Data & AI Engineering Consultant - Roxbury Community College

Roxbury Community College; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 63,000 - 89,000; Full time

Job summary

Roxbury Community College in Greater Boston is seeking a Data & AI Engineering Consultant to build, own, and maintain RCC's data portals on a Databricks-on-Azure lakehouse fed by Jenzabar J1, Slate, and Canvas. Phase 1 delivers four portals with live production data and secure access control.

The role leads data engineering, develops portal views and reports, and ensures data quality and governance. Hybrid schedule: 4 days in office, 1 day remote, start date November 2026.

Qualifications

• Master's degree required or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on data engineering or SQL development, including at least 2 years leading or owning a project.
• Strong ability to read a data model, trace fields to the source, and reason about data movement.

Responsibilities

• Portal development and ownership: enhance Data Portals in production, starting with Student Portal Databricks App.
• Build and maintain Silver and Gold layer tables and Unity Catalog metric views; manage pipelines from Jenzabar J1, Slate, and Canvas.
• Write, tune, and set standards for SQL against the lakehouse for new portal views, reports, and extracts.
• Ensure data quality with validation checks across Jenzabar, Slate, and Canvas; define record-matching rules.
• Implement FERPA controls with Unity Catalog row filters and column masks; review data access requests.
• Supervise and mentor co-ops and interns; manage vendor relationships and handoff from implementation partner.
• Document pipelines, data definitions, and reporting logic; set documentation standards.

Skills

SQL development

Python

Data engineering

Data governance

Communication

Project ownership

Git workflows

Education

Master's degree in computer science, data science, information systems, or related field

Tools

Databricks

Spark

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

Jenzabar J1

Slate

Canvas

Azure DevOps

Power BI

Tableau

Streamlit

Dash

Git

Job description

Roxbury Community College (RCC) is a public institution of higher education offering associate degrees, certificate programs and lifelong learning opportunities to the Greater Boston community. The Department of Education recognized RCC as a Predominantly Black Institution (PBI) and as one of the top 100 community colleges in the country for student outcomes through the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program, making it the only community college in Massachusetts with these designations.

RCC offers 24 associate degree programs, 6 credit-based certificate programs, 13 non-credit professional certification programs, 30+ lifelong learning and fitness classes, and customized incumbent worker training programs. The college hosts hundreds of civic and community events at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center each year. RCC is committed to providing all learners with the academic and non-academic support required for degree completion and long-term success.

Roxbury Community College is guided by our six core values of Accountability, Equity, Excellence, Honesty, Integrity, and Respect. RCC is also an AA/EO employer and strongly encourages applications from candidates who would enhance the diversity of its staff. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act requires all institutes of higher education to disclose campus policy statements and crime statistics. Our annual report is available at https://www.rcc.mass.edu/explore/public-safety/index.html .

Job Description:

Job Title:Data & AI Engineering Consultant

Unit: Non-Unit Professional (NUP)

Department: Office of the CIO, Information Technology Services

Reports to: Chief Information Officer

Schedule: Hybrid: 4 days per week in office, 1 day remote.

Date: November2026

Scope of work/position summary: The Data & AI Engineering Consultant is responsible for building, owning, and maintaining the Roxbury 2030 Data Portals, RCC's strategic data platform: a governed Databricks-on-Azure lakehouse fed by Jenzabar J1, Slate CRM, and Canvas. Phase 1 delivers four parts (Student Portal, SAP Portal, Finance Hub, and Learning Hub), each providing detailed insight into confidential student information, live in production. The role takes ownership of the platform in-house from the implementation partner and extends it with new views and better data.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Portal development and ownership: Own and enhance the Data Portals in production, starting with the Student Portal Databricks App, including UI, queries, performance, and the release cycle; ensure alignment with RCC Institutional Learning Outcomes and departmental workflows.
• Data engineering: Build and maintain Silver and Gold layer tables and Unity Catalog metric views, and work with Lakeflow Connect and Auto Loader pipelines bringing in confidential student information from Jenzabar J1, Slate, and Canvas; maintain records, coordinate cross-departmental operations, and utilize college ERP/SIS platforms.
• Query development: Work with SQL Developer and Reports specialist to write, tune, and set standards for SQL against the lakehouse (Serverless SQL Warehouse) for new portal views, reports, and extracts.
• Data quality and integration: Identify and resolve duplicate, incomplete, and inconsistent records. Build validation and reconciliation checks across Jenzabar, Slate, and Canvas, and define record-matching rules between systems.
• Security and FERPA: Implement and test Unity Catalog row filters and column masks, verifying that each user sees only the data they are authorized to see. Review and approve data access requests under FERPA, GLBA, and College policy.
• Supervision and vendor management: Supervise and mentor co-ops, interns, and student workers assigned to the portal program. Manage the implementation partner's handoff and recommend technology purchases.
• Documentation: Document pipelines, data definitions, report logic, and operating procedures, and set documentation standards so others can pick up the work.
• Non-unit designation: This position is designated a Non-Unit Professional (NUP) position and is excluded from all College collective bargaining units because it carries the managerial and confidential responsibilities below, consistent with M.G.L. c. 150E, § 1. These responsibilities are a regular and substantial part of the role.
• Access to confidential student information: Has access to confidential student information, including but not limited to student personal details, financial aid information, and payments.
• Confidential capacity: Views confidential data across the College's systems and displays it in our shell account.
• Independent judgment and authority: Exercises independent judgment in approving or denying data access requests, setting data standards, and directing the work of the implementation partner and vendors.
• Supervisory authority: Assigns, directs, and evaluates the work of co-ops, interns, and effectively recommends their hiring, extension, or release.
• Confidentiality obligation: Must hold all confidential student information, including personal details, financial aid information, and payments, in strict confidence. Disclosing it to any unauthorized person is grounds for immediate termination of the engagement.
• Changes in duties: Any material change to these duties will be reviewed by Human Resources to confirm the position's non-unit status.
• Backup for this position will be the CIO. Additional backup will be a full stack developer which is a Union position.
• Compliance & Governance: Perform duties in strict compliance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulations, NECHE accreditation criteria, and individual collective bargaining agreements (if applicable).
• Perform other related job-related duties as assigned.

Requirements:

Qualifications

• Required Minimum Education: Master's degree in computer science, data science, information systems, or a related field, or equivalent experience. A master's degree is preferred.
• Required Minimum Experience: Three or more years of hands-on data engineering or SQL development, including at least two years leading or owning a project.
• Core Competencies:
• Demonstrated excellence in written, verbal, and digital communication skills, including the ability to communicate information clearly and professionally to students, faculty, staff, administrators, union representatives, and community partners while maintaining confidentiality and professionalism.
• Demonstrated commitment to working in a culturally diverse, urban community college setting.
• Strong SQL, including complex joins, common table expressions, window functions, and query tuning.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience building and maintaining production data pipelines or data applications.
• Comfort with Git-based workflows, code review, and CI/CD.
• Ability to read a data model, trace a field back to its source, and reason about how records move between systems.
• Ability to translate needs from senior leadership and non-technical staff into clear specifications and priorities.
• Experience developing data governance policies or standards.
• Demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential information with discretion, and willingness to complete FERPA training before accessing production data.
• Practical experience using AI coding assistants such as Claude, with sound judgment about verifying generated output.
• Substitution Statement: An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience may be considered.
• Preferred Qualifications (optional):
• Hands-on experience with Databricks, Spark, Delta Lake, and Unity Catalog.
• Azure experience: ADLS Gen2, Entra ID, Key Vault, and Azure DevOps.
• Experience with Databricks Apps, Streamlit, Dash, or similar Python app frameworks.
• Dimensional modeling and medallion architecture.
• Experience building with LLMs: retrieval-augmented generation, prompt engineering, or agent frameworks.
• Higher education experience, particularly with Jenzabar J1, Slate, or Canvas data.
• Understanding of FERPA and GLBA obligations for PII and financial data.
• Experience with Power BI, Tableau, or similar reporting tools.
• Experience mentoring students or interns, or managing vendor relationships.

Additional Information:

This position is a Consulting position and is exempt of benefits given to RCC employees.

Location:2nd Floor, 1234 Columbus Ave, RoxburyCrossings, MA 02120

Anticipated Start Date:November, 2026

Compensation: $55 per hour