speed, focus, and adaptability. We treat every plan like an experiment – test, ship, measure, and iterate quickly.

• Master Craftsperson: We care deeply about our craft. We balance speed with high standards, own outcomes end‑to‑end, and invest in getting better everyday.

• Inspiring Colleague: We add clarity and energy, not noise. We bring humility, candor, and a one‑team mindset — giving and receiving feedback to make the team stronger.

Join our Mission

At TRM we care deeply about our craft. We are looking for individuals who want their work to matter, who experiment with speed and rigor, and who take pride in building a safer world for billions of people. If you’re excited by TRM’s mission but don’t check every box, we encourage you to apply — we hire for slope, judgment, and the will to learn fast.

TRM is a Series C company with $220M in total funding, backed by Goldman Sachs, Bessemer, Y Combinator, Thoma Bravo, and others. Headquartered in San Francisco, TRM operates as a distributed-first company with hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., London, and Singapore.

Privacy Policy and Additional Information

By submitting your application, you agree to allow TRM Labs to process your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We collect the information you provide (such as your resume, work history, and contact details) solely for the purpose of evaluating your candidacy for current and future roles at TRM.

Because our hiring cycles for certain positions may span 24 to 36 months, we retain your personal information for up to 36 months from the date of your application. After that period, your data is deleted unless a different retention period is required or permitted by law.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with applicable data protection laws, you have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal data at any time before that period ends. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@trmlabs.com.

To notify TRM Labs that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

The use of AI tools of any kind (including but not limited to notetakers, interview assistants, and real-time coaching tools such as Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, Cluey, or similar) during TRM interviews is not permitted without prior approval from TRM. TRM uses its own internal tools for note-taking to ensure a consistent and confidential experience for all candidates.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this form.

Recruitment agencies

TRM Labs does not accept unsolicited agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to TRM employees. TRM Labs is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes and will not pay fees to any third-party agency or company without a signed agreement.

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