Principal Data Engineer

Who we areBixal is a mission-driven, woman-owned small business determined to improve people's lives through human-centered strategies and transformative technologies, with a firm belief that everyone has the right to an effective government.   We deliver on this belief by partnering with leading Federal agencies to design, develop, and deliver powerful customer experiences through holistic digital product solutions and strategic communications initiatives––bringing a high standard and unique creative energy to our clients––and our wonderfully diverse culture is what makes it all possible.   Bixal unites different people with different perspectives from all over the world! We provide our team with an open and empowered environment where collaboration thrives and solutions flourish. 
LocationThis role can work remotely from anywhere in the USA. You must be legally authorized to work in the US.  Bixal does not provide visa sponsorship.  
What will you do?We are looking for an experienced Principal Data Engineer to join our growing team of experts. The hire will be responsible for optimizing critical Federal data and data pipeline architectures, as well as optimizing data flows for downstream use by cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate is an experienced data pipeline builder and data wrangler who enjoys optimizing data systems, while understanding the flow from ingestion points to delivery to syndicators. The Principal Data Engineer will supervise database architects, data analysts and data scientists on projects and initiatives. They may serve as a technical lead on a project and/or coordinate team efforts with the Government. They will ensure optimal data delivery architecture is consistent. They must be self-directed and comfortable collecting requirements from multiple teams and systems. The right candidate will be excited to positively impact millions of Americans by infusing their knowledge into the Federal government’s data processes.  

Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical lead on large and/or complex projects
• Serve as a trusted advisor for engineering and/or analytics development, methodology and delivery with a government agency
• Create and maintain optimal data pipeline architecture. 
• Assemble large, complex data sets that meet functional / non-functional business requirements. 
• Identify, design, and implement internal process improvements: automating manual processes, optimizing data delivery, re-designing infrastructure for greater scalability, etc. 
• Build the infrastructure required for optimal ELT of data from a wide variety of data sources using SQL and ‘big data’ technologies. 
• Build analytics tools that leverage the data pipeline to provide insights into data quality and other key metrics. 
• Interact with technical assistance teams to assist with data-related technical issues at the Federal and State levels. 
• Work with data and analytics experts to strive for greater functionality in data systems. 

Qualifications

• Advanced working SQL knowledge and experience working with relational databases, query authoring (SQL) as well as working familiarity with a variety of databases. 
• Proficient at building and optimizing data pipelines, architectures and data sets. 
• Experience performing root cause analysis on internal and external data and processes to answer specific business questions and identify opportunities for improvement. 
• Build processes supporting data transformation, data structures, metadata, dependency and workload management. 
• Ability to resolve complex ingestion issues due to evolving data layouts and formats. 
• A successful history of manipulating, processing and extracting value from large datasets. 
• Experience leading cross-functional teams in a dynamic environment. 
• Proficiency with object-oriented/object function scripting languages: Ruby, Python, Java, Scala, etc. 
• Experience with ‘big data’ tools: Hadoop, Spark, EMR, and AWS Glue. 
• Experience with databases: MySQL, SQL Server and Redshift. 
• Experience with AWS cloud services: s3, ec2, RDS.  
• Working knowledge of data visualization tools: Tableau, MicroStrategy, QuickSight, etc. 
• We are looking for a candidate with a Bachelor’s degree in a technology field and 6+ years of experience in a Data Engineer role, or a commensurate combination of education and experience. 

Perks & benefits:Competitive base salaryFlex hoursWork from home flexibility401K with matching incentiveParental leaveMedical/dental/vision benefitsFlex spending accountCompany provided short-term disabilityCompany provided life insuranceCommuter benefitsGenerous PTO11 paid holidaysProfessional development opportunitiesBusiness development incentive bonuses
Bixal is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. It ensures equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, national origin, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, genetic information, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.