Senior Data Engineer

About Us

We’re not like other insurance companies. From our specialty products to our business model, our culture to our results — we’re different. Different is who we are, and how we work, interact, deliver and succeed together. Creating a different and better insurance experience doesn’t just happen. It takes focus and a shared passion for going beyond the expected to forge relationships and deliver care that makes a difference. This approach rises from and is supported by our talented, ethical and smart team of employee owners united around a single purpose: to work alongside our customers and partners when they need us, in unexpected ways, with exceptional results. Apply today to make a difference with us.

RLI is a Glassdoor Best Places to Work company with a strong, successful background. For decades, our financial track record has been stellar — a testament to our culture and validation of our reputation as an excellent underwriting company.

Position Purpose 
RLI is seeking a collaborative and driven Data Engineer to join our Data & Analytics team. You will be responsible for designing, building, and delivering scalable, end-to-end data solutions—from ingestion through data product creation and distribution to consumers via self-service and other analytic/reporting applications.

You will partner with team members and business stakeholders to understand use cases and key requirements and translate them into high-value solutions, aligned to our strategy, vision and business priorities. You will deliver work iteratively, refining solutions based on feedback and evolving requirements. You will contribute to solution design within established architectural patterns while taking a product-oriented approach—balancing speed and quality to continuously improve business impact.

In this role, you will design and deliver value-driving decision-support solutions, influence best practices, and contribute to the evolution of our data platform.

If you're passionate about data, embrace new challenges and continuous learning, and thrive in an agile, fast-paced environment, we’d love to hear from you!

Principal Duties & Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize end-to-end data pipelines across ingestion, transformation, modeling, and distribution layers

• Partner closely with team members and stakeholders to ensure solutions address customer needs, deliver measurable business value, and align to product objectives

• Translate business requirements into scalable and maintainable technical solutions

• Contribute to solution design decisions within established enterprise architectural patterns

• Leverage AI-assisted engineering tools to accelerate development, automate tasks, and improve documentation (with validation of outputs)

• Ensure changes to data pipelines and models are validated, documented, and communicated prior to release

• Ensure data reliability, quality, and accessibility across systems and data products, including monitoring SLAs where appropriate

• Troubleshoot and resolve complex data and system issues, including root cause analysis

• Optimize performance, scalability, and cost efficiency of pipelines and data products

• Collaborate with other engineers through design collaboration and code reviews

Critical Skills

• Advanced proficiency in SQL and strong engineering capability in Python

• Hands-on experience with Snowflake or a similar cloud-native data platform

• Strong experience with Git-based version control, including branching strategies, pull requests, and code review practices

• Strong understanding of data modeling, data quality, and governance practices

• Experience building and optimizing scalable, reliable data pipelines, and curated data products

• Experience with performance tuning, system optimization, and troubleshooting

• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools and integrating AI-enabled components where appropriate

• Ability to translate business problems into data solutions

• Comfortable with unstructured, semi-structured data, and APIs

Experience in the insurance or financial services industries is a plus

Experience with Snowflake Intelligence and Row Zero is a plus

Key Competencies

• Operates independently while adhering to established engineering standards, driving work forward in complex and evolving environments

• Applies critical thinking to solve complex challenges and anticipates scalability, performance, and integration risks early

• Identifies opportunities to improve engineering practices, patterns, and overall solution quality

• Uses automation and AI-assisted approaches to improve delivery speed, quality, and decision-making

• Works effectively across engineering, analytics, product and business teams; communicates technical decisions and tradeoffs clearly

• Supports and mentors other engineers through hands-on collaboration

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Data Science, or related field

• 4+ years of relevant experience in data engineering or related disciplines

• Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered

Additional Information

• Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S.

• No Visa Sponsorship is provided for this position.

• Location: This position is available on-site in Peoria, IL or Chicago, IL.

Why You Should Apply

• Growth Opportunities: This role offers potential for career growth within the team and across the organization. You’ll have the chance to work on cutting-edge technologies and scale data solutions that directly impact business decision-making.

• Collaborative Culture: RLI fosters a supportive and team-oriented environment where diverse perspectives are valued. Work alongside talented professionals in an agile, cross-functional environment where your contributions are valued and where collaboration drives success.

Compensation Overview

The base salary range for the position is listed below. Please note that the base salary is only one component of our robust total rewards package at RLI. The salary offered will take into account a number of factors including, but not limited to, geographic location, experience, scope & responsibilities of the role, qualifications/credentials, talent availability & specialization, as well as business needs. The below range may be modified in the future.

Base Pay Range

$96,264.00 - $137,657.00

Total Rewards

At RLI, we're all owners. We hire the best and the brightest employees and allow them to share in the company's success through our Total Rewards. With the Employee Stock Ownership plan at its core, the Total Rewards program includes all compensation, benefits and perks that come with being an RLI employee.

Financial Incentives

• Annual bonus plans

• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)

• 401(k) — automatic 3% company contribution

• Annual 401k and ESOP profit-sharing contributions (Up to 15% of eligible earnings)

Work & Life

• Paid time off (PTO) and holidays

• Paid volunteer time off (VTO) to support our communities

• Parental and family care leave

• Flexible & hybrid work arrangements

• Fitness center discounts and free virtual fitness platform

• Employee assistance program

Health & Wellness

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision benefits

• Flexible spending and health savings accounts

• 2x base salary for group life and AD&D insurance

• Voluntary life, critical illness, & accident insurance for purchase

• Short-term and long-term disability benefits

Personal & Professional Growth

RLI encourages its employees to pursue professional development work in insurance and job-related areas. We make a commitment to employees to provide educational opportunities that help them enhance their skills and further their career advancement. RLI fosters a true learning culture and encourages professional growth through insurance courses, in-house training and other educational programs. RLI covers the cost for most programs and employees typically earn a bonus upon successful completion of approved courses and certifications. Our personal and professional growth benefits include:

• Training & certification opportunities

• Tuition reimbursement

• Education bonuses

Diversity & Inclusion

Our goal is to attract, develop and retain the best employee talent from diverse backgrounds while promoting an environment where all viewpoints are valued and individuals feel respected, are treated fairly, and have an opportunity to excel in their chosen careers. We actively support, and participate in, initiatives led by the American Property Casualty Insurance Association that aim to increase diversity in the insurance industry. Cultivating an exceptional and diverse workforce to deliver excellent customer service reinforces our culture and is a key to achieving superior business results.

RLI is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.