The Data Engineer / Data Project Lead provides technical leadership for the design, development, implementation, integration, and continuous improvement of data management solutions supporting the Office of Head Start (OHS) National Customer Service Improvement Project (CSIP). This position leads the development and maintenance of data pipelines, workflow automation, APIs, and cloud-based data solutions supporting the administration of Head Start grants. The Data Engineer / Data Project Lead oversees technical staff, manages data projects from planning through implementation, promotes data governance and quality, and delivers innovative data-driven solutions that improve operational efficiency and decision-making.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as the technical lead for all contract data engineering and data management activities.
- Lead planning, execution, monitoring, and successful delivery of data projects.
- Supervise Data Analysts, Data Visualization Specialists, Data Management Specialists, and Data Entry Support Specialists.
- Develop, implement, and maintain enterprise data pipelines, APIs, ETL processes, and automated workflows.
- Maintain integrations between HSES, GrantSolutions, AMS, TTA Hub, SmartFlow, and other Federal systems.
- Design and maintain databases, data warehouses, cloud-based solutions, and workflow automation.
- Ensure data quality, governance, validation, documentation, and security.
- Develop dashboards, performance metrics, and reporting solutions.
- Support business process improvement initiatives through technology modernization.
- Provide technical leadership, mentoring, coaching, and quality oversight.
- Support AI-enabled solutions consistent with Federal policy.
- Ensure compliance with HHS, ACF, OHS, and contract requirements.
Qualifications:
- At least 10 years of relevant and progressive post-baccalaureate professional experience directly related to the task activities,
- A minimum of 3 years of progressive supervisory experience
- Demonstrated proficiency/experience in successfully developing, implementing and managing/improving complex, high-profile, multi-faceted data projects
- Demonstrated ability to coach team members effectively
- Demonstrated proficiency to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing
- Demonstrated proficiency in database design, ETL processes, data warehousing
- SQL and programming language proficiency
- API development and integration
- Data governance and security knowledge
- Application of AI in data pipelines preferred
- Federal information systems experience preferred
- Proven ability to address team member and client complaints and resolve problems.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience supporting OHS or ACF.
- Experience with HSES, AMS, GrantSolutions, and Smartsheet integrations.
- Experience with AWS, Azure, APIs, enterprise data pipelines, and workflow automation.
- Experience with Agile software development, DevOps, AI-assisted data engineering, and Federal cloud environments.
- At least 1 year of experience in early childhood education and/or Head Start programs highly preferred
Education and Experience:
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At least a Bachelor's in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field from an accredited university or college.
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Project management: Proven experience with Agile methodologies and project management software with certs preferred in Agile/Scrum or similar
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Primary technical: SQL, Python, ETL tools, API development
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Secondary: Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), Docker, Confluence
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Databases: PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle