AWS Data Engineer

Location: Remote (U.S.‑based only; candidates from CA, CO, IL, MN, NJ, NY, OR, or WA are not eligible) | Department: Veterans Affairs (VA) | Type: Full‑time | Experience: 8+ years | Security Clearance: Public Trust (MBI) | Salary Range: $85,389 – $116,975 | U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the next phase of the healthcare data platform modernization.
• Implement the evolution from a Microsoft SQL XML object store to a scalable, cloud‑native AWS data architecture that enables performant, SQL‑based reporting and queries.
• Evaluate and decide the optimal AWS data strategy, recommending storage and query solutions (e.g., S3 + Athena, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift, OpenSearch) based on query patterns, reporting needs, cost, and scalability.
• Design and build a reporting/query layer that allows business stakeholders and non‑technical users to run relational SQL queries using familiar tooling.
• Architect the migration path for XML object store data from MSSQL to the target AWS platform, defining storage formats, partitioning strategies, and data organization for optimal performance.
• Build and maintain an AWS data catalog, schemas, and metadata management so that object‑store data is discoverable and queryable.
• Optimize query performance and cost across chosen AWS services through partitioning, compression, file‑format selection, and query‑pattern tuning.
• Collaborate directly with business stakeholders and analysts to translate reporting requirements into durable, performant data models and query patterns.
• Work with back‑end C#/.Net engineers to ensure clean data flow from Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) pipelines into the new data layer.
• Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines for data infrastructure using AWS‑native tooling (CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy).
• Apply Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using AWS CDK, CloudFormation, or Terraform.
• Document architecture decisions, data flows, and data dictionaries for both technical and non‑technical audiences.

Required Skills and Experience

• 8+ years of software or data engineering experience with a strong focus on AWS.
• Proven experience architecting and executing cloud data platform migrations in production enterprise or healthcare environments.
• Track record of evaluating and selecting AWS data services to meet business reporting and query requirements.
• Experience delivering reporting or analytics solutions for non‑technical business users.
• Deep hands‑on experience with AWS data‑oriented services: S3, Athena, Glue, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift, OpenSearch, Lambda, IAM, CloudWatch.
• Strong SQL skills and ability to design relational query layers over semi‑structured or non‑relational data (XML, JSON).
• Experience working with XML‑heavy data stores, including parsing, querying, and transforming XML at scale.
• Ability to evaluate trade‑offs across AWS data services and make architecture recommendations based on cost, performance, and business needs.
• Familiarity with AWS analytics and reporting services (Athena, QuickSight, Redshift) and equivalent BI tooling.
• Proficiency with Git/GitHub (branching strategies, pull requests, collaborative workflows).
• Experience with CI/CD practices and AWS‑native tooling (CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy).
• IaC experience (AWS CDK, CloudFormation, or Terraform).
• Strong communication skills for conveying technical architecture decisions and trade‑offs to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Experience gathering and translating business reporting requirements into technical data models.
• Comfort driving ambiguous architecture decisions to resolution with limited direction.
• Experience with Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and JIRA.
• Strong documentation habits (architecture diagrams, data dictionaries, migration runbooks).

Desired Experience

• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) X.12 (e.g., Medical Claims 837, 835, 277CA, etc.).
• Health Level 7 (HL7) and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR).
• Familiarity with C#/.Net back‑end services for integration touchpoints.
• Experience with Entity Framework migration or deprecation projects.
• Background in healthcare payer, Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) systems, clearinghouses, or pharmacy operations.
• Knowledge of HIPAA compliance requirements in cloud data architecture.

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline; equivalent practical experience will also be considered.

Security Clearance & Citizenship

Must possess or be able to qualify for a Public Trust (MBI) clearance. U.S. citizenship is required for this opportunity.