Data Engineer

Overview

• The Data Engineer will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation's mission by designing, building, and maintaining modern data infrastructure for the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) Environmental Public Health Division. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements. Working closely with the Environmental Public Health (EPH) Team, the Data Engineer will create the architecture needed for data storage, processing, analysis, and sharing with Tribal partners. The Data Engineer will collaborate with environmental health scientists, data content experts, IT staff, and others to develop and implement scalable solutions that align with the objectives of the NPAIHB’s EPH team.  The Environmental Public Health Division, established in 2020, is relatively new to NPAIHB. The Data Engineer will play a key role in developing a plan for a connected EPH data ecosystem, including connecting NPAIHB’s ArcGIS Online environment to tribes’ Esri Enterprise environments, connecting GIS data to environmental services data, and connecting EPH data to NPAIHB’s Data Hub, a newly created public health database. The EPH team is planning to develop or purchase a system to store environmental health services data including inspections of food establishments and education and health care facilities. The Data Engineer will advise on this system and develop a plan for extracting data from the existing system, ingesting into the planned system, and creating data documentation. The Data Engineer's work will be pivotal in enhancing the capacity of the EPH Team to conduct data-driven activities, advancing Tribal data sovereignty, and empowering Tribes to create healthy communities. NPAIHB is a tribally owned and operated non-profit organization serving the 43 federally recognized Tribes in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Led by the NPAIHB Board of Directors, NPAIHB’s mission is to “eliminate health disparities and improve the quality of life of American Indians and Alaska Natives by supporting Northwest Tribes in their delivery of culturally appropriate, high-quality health programs and services.” NPAIHB is a mission-driven organization with a staff of over 120 professionals dedicated to advancing Tribal health for the 7th generation in the Pacific Northwest.The Data Engineer will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Environmental Public Health Division at NPAIHB. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable data architectures, including integrating GIS and environmental health services data.
• Develop data pipelines for ingesting, processing, storing, and sharing data, ensuring efficient, reliable, and secure data flow.
• Provide technical advice and support for the development or procurement of systems to store environmental health services data.
• Develop and implement data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes to migrate data from legacy systems to new platforms.
• Apply knowledge about industry best practices and emerging technologies to develop a plan for streamlining data migration and data integration from numerous data sources into a centralized data hub.
• Establish effective data governance practices through improving data management of data deduplication to remove redundancy and ensure unique records.
• Transform and structure data to ensure it is optimized for use in data visualization software, enabling accurate and effective visual representations of environmental data.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive data documentation to promote sustainability and consistency.
• Apply rigorous data quality checks and validation processes to ensure accurate and reliable data.
• Collaborate with environmental scientists, analysts, IT staff, and other partners to understand current and future data needs and requirements, and to ensure that the data infrastructure supports the organization's goals and objectives.
• Communicate effectively with partners at all levels of the organization to gather requirements, provide updates, and present findings.

Qualifications

• Required Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree with emphasis in computer science, information technology, data science or related field
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience
• Experience building and maintaining data pipelines, databases, and data integration solutions.
• Proficiency in SQL programming and other languages commonly used in data engineering, such as Python, Java, Scala.
• Proven working experience with database standards and familiarity with database design, documentation, and coding.
• Strong understanding of database systems, including relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra).
• Knowledge of ETL tools and processes, data modeling, and database management systems.
• Experience with cloud computing platforms and data warehousing solutions.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Strong collaborative skills with experience working in cross-functional teams.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Ability to travel occasionally for in-person meetings (travel costs will be covered by NPAIHB). 
• Preferred Qualifications
• Experience working with complex public health, environmental science, health care, or other non-business data requiring advanced processing and analysis techniques.
• Experience working with GIS data and platforms like ArcGIS.
• Experience using AWS QuickSight or similar data visualization tools (Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, etc). 

NPAIHB Standards of Conduct

• Act in service to the Tribes and Tribal communities we serve.
• Uphold the Mission, Values, and Vision of the NPAIHB.
• Maintain the highest level of confidentiality with all NPAIHB information and documentation.
• Consistently exhibit professional behavior and a high degree of personal and professional integrity and impartiality appropriate to the responsible and confidential nature of the position.
• Exercise good judgment and initiative in performance of duties and responsibilities.
• Demonstrate high emotional intelligence in the performance of all duties and responsibilities.
• Orientation toward learning, innovation, service, and the building of second-line leadership.
• Commitment to building an organizational culture which centers NPAIHB’s service to Tribes, promotes professional excellence, and builds an environment where employees grow and thrive.
• Commitment to build an inclusive workplace across a range of identities and experiences, including (but not limited to) geography, age, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, class, language, disability, religion, spiritual practices, and immigration status.
• Sees diversity as a strength, and equity as a baseline.
• Work in a cooperative manner with all levels of management and with all NPAIHB staff.
• Effectively plan, organize workload, and schedule time to meet workload demands.
• Use reasonable judgment to consistently display professional work attire during normal business hours, and/or dress appropriately for the workday, space, or event in lieu of a formal dress code.
• Be present, available, and responsive for meetings and calls between 8am – 5pm PT.
• Commit to sharing knowledge and building expertise by participating in all virtual spaces in our workplace with cameras on.
• Show consideration by communicating effectively and building collective understanding.
• Recognize that relationships are the cornerstone of NPAIHB’s work by treating all NPAIHB delegates/alternates, partners, staff, and American Indian/Alaska Native people with dignity and respect.
• Participate willingly in NPAIHB activities.