Data Engineering Manager

About WestEd

As a community of over 1,400 researchers, practitioners, consultants, and administrative professionals from all backgrounds and life experiences, we are committed to making a qualitative difference in the lives of youth, children, and adults. We conduct and apply research, develop evidence-based solutions, and provide consulting services across the country in both rural and urban communities to improve equitable outcomes for individuals from infancy through adulthood. Serving as trusted partners in the areas of education, health, and justice, our teams enhance capacity within communities and school districts to prioritize impact - asking the right questions, customizing methodologies, developing relevant tools, and implementing best practices specific to a diverse range of stakeholder needs.

WestEd supports individual initiative, excellence, and hard work of all individuals in our hiring and work practices. WestEd complies with all applicable federal and state anti-discrimination laws, as well as OFCCP requirements. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, or status as a protected veteran.

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING THE WORK LOCATION OF THIS POSITION-Although WestEd provides the option of working at one of its facilities for employees, many roles allow employees to choose to work remotely for their own convenience. The decision to allow remote work at the employee's convenience is based on the requirements of the position or project in question.

Department Description:

The Data Engineering Manager leads the design and implementation of complex cloud-based data systems, databases, and data warehouses. Engineering efforts span both client-facing solutions and internal business systems. This position requires a strong background in database administration and data warehousing; with previous experience implementing solutions using Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and/or Snowflake. The successful candidate will analyze existing database architectures along with new data processing requirements to design comprehensive solutions that meet contractual and business requirements.

The right candidate will:

• Have a passion for quality work.
• Be driven to provide excellent customer service and be dedicated to build professional relationships across divisions and with clients.
• Exude leadership by example - modeling the IT Core Operating Principles of Transparency, Collaboration, Accountability, and being Solutions-Oriented & Forward Thinking.
• Have significant experience designing and administering data systems and databases.
• Be comfortable reading and comprehending complex data layout and interface documentation.
• Build and foster an active and positive culture for the data operations, Client-Facing Technology teams, IT department, and WestEd organization.
• Maintains open, honest, and trustworthy communication with colleagues at all levels.
• Be innovative with a continuous improvement mindset.
• This position is expected to be fully remote with hybrid work arrangements available in any of our 12 national offices.

Responsibilities:

The Data Engineering Manager works closely with project managers, cloud architects, data engineers, and data analysts to design, deliver, and administer complex data systems and related solutions. The Manager is responsible for establishing and overseeing data ingestion, validation, and integration practices for sensitive student-level data. This includes designing data structures and implementing tools that support data quality, analysis, and reporting. The position works with great independence under the guidance of the Senior Manager, Client-Facing Data Initiatives.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Analyze the existing data environment and propose modern solutions that meet functional and non-functional requirements.
• Design and document data architectures, data flows, and database models.
• Implement and administer databases, data marts, data lakes, and data warehouses.
• Design and manage data integrations, transformations, ingestions, and collections.
• Recruit, train, mentor, and supervise data operations staff and contractors.
• Maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of databases and related systems.
• Enforce policy compliance across systems and projects through regular monitoring and testing.
• Evaluate and optimize the performance of data systems and database objects.
• Evaluate the ways in which AI can be leveraged to improve the efficiency of data pipeline processes.
• Define and document data management best practices, policies, procedures, and standards.
• Establish reference architectures, enterprise data models, and related strategies that enable the identification and management of master data, reference data, and metadata.
• Participate in proposal response costing and content authorship; buy/build analysis and decisioning; and vendor evaluation, selection, management, and oversight activities.
• Collaborate and coordinate with multiple divisions, departments, stakeholders, partners, and external vendors.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal teams and external clients through professional communication and collaborative problem-solving.
• Adhere to Information Technology policies, including but not limited to: security, disaster recovery, backup, and escalation.
• Travel Required: Less than 5% to WestEd headquarters or satellite offices.

Qualifications:

• Located in the United States with availability to work 8 hours per day every weekday. Work schedule can be flexible but must include the Department's core hours of Monday - Friday 9am - 2pm PT regardless of time zone.
• At least seven (7+) years of database development, administration, and/or data architecture experience using SQL or MySQL.
• At least three (3+) years of experience administering cloud-based data infrastructure using Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and/or Snowflake.
• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Equivalent additional experience in database administration or data architecture may substitute for this education requirement.
• Willingness to participate in total time accounting, including recording and reporting of actual time spent across multiple concurrent projects in fifteen-minute increments.
• Recent experience analyzing and implementing complex regulatory, security, privacy, policy, or contractual requirements.
• Demonstrated professional maturity and politically adroit; combined with tact, diplomacy, common sense, sound judgment, and discretion.
• Excellent organizational skills and the ability to handle changing priorities and multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in the English language. Ability to communicate effectively with clients and develop a clear understanding of their business needs.
• Reliability, a professional attitude, and a willingness to do what is required in a cooperative work setting. Must be a self-starter, independent thinker, action-oriented, and self-motivated.

Preferences:

• Holds a United States government security clearance at the Tier 2 (5C) Moderate level or higher.
• Holds an active Microsoft Azure Administrator, Database Administrator, Data Engineer, or similar certification credential.
• Recent experience administering and/or developing data products using Snowflake and/or Airtable.
• Recent experience managing integrations with cloud-based commercial products, including: TeamDynamix iPaaS, Salesforce, UKG Pro, Deltek Costpoint, SAP Concur Travel, Adaptive Insights Budgeting, and/or Asset Panda.
• Recent experience with statistical or business intelligence tools, including: Cognos, Tableau, R, SPSS, SAS, and/or Stata.
• Recent experience working in a governmental, non-profit, or education agency.
• Recent experience operating within an Agile Scrum, Lean Kanban, and/or Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) systems development life cycle.
• Recent experience with Google G-Suite, Microsoft Office 365, GitHub, Easy Redmine, TeamDynamix, Smartsheet, Airtable, Box, and/or Zoom.
• Familiarity with education data standards (CEDS, SIF, Ed-Fi, QTI, LTI, etc.) and privacy/reporting laws (ESSA, FERPA, CIPA, COPPA, HIPAA).
• Preferred experience in evaluating and/or implementing AI technology in complex, secure data systems.
• Desire to learn new technologies and keep current with technological trends.

*Note: Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Successful candidates must be authorized to work in the United States.
WestEd conducts a criminal background check and education verification for all new hires. Any offers of employment will be contingent on receiving a clear background check in accordance with applicable law.

SALARY AND BENEFITS:
The full salary range for this position, WestEd level (11), is $104,600 to $163,500, but WestEd does not typically hire at or near the top of the salary range. The typical hiring range for this role is $104,600 to $130,800. The actual offer considers multiple factors, including but not limited to education, experience, internal equity, and other organizational needs.

In addition to the base salary, benefits include:

* 15% contribution toward retirement effective day 1 of employment
* Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts
* All health/welfare benefits are effective the first of the month following the hire date
* PTO: 3 weeks' vacation (increases to 4 weeks beginning the 4th year of employment), paid holidays, and 12 days paid sick leave per year
* Life Insurance: value of 3x gross salary
* Opportunities for annual merit-based performance increases + annual incentives
* Professional development opportunities & mentorship program

For more details about our benefits, go to: https://www.wested.org/work-at-wested/#benefits WestEd is a Drug Free Employer and maintains a drug-free workplace.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)