Data Engineer

The Data Engineer is a key role within the University of Minnesota Foundation's Information Technology (IT) department, reporting to the Senior Director, Data Administration & BI Infrastructure. This position supports the Foundation's proprietary enterprise fundraising CRM systems, which serve approximately 2,000 active users across five campuses. These systems, built on an Oracle platform, house the database of all university alumni, donors, and prospects, totaling more than 1.8 million constituents.

This role is responsible for engineering data integrations between internal and external data sources, maintaining and improving existing data processes, and ensuring data security compliance within a cloud-based Oracle infrastructure. The position requires strong technical expertise in data engineering, security policies, and modern cloud environments. Additionally, this role collaborates closely with UMF and collegiate IT teams across the University.

The position is also responsible for troubleshooting business-critical process failures outside of normal business hours on occasion.

Hybrid Work Model:

The University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF) operates under a hybrid work model, with the expectation that all staff be onsite at least 2-3 times per week. Our office is located in McNamara Alumni Center on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus.

Responsibilities

Data Engineering: (80%)

• Design, build, implement, and maintain data processing channels for data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) to connect large data sets from a variety of sources.
• Develop, maintain, and utilize infrastructure solutions such as data warehouses, data lakes, and data access APIs to transform data into a usable format, enabling users to consume and analyze data more efficiently.
• Prepare and manipulate data using tools, languages, data processing frameworks, and databases.
• Ensure data integrity and security through data transfer, database loads, encryption, and secure file transfer protocols (SFTP).
• Optimize and improve existing data pipelines and infrastructure for better performance and scalability.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies to continuously enhance our data engineering capabilities.
• Design and implement data flows for simplicity, reliability and efficient troubleshooting.
• Design, build and maintain job scheduling and maintain automated data pipelines to ensure timely data processing and delivery.
• Monitor job executions, identify bottlenecks, and optimize job schedules to meet business requirements.
• Maintains and troubleshoots linkages to external systems of record.

End user & vendor requirement definition: (20%)

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand data requirements and deliver solutions that meet business needs.
• Ability to define and document end user and vendor requirements to ensure alignment with business goals.

Demonstrate commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an equitable and inclusive working and learning environment (exhibit 100% of the time)

• Continuous learning in diversity, equity and inclusion for oneself and team via training, podcasts, articles, etc.
• Seek to explore and understand cultural differences and create a culture of belonging.
• Develop and employ anti-racist practices and principles to accomplish work.
• Advocate for employees of all ethnicities, genders, ages and backgrounds
• Cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable working relationships with employees, colleagues, stakeholders, etc.
• Strive to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace when hiring, promoting, and offering career advancement opportunities.

Required qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree and two years of relevant work experience in programming, systems administration or data engineering OR a master's degree
• Two years experience working in data engineering, with a focus on ETL processes, job automation scheduling, and data pipeline development.
• Strong knowledge of data transfer, database loads, encryption, and SFTP.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python or Bash.
• Experience with SQL, Oracle preferred.
• Strong problem solving, research and analytical skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish and maintain relationships at all organizational levels and communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Commitment to quality and high performance standards with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team with minimal supervision.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with RESTful APIs, data integration, and/or ETL tools.
• Experience with Oracle PL/SQL.
• Proficiency in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Experience with data storage and collaboration tools such as Google Drive, Box, AWS S3, or Oracle OCI.
• Experience with managing projects using tools such as Asana.
• Hands-on experience with Oracle databases.
• Knowledge of data governance and best practices in data management.
• Experience working with confidential material and data integrity
• Experience working in a non-profit or public education environment.
  

At the University of Minnesota Foundation (UMF), our mission is to connect passion with possibility, inspire generosity, and support greatness at the University of Minnesota by placing donors at the heart of everything we do and every decision we make. UMF is a nonprofit organization responsible for raising and managing gifts to the University of Minnesota.

For more information about UMF, please visit https://give.umn.edu/about/about-umf.

Pay Range: $90,000- 100,000/ year; depending on education/qualifications/experience

Time Appointment: 75%-100% Appointment

Position Type: Faculty and P&A Staff

Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefit eligibility.

The University offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, and generous time off
• Continuous learning opportunities through professional training and degree-seeking programs supported by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program
• Low-cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• University HSA contributions
• Disability and employer-paid life insurance
• Employee wellbeing program
• Excellent retirement plans with employer contribution
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) opportunity
• Financial counseling services
• Employee Assistance Program with eight sessions of counseling at no cost
• Employee Transit Pass with free or reduced rates in the Twin Cities metro area

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume.

Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section.

To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.

The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission. The University is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds.

The University of Minnesota provides equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. To learn more about diversity at the U: http://diversity.umn.edu

Any offer of employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a background check. Our presumption is that prospective employees are eligible to work here. Criminal convictions do not automatically disqualify finalists from employment.

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC)

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC), is among the largest public research universities in the country, offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional students a multitude of opportunities for study and research. Located at the heart of one of the nation's most vibrant, diverse metropolitan communities, students on the campuses in Minneapolis and St. Paul benefit from extensive partnerships with world-renowned health centers, international corporations, government agencies, and arts, nonprofit, and public service organizations.

At the University of Minnesota, we are proud to be recognized by the Star Tribune as a Top Workplace for 2021, as well as by Forbes as Best Employers for Women and one of America's Best Employers (2015, 2018, 2019, 2023), Best Employer for Diversity (2019, 2020), Best Employer for New Grads (2018, 2019), and Best Employer by State (2019, 2022).