Data Engineer

   

Join Our Team as the Data Engineer for the Laboratory of Ornithology at Cornell University!

If you’re eager to make an impact and be part of a dynamic team, then we invite you to explore this exciting opportunity with us!

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff of all identities and backgrounds. We strongly encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.

About The Department

Located in the Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary in Ithaca, NY, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is dedicated to advancing the understanding and protection of the natural world and joins with people from all walks of life to make new scientific discoveries, share insights, and galvanize conservation action. The Lab is a vibrant unit within Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is the world’s leading institute for research, education, citizen science, and conservation focused on birds (annual budget of $38M). The Lab is a vibrant unit actively contributing to the mission of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), which is a premier institution of scientific learning, tackling the complex challenges of our time through purpose-driven science.

About The Opportunity

The Data Engineer works to advance the technology services for Cornell Lab of Ornithology in order to better amplify the Lab’s mission to understand and protect birds and the natural world, and to engage the public as broadly as possible in these efforts.

This position will be working within the Advancement Technology Team on a Lab-wide cloud-based data integration system–a data lakehouse (using AWS and other appropriate tools and services) that will allow the Lab to analyze and understand better the audiences we serve. This position will assist in setting up the cloud infrastructure and services for the data lakehouse, and build pipelines to ingest large consumer/people focused data into the data lake, and help curate them into usable datasets for various uses such as reports, dashboards, golden record management, data synchronization between systems, etc.

The Data Engineer will also assist with developing web services and applications to support Lab projects and tech services such as: All About Birds, Cornell Lab accounts, personalized recommendation engines, and AI-driven features that provide value to our audience.

Summary of position responsibilities:

• Work with project leads and stakeholders to understand business requirements

• Translate into technical specifications and project realistic timelines

• Collaborate with database owners from around the Lab to integrate datasets

• Setup datasets for the analysts to create dashboards and reports, and assist with insight analyses.

• Design and implement high-volume data ingestion and transformation pipelines between Cornell Lab’s major databases.

• Design solutions for large data warehouses and databases (AWS, Azure, Databricks, etc)

• Handle data integration responsibilities such as data architecture, data governance, data modeling, data transformation (from converting data, to data cleansing, to building data structures) data lineage, data Integration, and master data management.

• Build required infrastructure for optimal ETL/ELT processes for data from various data sources using AWS, SQL and orchestration technologies.

• Ensure the reliability and quality of data across the data lake (at rest) and in the pipelines (in motion).

• Assist in web site and web service development projects as needed.

• Produce high quality technical documentation and artifacts.

• Design and build automated quality assurance.

• Evaluate and recommend new technologies and techniques.

While position responsibilities vary, every member of our community is expected to foster a culture of belonging and a psychologically healthy work environment by communicating across differences; being cooperative, collaborative, open, and welcoming; showing respect, compassion, and empathy; engaging and supporting others regardless of background or perspective; speaking up when others are being excluded or treated inappropriately; and supporting work/life integration of oneself and others.

This position is located at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY. This position has the ability to be performed partially remotely, with an expected work arrangement of 2 days on campus / 3 days remote work. 

What We Need

The successful candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree and 3 to 5 years relevant experience or equivalent combination. Additional requirement are the following:

• Ability to communicate clearly and diplomatically with a variety of domain experts.

• Ability to translate design and functional requirements into actionable technical specifications.

• Ability to work with the team in establishing realistic goals and to deliver work on schedule.

• Must be self-motivated, able to work independently, and be equally capable of working with the supervisor to prioritize projects and to regularly communicate status and progress.

• Experience driving end-to-end ETL data pipelines.

• Experience in application design and implementation, using agile practices.

• Experience with Data management and Data governance processes and standards.

• Strong experience in Python programming at the minimum, with demonstrated real-world experience building out data tools in Cloud environments; expertise in data manipulation and analysis using Python and any supporting frameworks.

• Experience using SQL for various data warehouse implementation.

• Demonstrated proficiency in relational database design.

• Familiarity with QA/QC conventions.

• Demonstrated leadership ability in team environment. Strong service orientation.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-tasked, team-based environment.

• Must be able to manage multiple competing deadlines and be able to prioritize work with minimal input from supervisor.

• Ability to express highly technical terms in layman’s terms.

• Must have demonstrated ability for working collaboratively and inclusively.

• Proven ability to work in a team environment where cooperation between colleagues and flexibility to different styles and approaches is required.

• Experience in and/or demonstrated commitment to supporting diversity, equity, access, inclusion, and wellbeing.

• Ability to cultivate and develop inclusive and equitable working relationships with students, faculty, staff, and community members. 

Preferably the successful candidate will also have the following:

• Master’s degree in computer or information science preferred.

• Experience working with large consumer datasets.

• Experience working with AWS cloud computing environment. Profound knowledge of AWS Data services (e.g. Redshift, S3, EMR, Glue, RDS, Kinesis, etc.)

• Experience with object-oriented programming, building web applications and web services.

• Passion for conservation, nature, wildlife, and non-profit mission is desirable.

Rewards and Benefits

Cornell receives national recognition as an award-winning workplace for our health, wellbeing, sustainability, and diversity initiatives.

Our benefits programs include comprehensive health care options, generous retirement contributions, access to wellness programs, and employee discounts with local and national retail brands. We invite you to follow this link to get more information about our benefits: https://hr.cornell.edu/benefits-pay .

Follow this link to learn more about the Total Rewards of Working at Cornell: https://hr.cornell.edu/jobs/your-total-rewards .

No Visa Sponsorship is available for this position.

How to Apply:

You must submit both a Resume and Cover letter.  ​

When applying through our system, please attach your application materials (resume and cover letter). You can upload documents either by “dragging and dropping” them into the dropbox or by using the “upload” icon on the application page. For more detailed instructions on how to apply to a job at Cornell, visit How We Hire on the HR website. If you are an internal employee, please log in to Workday .

Cornell University is an innovative Ivy League university and a great place to work. Our inclusive community of scholars, students, and staff impart an uncommon sense of larger purpose and contribute creative ideas to further the university’s mission of teaching, discovery, and engagement.

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations.

   

Familiarize yourself with Cornell’s COVID-19 workplace guidance as well as the university’s COVID-19 services and information .

  

University Job Title:

Business Intelligence Eng III

Job Family:

Information Technology

Level:

F

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

Pay Range:

$83,432.00 – $96,962.00

Remote Option Availability:

Hybrid Remote

Company:

Contract College

Contact Name:

Denise Smith

Job Titles and Pay Ranges:

Non-Union Positions

Noted pay ranges reflect the potential pay opportunity for each job profile. The hiring rate of pay for the successful candidate will be determined considering the following criteria:

• Prior relevant work or industry experience

• Education level to the extent education is relevant to the position

• Unique applicable skills

• Academic Discipline (faculty pay ranges reflects 9-month annual salary)

To learn more about Cornell’s non-union staff job titles and pay ranges, see Career Navigator .

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For general questions about the position or the application process, please contact the Recruiter listed in the job posting or email [email protected] .

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EEO Statement:

Diversity and Inclusion are a part of Cornell University’s heritage. We are a recognized employer and educator valuing AA/EEO, and we do not tolerate discrimination based on any protected characteristic, including race, ethnic or national origin, citizenship and immigration status, color, sex/gender, pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, age, creed, religion, actual or perceived disability (including persons associated with such a person), arrest and/or conviction record, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender expression and/or identity, an individual’s genetic information, domestic violence victim status, familial status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We also recognize a lawful preference in employment practices for Native Americans living on or near Indian reservations in accordance with applicable law. 

Cornell University embraces diversity and seeks candidates who will contribute to a climate that supports students, faculty, and staff to all identities and backgrounds. We encourage individuals from underrepresented and/or marginalized identities to apply.

2024-03-13