What Is An Analytics Engineer?
An analytics engineer turns raw warehouse data into clean, tested, documented models that analysts and BI tools can trust. The role sits between data engineering and data analysis, writing SQL-based transformations, usually in dbt, so the rest of the company doesn’t have to re-derive the same business logic every time they build a report.
- Also called
- BI Engineer, Data Analytics Engineer
- Reports to
- Head of Data / Director of Analytics
- Works on
- dbt models, SQL transformations, data warehouse
- Measured on
- Data model reliability (test coverage)
What An Analytics Engineer Actually Does
- 01 · ModelingWrites SQL-based transformations, usually in dbt, to turn raw warehouse data into clean, tested, documented models
- 02 · Warehouse DesignDesigns the data warehouse’s schema and data marts so analysts and BI tools can self-serve without re-deriving logic
- 03 · Testing & DocsOwns data testing and documentation, catching broken metrics before they hit a dashboard
- 04 · PartnershipPartners with data engineers on pipeline architecture and with analysts and stakeholders on what metrics actually mean
- 05 · Metric OwnershipMaintains the source-of-truth definitions for core business metrics, like what counts as an active user
Analytics Engineer Vs. Similar Roles
| Role | Main focus | Primary metric |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics Engineer | Transforms raw data into clean, modeled data | Data model reliability, test coverage |
| Data Engineer | Builds and maintains pipelines and infrastructure | Pipeline uptime, data freshness |
| Data Analyst | Interprets data to answer business questions | Report accuracy, insight impact |
| Data Scientist | Builds predictive models and statistical analysis | Model accuracy, business impact |
At smaller companies, one person often covers both analytics engineering and data engineering, or both analytics engineering and analyst work. Split the roles once the data team is big enough that pipeline work and modeling work are competing for the same person’s time.
Skills To Screen For
Interview Questions Worth Asking
Hiring An Analytics Engineer In Latin America
How Much Of The Workday You’d Share
Bogota, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires don’t change their clocks, so the overlap shifts when yours does. Times shown are in your team’s time zone. National English-proficiency averages vary by market too: Argentina ranks in EF’s "High" band globally, while Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil sit in the "Low" band. Screen every candidate’s spoken English directly rather than assuming by country.
What It Costs
| Country | Entry level (1-3 yrs) | Senior (6+ yrs) |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | $25K/yr | $63K/yr |
| Mexico | $29K/yr | $58K/yr |
| Brazil | $35K/yr | $67K/yr |
| Argentina | $29K/yr | $67K/yr |
Typical time from kickoff to signed offer. LatamCent delivers 3 to 5 candidate profiles in the first 10 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
A data engineer builds and maintains the pipelines and infrastructure that get raw data into the warehouse, and is measured on pipeline uptime and data freshness. An analytics engineer takes it from there, modeling that raw data into clean, tested datasets analysts and BI tools can trust, and is measured on data model reliability and test coverage.
A data analyst interprets data to answer business questions and is measured on report accuracy and insight impact. An analytics engineer builds and tests the underlying models the analyst queries, usually in dbt, and is held to the same standards as a software engineer: version control, testing, and code review.
US analytics engineers average around $109K a year, with a typical range of $82K to $123K. Analytics engineers with 4 or more years of experience in Latin America typically run $58K to $67K a year for the same seniority, roughly 43% less.
Most searches run 21 days from kickoff to a signed offer, with 3 to 5 candidate profiles delivered in the first 10 days.
Yes. Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina all sit within a few hours of US time zones, so most teams get 6 to 8 shared working hours a day depending on which US time zone they’re in, plenty for standups and pairing on data models.
Need An Analytics Engineer On Your Team?
Pre-vetted, fluent-English analytics engineers from Latin America, interviewing in 21 days.
Start Interviewing Today