Data Engineer

RFA Engineering; Urbandale (IA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Life Insurance

Long-Term Disability

Short-Term Disability

401k

Flexible Spending Plan

HSA

PTO

Paid Holidays

EAP

Education Assistance

Job summary

RFA Engineering is seeking a Data Engineer to empower engineers, analysts, and data scientists with scalable cloud-based data solutions and data products.

You will design cloud pipelines, enable self-service data access, and collaborate with embedded and digital engineering teams to define metrics, dashboards, and monitoring. Strong Python and SQL skills required; experience with PySpark, Databricks, Postgres, and MongoDB is preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a technical field, or equivalent professional experience
• Proven experience designing cloud-based data solutions in production environments
• Strong proficiency in Python for data engineering and analytics applications
• Experience with SQL, PySpark, Databricks, Postgres, and MongoDB
• Familiarity with vehicle or embedded system data, including CAN signals

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain cloud-based data pipelines and data products that support analytics, machine learning, and exploratory data analysis
• Enable self-service data access by developing well-structured, documented, and discoverable datasets for individual contributors
• Partner with embedded and digital engineering teams to define required performance, UI, and system health metrics and ensure appropriate data capture
• Perform analytics and data aggregation to translate raw signals into meaningful insights and visualizations
• Develop and maintain production-ready Python code and data workflows using SQL, PySpark, Databricks, and related technologies

Skills

Python

SQL

PySpark

Databricks

Postgres

MongoDB

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, or related field

Tools

Databricks

Tableau

Plotly

Job description

RFA Engineering (www.rfamec.com) supports industry-leading clients through the full software development lifecycle to build cutting-edge precision agriculture, machine guidance, vehicle automation and autonomy applications. We are seeking passionate, talented engineers to work on exciting projects using the latest tools and technologies including robotics, computer-vision, machine learning, IoT, cloud computing, and much more. Collaborate with a team of industry experts onsite at our client\'s world-class engineering center and contribute to developing innovative solutions that drive sustainable agriculture practices.

This is a full-time position with a full benefit package listed below that includes opportunities for professional growth, direct hire by our customers, and additional opportunities within our own organization.

As a Data Engineer, you will enable engineers, analysts, and data scientists to more effectively access, explore, and leverage enterprise data to generate insights, build models, and make data-driven decisions. This role focuses on designing scalable cloud-based data solutions, developing high-quality datasets, and creating data products that empower individual contributors to work independently with complex, high-volume data.

A key component of this role involves collaborating with embedded and digital engineering teams to define, capture, and analyze system performance, UI, and health metrics. You will help translate raw signals into actionable insights through analytics, dashboards, and monitoring tools.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain cloud-based data pipelines and data products that support analytics, machine learning, and exploratory data analysis
• Enable self-service data access by developing well-structured, documented, and discoverable datasets for individual contributors
• Partner with embedded and digital engineering teams to define required performance, UI, and system health metrics and ensure appropriate data capture
• Perform analytics and data aggregation to translate raw signals into meaningful insights and visualizations
• Develop and maintain production-ready Python code and data workflows using SQL, PySpark, Databricks, and related technologies
• Manage and optimize storage of diverse data types, including images, raster data, parquet files, time-series data, geo-tagged data, text, and other unstructured data
• Build dashboards and interactive data applications using tools such as Tableau, Plotly Dash, or similar web-based visualization frameworks
• Develop alerting and monitoring solutions (e.g., automated email notifications) to identify system performance issues or data pipeline failures
• Collaborate in code reviews, documentation, and best-practice development to ensure maintainable and reproducible solutions
• Manage multiple projects, priorities, and milestones while maintaining a strong sense of ownership and accountability

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing cloud-based data solutions in production environments
• Strong proficiency in Python for data engineering and analytics applications
• Experience working with data access and processing technologies such as SQL, PySpark, Databricks, Postgres, and MongoDB
• Experience building and maintaining datasets at scale across multiple data formats and structures
• Familiarity with vehicle or embedded system data, including CAN signals
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to lead meetings, clearly document work, communicate proof-of-concepts, and collaborate across teams

Preferred Attributes

• Experience developing dashboards and visual analytics solutions using tools such as Tableau, Plotly, or similar platforms
• Familiarity with spatial data and visualization tools such as Folium or Plotly
• Experience implementing system monitoring, alerting, and health-tracking solutions
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to debug complex data and system issues
• Ability to work effectively in a self-directed environment with minimal oversight
• Proven ability to manage multiple schedules, deliverables, and stakeholders simultaneously
• Knowledge of off-highway, agricultural, construction, or industrial equipment data systems is a plus

Visa sponsorship is NOT available for this position.

Salary Range: $80,000-$120,000/year: Commensurate with experience

About RFA Engineering

RFA Engineering has provided product development and engineering services to industry leading customers since 1943. Our primary focus is the development of off highway equipment including agricultural, construction, mining, recreational, industrial, and special machines. Our work includes concept development, product design, documentation, problem-solving, simulation, optimization, and testing of components, systems and complete machines. Our engineering staff is located at our Engineering Center in Minneapolis, branch office in Dubuque, IA, and at numerous customer sites throughout the U.S.

Competitive Benefits

• Health and Dental Insurance
• TelaDoc Healthiest You
• Supplemental Vision Insurance
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Long-Term Disability
• Short-term Disability
• Retirement Savings Account (Traditional 401k & Roth 401k)
• Flexible Spending Plan Dependent Care
• HSA for Medical Expenses
• Bonus Plan (Exempt Employees Only)
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
• Education Assistance

Equal Opportunity and Veteran Friendly

Qualifications

Skills

Preferred

Data Analytics Data Mining

Novice

Novice

Data Analytics

Novice

Education

Preferred

Bachelors of Science or better in Computer Engineering.

Bachelors of Science or better in Computer Science or related field.

Bachelors of Science or better in Data Science or related field.

Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.