About the team
The Iron Chef team builds data and AI products that empower Zillow Partner Agents with actionable insights about buyers, sellers, and renters. Our mission is to help surface the right customers at the right time and highlight meaningful engagement signals, such as views, saves, saved searches, and 3D tours. We are at the forefront of Zillow’s AI initiatives, developing and scaling workflows that use advanced models and automation to analyze data, generate insights, and trigger actions that improve customer engagement and decision‑making.About the role
As a Senior Software Engineer (Big Data) on the Iron Chef team, you will design, build, and support data pipelines and data products that power machine learning (ML), AI‑driven workflows, and analytics for Zillow Partner Agents. You will collaborate closely with product managers, engineers, data scientists, and analysts to create high‑quality datasets and data products that surface the right customer opportunities at the right time. This is a high‑impact role where you will improve data quality, reliability, and automation across our data engineering stack and contribute to the development and deployment of AI‑driven systems used across Zillow.
You Will Get To:
Collaborate with product managers, engineers, data scientists, and analysts to build, transform, and derive value from high‑quality datasets that power machine learning, AI‑driven workflows, and advanced analytics.
Design, build, and support scalable data pipelines and data products that serve ML, AI, and analytical use cases for Zillow Partner Agents.
Build self‑service tools and platforms that address challenges for both data producers and data consumers, including integration and orchestration of AI‑driven processes.
Contribute to shared infrastructure and tooling that enable reliable, scalable, and observable AI‑powered systems.
Evaluate and drive adoption of new data and AI technologies that advance the team’s automation and AI capabilities.
Mentor, coach, and lead junior team members to help them grow into strong big data engineers.
In addition to a competitive base salary and benefits, this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance and location.
Who you are
5+ years of software development experience with high proficiency in Python, Java, Scala, or a similar programming language.
Strong knowledge of SQL, data structures, and algorithms, and experience building highly scalable and reliable data pipelines using technologies such as Spark, Hive, Trino/Presto, Airflow, Kafka, or Flink.
Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies, for example Docker and/or Kubernetes.
Familiarity with analytical and BI tools such as Tableau, Superset, or Mode Analytics, and experience working directly with customers or stakeholders to understand and capture requirements.
You care deeply about building high‑quality tools, APIs, and platforms, and you use creativity and feedback to continuously improve them.
Nice to have: experience with data modeling and DevOps practices for running and supporting production systems.
Nice to have: experience with AI/ML systems, AI agents or workflows, or automation of data‑driven processes.
Here at Zillow, we value the experience and perspective of candidates with non‑traditional backgroun
Get to know us
At Zillow, we’re reimagining how people move—through the real estate market and through their careers. As the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S., we help customers navigate buying, selling, financing and renting with greater ease and confidence. Whether you're working in tech, sales, operations, or design, you’ll be part of a company that's reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality.
Zillow is honored to be recognized among the best workplaces in the country. Zillow was named one of FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2025, and included on the PEOPLE Companies That Care® 2025 list, reflecting our commitment to creating an innovative, inclusive, and engaging culture where employees are empowered to grow.
No matter where you sit in the organization, your work will help drive innovation, support our customers, and move the industry—and your career—forward, together.
Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact your recruiter directly.
Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable state and local law.
Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.