AWS Data Engineer

About the role

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a talented Senior Systems Engineer (Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data Engineer). This is a remote position supporting the Veterans Affairs (VA) department. The role is full‑time and requires an experienced candidate with a Public Trust (MBI) security clearance. Military veterans are highly encouraged to apply. If you have previously applied to SSG, there is no need to reapply; applications are still under review.

Responsibilities

• Lead the next phase of the healthcare data platform modernization.
• Implement the evolution from a Microsoft SQL eXtensible Markup Language (MSSQL XML) object store toward a scalable, cloud‑native AWS data architecture that enables business stakeholders and analysts to run performant, SQL‑based reports and queries against healthcare data seamlessly.
• Evaluate and decide the right AWS data strategy for the platform.
• Evaluate and recommend the optimal AWS‑native data storage and query architecture for the XML object store data, assessing options such as S3 + Athena, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift, and OpenSearch based on query patterns, reporting needs, cost, and scalability.
• Design and build the reporting and query layer that allows business stakeholders and non‑technical users to run relational SQL queries against healthcare data using familiar tooling.
• Architect the migration path for XML object store data from MSSQL into the target AWS platform, defining storage formats, partitioning strategies, and data organization for optimal query performance.
• Build and maintain AWS data catalog, schemas, and metadata management so that object store data is discoverable and queryable by business users.
• Optimize query performance and cost across chosen AWS services – partitioning, compression, file formats, and query pattern tuning.
• Work directly with business stakeholders and analysts to understand reporting requirements and translate them into durable, performant data models and query patterns.
• Collaborate with back‑end C#/.Net engineer to ensure data flows cleanly from Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) processing pipelines into the new data layer.
• Implement and maintain CI/CD pipelines for data infrastructure using AWS‑native