Senior Data Analyst

Senior Data Analyst

Position Summary

The Senior Data Analyst is the person the business turns to when the numbers do not look right. This role combines deep, hands-on data investigation with formal accountability as the designated Data Steward for assigned business domains. When a stakeholder reports a data issue, this role owns the investigation end to end: tracing the metric back through the semantic layer, transformations, and pipelines to the source system, isolating exactly where the data broke, and driving it to resolution with the responsible team. Beyond individual issues, the Senior Data Analyst is accountable for the definitions, quality rules, and certification of the data that enterprise decisions depend on.

Location: St. Louis, MO or Newton, MA (hybrid)

Key Responsibilities

Data Investigation & Root Cause Analysis

· Own end-to-end investigation of reported data issues, from initial stakeholder report through root cause identification and resolution.

· Trace metrics backward through the semantic layer, transformation logic, and pipelines to the originating source system to isolate where a discrepancy is introduced.

· Reconcile figures across systems and identify whether a variance stems from a source data problem, a transformation defect, a definitional difference, or expected business behavior.

· Read and interpret existing SQL transformation logic to determine whether it reflects the intended business rule.

· Profile source data to assess structure, completeness, cardinality, and fitness for use, and detect anomalies before they reach the business.

· Distinguish genuine data defects from correct data that contradicts stakeholder expectations, and clearly explain the difference.

· Document findings, root cause, business impact, and remediation for each material issue, and communicate status to affected stakeholders.

· Identify recurring failure patterns and translate them into preventive data quality rules and monitoring.

Analysis

· Partner with business stakeholders to understand objectives and translate them into clearly defined metrics and analytical questions.

· Perform deep-dive analyses to identify trends, drivers, anomalies, and root causes of business performance changes.

· Build and maintain curated analytical datasets that downstream teams can consume with confidence.

· Present findings, recommendations, and data quality issues to business leaders in a clear and compelling manner.

Data Stewardship

· Serve as the accountable Data Steward for assigned data domains, owning business definitions, allowable values, and usage guidance.

· Define, document, and certify KPIs and metric logic in the data catalog, and maintain definitions as business rules evolve.

· Operate the KPI sign-off workflow, ensuring metrics are reviewed and approved by business and technical stewards before publication.

· Establish and monitor data quality rules covering completeness, accuracy, timeliness, and freshness; triage and drive resolution of exceptions.

· Maintain data lineage documentation and assess downstream impact of upstream changes before they are released.

· Collaborate with Data Engineering to define upstream data requirements and drive fixes at the source rather than through downstream workarounds.

· Partner with Security and Privacy teams to classify sensitive data, document retention requirements, and confirm appropriate access controls.

· Serve as the escalation point and subject matter expert for data questions within the assigned domain.

· Mentor analysts on investigative technique, governed metrics, and documentation standards.

Qualifications

Education

· Bachelor's degree in Analytics, Business, Computer Science, MIS, Economics, or a related field.

Experience

· 5+ years of experience in Data Analytics, Data Quality, or Data Governance.

· Advanced SQL proficiency, including complex joins, window functions, and the ability to debug and reverse-engineer unfamiliar query logic against large datasets.

· Demonstrated track record of independently investigating and resolving data discrepancies across multiple systems.

· Working knowledge of data pipelines and ETL/ELT concepts sufficient to trace lineage and interpret transformation logic.

· Demonstrated experience owning metric definitions, data quality, or data governance for a business domain.

· Experience with data catalog and metadata tools, including documenting definitions, lineage, and ownership.

· Experience defining and operationalizing data quality rules and monitoring.

· Experience with modern cloud data platforms (BigQuery, Microsoft Fabric, or similar).

· Strong understanding of dimensional modeling and semantic layer concepts.

· Structured problem-solving skills and persistence in working an ambiguous issue to a definitive root cause.

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical findings to non-technical stakeholders and influence without authority.

· Python or R experience for data profiling and advanced analytics.

· Experience mentoring or leading analysts.

Bonus Skills & Preferred Expertise

· Experience implementing data observability or automated anomaly detection tooling.

· Experience implementing data classification, sensitive data discovery, or access governance in a cloud environment.

· Familiarity with master data management concepts and reference data governance.

· Experience defining data retention policies and supporting privacy or regulatory compliance requirements.

· Restaurant, retail, or multi-unit operations data experience.

Working Conditions

Hybrid work environment with onsite presence required in Newton MA/St Louis, MO.

Equal Opportunity Employer: Disabled/Veterans

Competitive Pay $98,077 - $125,930 annually

The actual pay offered will be determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and geographical location. Individual compensation decisions are dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each position and candidate.

Saint Louis Support Center

About Us

With more than 2,000 Panera LLC and independent franchise bakery-cafes in the Panera Bread® family, and more locations opening all the time, it’s no wonder our company has been an excellent source of career and personal growth opportunities for more than 25 years.

In neighborhoods across the U.S. and Canada, customers enjoy flavorful, handcrafted meals centered around freshly baked artisan bread. To us, that means serving food like we serve our own families – free of any of the items on our ‘No No’ List.

Along the way, we also like to give back to our community. We enjoy working together, shoulder to shoulder with our customers, to confront a serious problem plaguing communities across this country – Hunger. Through our Panera Cares community cafes, we offer a dignified dining experience in an uplifting environment. In addition, we support our communities through day-end donations at our bakery-cafe locations and partner with local non-profit organizations.

It’s this warmth that you’ll find when you join Panera Bread. From our competitive compensation and benefits packages to our unique cultural values, we’re confident you’ll find us a rewarding and fun place to work.

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