Kayak

Senior Data Engineer

Berlin Office, Germany full-time Mid Salary not listed
full-time Mid level Technology & IT Curated
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About the role

KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world's leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We're also transforming business travel with a new corporate travel solution, KAYAK for Business.
As an employee of KAYAK, you will be part of a travel company that operates a portfolio of global metasearch brands including momondo, Cheapflights and HotelsCombined, among others. From start-up to industry leader, innovation is at our core and every employee has an opportunity to make their mark. Our focus is on building the best travel search engine to make it easier for everyone to experience the world.

We are looking for a Senior Data Engineer to join our Business Intelligence team.
Our team builds and operates the data backbone that serves as the single source of truth for the organization. We manage KAYAK’s business-critical reporting to support billing and provide the foundation for company-wide reporting and analytics.
If you want to build the systems that define how the business measures success, we’d love to hear from you.
This role will be required to work from our Berlin office 3 days per week.

In this role, you will:
Architect for scale: Develop and monitor robust data pipelines using Python, SQL, and Rundeck/Airflow that handle large-scale data volumes with high reliability.

Optimize performance: Design performant data models and optimize complex SQL queries for high-scale environments.

Ensure data reliability: build automated checks and alerts to catch errors early so financial and operational reports remain accurate.

Increase data access: automate repetitive tasks and build self-service tools to make data easier to use across teams.

Drive engineering excellence: experiment with and leverage AI-assisted coding tools to accelerate development cycles and enhance code quality.

Work with partners across the company: translate business questions into practical, maintainable technical solutions.

Please apply if you have:
5+ years of proven experience in data engineering or analytics engineering within a related data-centric environment.

Experience owning end-to-end data pipelines (ingest → transform → test → monitor).

Strong SQL skills and familiarity with distributed/columnar/OLAP systems (examples: Redshift, Trino, Vertica) and relational databases (e.g., MySQL, Postgres).

Proficiency in Python and a software-engineering approach to building testable, maintainable code.

Experience with workflow orchestration and containerization (examples: Airflow, Docker).

Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills for investigating data issues.

Strong written and spoken English to communicate effectively across teams.

We welcome diverse technical backgrounds. Nice-to-have experience:
Stream processing or real-time systems (e.g., Kafka, Flink).

Modern BI tooling (e.g., Looker, Superset).

CI/CD and deployment automation (e.g., GitHub Actions).

Web frameworks for internal tools (e.g., Django, Flask).

 
Benefits and Perks:
Work from (almost) anywhere for up to 20 days per year

Focus on mental health and well-being:
Company-paid therapy sessions through SpringHealth

Company-paid subscription to HeadSpace

Company-wide week off a year - the whole team fully recharges (and returns without a pile-up of work!)

No meeting Fridays

Paid parental leave

Paid volunteer time

Focus on your career growth:
Development Dollars

Leadership development

Access to thousands of on-demand e-learnings

Travel Discounts

Employee Resource Groups

6 weeks paid vacation + a day off for your birthday

Free lunch 2 days per week

Pension plan contributions

Public transportation subsidies

Bike leasing program

Monthly social events, Thursday happy hours, sports teams

An awesome office in Friedrichshain, Berlin
 

Inclusion
At KAYAK, we want everyone to have the space to grow, share ideas and do great work. That’s why we’re focused on hiring the best talent from all walks of life and experiences, supporting them well and making sure no one feels like they have to fit a mold to belong here.
Need any adjustments for the interview, application or on the job? No problem - just give us a heads-up. We’ve got you.
#LI-MP1
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Interview prep

Walk in with sharper answers.

Use this as a quick practice sheet before you speak with the employer.

Mid
Technology & IT Data Analysis MySQL Python SQL Mid level full-time

Likely questions

  1. Tell us about work you have done that is close to the Senior Data Engineer role.
  2. How would you approach your first 30 days at Kayak?
  3. Which of Data Analysis, MySQL and Python have you used recently, and what did it help you achieve?
  4. Describe a time you solved a problem without waiting to be told exactly what to do.
  5. How do you handle busy days, changing priorities, or pressure at work?

Prepare before the call

  • A recent example that proves your experience with Data Analysis, MySQL and Python.
  • One short story with a problem, your action, and the result.
  • Two examples that show the strengths listed on your CV.
  • A clear reason why this role and company interest you.
  • Your availability, preferred work style, and salary expectations.

Ask them

  • What would success look like in the first 90 days?
  • What are the main problems this hire should help solve?
  • How does the team give feedback and measure good work?
  • What does a normal working week look like for this role?
Practice line

I am interested in the Senior Data Engineer role because I can bring practical experience in Data Analysis, MySQL and Python, learn the team quickly, and contribute to the outcomes Kayak needs from this hire.

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