Data engineer Jobs in Chicago, IL

About RxSaveCard

RxSaveCard was founded in 2024 with a mission to reduce pharmacy costs for employers and their employees. Our innovative model is unique in the market, and we are building a modern, card-based approach to prescription benefits that simplifies a complicated system. Our innovative model is unique in the market, backed by financial partners at Distributed Ventures and Rock Health.

We are a fast-growing company solving real problems—and we're looking for people who can operate at the intersection of data, operations, and client experience.

Position Overview

This role sits at the foundation of our data platform—focused on building, scaling, and securing the pipelines and systems that power RxSaveCard. This role will start with existing processes that are largely manual and bespoke today, but will play a leading role in the evolution toward more scalable solutions.

You will design and manage data infrastructure that processes large, complex datasets, including prescription (Rx) data from our partners, eligibility files, transaction data, and financial flows. This is highly sensitive healthcare and financial data, where accuracy, reliability, and security are non-negotiable.

This is a role for someone who wants to build systems—not just handle data—and who takes pride in making data pipelines performant, resilient, and scalable.

Key Responsibilities

Data Engineering

• Design, build, and maintain scalable data pipelines for ingesting and processing large datasets (Rx claims, eligibility, transactions, funding data)
• Develop ETL/ELT processes to transform and normalize data from multiple partner systems
• Optimize data storage and retrieval for performance, cost, and scalability
• Ensure high data quality through validation, monitoring, and automated checks

Data Operations & Analysis

• Build and maintain data infrastructure using modern tools (cloud data warehouses, distributed processing frameworks, etc.)
• Partner with engineering to integrate data systems into core product workflows
• Design systems that can scale with rapid growth in data volume and partner integrations
• Implement observability (logging, monitoring, alerting) for data pipelines
  
  

Data Integrity & Security

• Handle sensitive healthcare (HIPAA) and financial data with strict adherence to security best practices
• Implement encryption, access controls, and audit logging across data systems
• Ensure data handling aligns with regulatory and partner requirements
• Design systems that preserve data integrity and support auditability

Automation & Process Improvement

• Develop scripts and tools (primarily in Python or similar) to automate workflows
• Reduce manual processes and improve data reliability and scalability
• Partner with engineering to productionize solutions when appropriate
• Anticipate issues and own the resolutions to problems
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Project & Workflow Management

• Own operational workflows and ensure clear ownership of deliverables
• Own incident response and root cause analysis for data-related issues
• Track tasks, timelines, and dependencies across multiple workstreams
• Bring structure and visibility to ambiguous or evolving processes

Qualifications

Core Capabilities

• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities without dropping details
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with both clients and technical teams
• Proven ability to operate independently in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment
  
  

Data & Technical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets (formulas, data manipulation, analysis)
• Experience working with structured data (CSV files, databases, APIs)
• Working knowledge of SQL or similar query languages
• Experience with scripting languages such as Python (preferred), or similar (JavaScript, Bash)
• Ability to debug data issues and trace problems across systems
  
  

Security & Efficiency

• Demonstrated experience handling sensitive data with a high degree of care and accountability
• Systems thinker who looks beyond one-off fixes to scalable solutions
• Bias toward solutions and an iterative approach, without getting bogged down

Nice to Have

• Prior startup or growth-stage experience is a strong plus
• Prior experience within startups, security-minded organizations, or HR employee benefits

The Right Culture Fit for This Role

• Mission-minded to help people and bring solutions to a very challenging and broken industry
• Scrappy and resilient to thrive in an early-stage company and rise to the challenge of doing new and scary things
• Intelligence, curiosity, and drive to anticipate problems and turn them into business opportunities
• Hardworking and responsible, to be a trusted member of our growing team
• Mindful and balanced to avoid burnout
• Kindness and camaraderie to add to the culture at RxSaveCard

Why RxSaveCard?

• Opportunity to join an innovative company at a critical growth stage
• Competitive salary and benefits package, including insurance and 401k with match
• Company ownership in the form of equity
• Remote or hybrid Chicago work flexibility
• Collaborative and dynamic team environment
• The chance to make a meaningful impact on healthcare costs for millions of employees

How to Apply

If you're excited about making prescription drugs more affordable and want to be an early employee at a start-up company, we'd love to hear from you! Applicants should submit a cover letter that highlights what they bring to the role beyond what's provided here. If you're referring someone, please mention it in the letter as well. The position requires background screening.