CPW Aqua Data Management III

State of Colorado; Colorado; On-site; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical & Dental

PERA retirement plans

Life insurance

Disability coverage

Wellness programs

FSAs & HSAs

Holidays & leave

Flexible schedule/remote options

Career advancement

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (some

Loan forgiveness eligibility

Job summary

The State of Colorado's Colorado Parks and Wildlife unit seeks an experienced data professional to manage aquatic data systems and pipelines. You will design and maintain SQL Server databases, develop dashboards in Tableau and R Shiny, and ensure data quality for sportfish, native species, and hatchery programs.

Collaborate with Aquatic Section leadership, biologists, GIS staff, and IT to standardize data practices, automate reporting, and deliver reliable data for science-based management

Qualifications

• Six (6) years of experience in data management, relational databases, and SQL.
• Experience with Tableau, R Shiny, ArcGIS, Survey123, or similar tools is highly desirable.
• The position requires ability to learn aquatic resource data structures and basic aquatic ecology concepts.
• Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Responsibilities

• Design, maintain, and improve SQL Server databases and related data structures for the Aquatic Section.
• Develop and maintain tables, views, stored procedures, queries, schemas, and documentation for data entry and reporting.
• Write, test, and document SQL queries, R workflows, Tableau dashboards, and R Shiny apps to support recurring reporting.
• Coordinate with Aquatic Data Analyst and leadership to implement data standards and governance across programs.
• Provide user support, training, and documentation for data tools and processes.
• Assist with internal/external data requests, CORA responses, and management summaries.

Skills

SQL Server

R

Tableau

R Shiny

Data pipelines

Data quality

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Data Science/Statistics

Tools

SQL Server

Tableau

R Shiny

ArcGIS

Survey123

Job description

The primary duties of this position are located within 30 miles of the state border; therefore, this position is exempt from the residency requirements. Applications will be considered from residents and non-residents of Colorado.

Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It’s our mission to manage and conserve Colorado’s natural resources for the benefit of people today – and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children.

We invite you to explore our website at https://dnr.colorado.gov/about-us to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado’s natural resources for today – and tomorrow.

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

In addition to offering rewarding, meaningful work, we offer:

• Medical and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax and Roth 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE

Our Mission is to perpetuate the wildlife resources of the state, to provide a quality state parks system, and to provide enjoyable and sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities that educate and inspire current and future generations to serve as active stewards of Colorado's natural resources.

This work unit oversees the management of aquatic resources for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, including fisheries management, hatcheries, water rights, the ANS program, and fish health.

This position serves as the Aquatic Section’s data manager and technical specialist for statewide aquatic data systems, databases, analytical workflows, reporting tools, and user support. The position primarily supports the aquatic section’s sportfish management, native species monitoring, and hatchery field operations programs by maintaining reliable, standardized, well-documented, and accessible data systems.

The position is responsible for building, maintaining, improving, and documenting aquatic data infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on SQL Server, R, Tableau, R Shiny, data automation, quality control, and repeatable reporting. This position works closely with the Aquatic Research Data Analyst, Area and District aquatic biologists, hatchery staff, native aquatic species staff, GIS staff, OIT, and other CPW data professionals to ensure aquatic data are collected, stored, cleaned, queried, analyzed, visualized, and shared in ways that support science-based management and decision making. Work is prioritized through Aquatic Section leadership and the Aquatic Data Analyst to ensure that data system improvements, reporting tools, data requests, and user support align with statewide Aquatics priorities, statutory deadlines, data risk, and available staff capacity.

This position focuses on the technical implementation, maintenance, and day-to-day operation of aquatic data systems. The Aquatic Data Analyst provides leadership in analytic priorities, data standards, decision-support needs, and the interpretation of results. The Aquatic Data Manager implements those priorities by developing and maintaining databases, automated workflows, dashboards, applications, documentation, and technical support systems.

Administration of Aquatic Data and Data Systems

Design, maintain, and improve SQL Server databases and related data structures used by the Aquatic Section for biological survey data, species observations, stocking data, hatchery data, fish health data, creel data, water and station reference data, habitat data, ANS sampling data, and other aquatic resource information.

Develop and maintain database tables, views, stored procedures, queries, schemas, permissions, and documentation to support efficient data entry, quality control, data extraction, reporting, and analysis. Work with OIT and CPW Business Operations staff to manage database access, user permissions, security requirements, server connections, data backups, system performance, and integration with the agency's data infrastructure.

Develop and maintain standards for aquatic data organization, naming conventions, metadata, quality assurance and control, and documentation, in coordination with the Aquatic Data Analyst and team managers.

Development and use of data analysis and reporting tools

Write, test, optimize, and document SQL queries, database views, stored procedures, R workflows, Tableau dashboards, R Shiny applications, validation routines, and automated data pipelines that support recurring Aquatics reporting, data quality review, dashboard development, spatial data review, and repeatable analysis.

Develop and maintain reusable tools that reduce manual data handling and improve consistency across aquatic programs. These tools may support data cleaning, quality control, data transformation, summary reporting, visualization, spatial review, dashboard development, and automated or semi-automated data import and export processes.

Support integration among SQL Server, R, Tableau, ArcGIS, Survey123, cloud-based data sources, and other approved tools used by CPW. Develop validation routines to identify missing values, invalid codes, duplicate records, spatial errors, date and time inconsistencies, station and water mismatches, and other common data quality issues.

Maintain clear documentation of data pipelines, query logic, table relationships, business rules, dashboard data sources, validation procedures, and known limitations of aquatic datasets.

Data Quality, Standards, and Program Coordination

Coordinate with the Aquatic Data Analyst and Aquatic Section leadership to implement data standards, data governance expectations, and quality control procedures across aquatic programs. Support statewide consistency in how aquatic data are collected, coded, stored, queried, and reported. Review incoming datasets for completeness, consistency, and compliance with established

standards. Develop and maintain tools that help staff detect and correct errors before data is used in management, research, dashboards, reports, or public products. Support coordination among multiple aquatic data systems and reduce duplication, inconsistency, and undocumented local workflows. Assist with prioritizing data system improvements based on Aquatic Section needs, staff capacity, data risk, and management importance.

User Support, Training, and Documentation

Provide technical support to aquatic staff who enter, manage, query, analyze, or report aquatic data. Train staff on data entry procedures, data standards, quality control expectations, database tools, Tableau dashboards, R Shiny applications, and data export procedures. Develop user guides, standard operating procedures, workflow diagrams, data dictionaries,metadata, training materials, and troubleshooting documentation. Serve as a point of contact for aquatic staff needing help with data access, database connections, data errors, reporting tools, dashboards, and repeatable data requests. Establish productive working relationships with aquatic biologists, researchers, hatchery staff, ANS staff, native aquatic species staff, managers, GIS staff, OIT staff, and external partners. Help ensure that data systems meet current program needs while remaining flexible enough to support future aquatic management, research, and reporting needs.

Analysis and Reporting

Assist the Senior Aquatic Data Analyst in fulfilling internal and external data requests, recurring reports, CORA responses, management summaries, and public or internal data products. Use approved databases, queries, workflows, dashboards, and analytical tools to extract, summarize, validate, redact, format, and deliver aquatic data in ways that meet customer needs and support science-based management.

Respond to standard and recurring Aquatics data requests involving fisheries survey records, hatchery records, animal health lab inspection records, RiverWatch water chemistry records, Watercraft Inspection and Decontamination records, Scientific Collection Permit data, species observations, spatial data, and other aquatic datasets.

Coordinate with the Aquatic Data Analyst, Aquatic Section leadership, CORA liaisons, GIS staff, and relevant program subject matter experts to ensure data products are accurate, appropriately reviewed, properly redacted when necessary, and delivered within required timelines and statutory requirements.

Prepare data summaries, tables, maps, extracts, dashboards, and other reporting products for internal management, external partners, public information needs, and statutory requests

Special Projects

Support special projects related to aquatic data modernization, database redesign, application development, data migration, dashboard development, data sharing, and workflow automation. Participate in cross-program CPW data teams, technical work groups, and planning efforts as assigned. Support procurement, vendor coordination, testing, or contract-related tasks for aquatic data systems when needed. Perform other duties as assigned to support the Aquatic Section and CPW’s mission.

Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Six (6) years of experience in data management, relational databases, and SQL or a comparable query language. Demonstrated experience with R, Python, or another programming language used for data cleaning, automation, and reporting is strongly preferred. Experience with Tableau, R Shiny, ArcGIS, Survey123, or similar tools is highly desirable. The position also requires the ability to learn aquatic resource data structures, fisheries terminology, and basic aquatic ecology concepts.

OR A combination of Bachelor's