Data Platform Engineer

About the role

Syms Strategic Group (SSG) is seeking a Data Platform Engineer to lead the modernization of a healthcare data platform for the Veterans Affairs (VA). This is a full‑time, remote position requiring U.S. citizenship and a Public Trust (MBI) security clearance. Salary range: $85,389 – $116,975.

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 tooling (CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy).
• Apply Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK), CloudFormation, or Terraform.
• Document architecture decisions, data flows, and data dictionaries clearly for both technical and non‑technical audiences.

Requirements

• 8+ years’ experience in software or data engineering with a strong AWS focus.
• 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 that serve non‑technical business users.
• Deep hands‑on AWS experience across data‑oriented services – S3, Athena, Glue, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift, OpenSearch, Lambda, IAM, and CloudWatch.
• Strong SQL skills with the ability to design relational query layers over semi‑structured or non‑relational data (XML, JSON).
• Experience working with XML‑heavy data stores – parsing, querying, and transforming XML at scale.