Data Platform Engineer

The University of North Carolina; Greensboro, Northern (NC, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

UNC Greensboro is seeking a Data Engineer to design, develop, and maintain data pipelines and Azure-based data services. You will ensure data quality, usability, accessibility, and performance across university analytics and reporting needs.

The role emphasizes building trusted data assets, collaborating with stakeholders, and maintaining data governance and security standards. Teleworking is eligible with some in-person duties at supervisor discretion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or 4+ years of professional experience in data engineering or related field or equivalent combination of education/experience.
• Strong SQL proficiency (T-SQL, Spark SQL) for analytics and troubleshooting.
• Hands on experience developing ETL / ELT data pipelines and supporting data warehousing.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain ETL / ELT pipelines using Azure Data Factory and Databricks.
• Ingest and integrate structured and semi-structured data from enterprise systems into the data platform.
• Ensure reliability, cost efficiency, and performance of data movement and transformations.
• Translate institutional requirements into scalable data models in collaboration with data architecture.

Skills

SQL proficiency

Azure Databricks

Azure Data Factory

Python

Git & CI/CD

Azure Data Lake Storage

Databricks administration

Terraform / IaC

Education

Bachelor’s degree or 4+ years experience

Tools

Azure Data Factory

Databricks

Azure SQL databases

ETL/ELT pipelines

PowerShell / Python scripting

Job description

Located in North Carolina’s third largest city, UNC Greensboro is among the most diverse, learner-centered public research universities in the state, with 18,000 students in eight colleges and schools pursuing more than 150 areas of undergraduate and over 200 areas of graduate study. UNCG continues to be recognized nationally for academic excellence, access, and affordability. UNCG is ranked No. 1 most affordable institution in North Carolina for net cost by the N.Y. Times and No. 1 in North Carolina for social mobility by The Wall Street Journal — helping first-generation and lower-income students find paths to prosperity. Designated an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, UNCG is a community-engaged research institution with a portfolio of more than $67M in research and creative activity. The University’s 2,600 staff help create an annual economic impact for the Piedmont Triad region in excess of $1B.

Primary Purpose of the Organizational Unit

The Data Engineering and Architecture team is responsible for building and supporting UNCG’s enterprise data platform. The team develops reliable data pipelines, administers cloud-based services, and maintains the infrastructure that powers analytics and reporting across the University. In addition to day-to-day engineering, the team ensures the stability, security, and operational continuity of the University’s data environments.

Position Summary

This position serves as a Data Engineer within the Data Engineering and Architecture (DEA) team in Institutional Research and Enterprise Data Management (IREDM), a division of Information Technology Services (ITS). The individual will play a key role in designing, developing, and maintaining data pipelines; supporting Azure-based data services; and ensuring data quality, usability, accessibility, and performance.

The position will leverage tools such as Azure Data Factory, Databricks, and Azure Data Lake Storage to deliver trusted data assets that support decision-making across all areas of the University, including student success, academic planning, finance, and research. This position is eligible for teleworking; however, some in-person assignments may be necessary at the supervisor’s discretion.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline or 4+ years of professional experience in data engineering or related field or equivalent combination of education/experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong SQL proficiency (T- SQL , Spark SQL ) for analytics and troubleshooting.
• Experience with Azure SQL databases / RDBMS development and performance tuning skills.
• Hands on experience developing ETL / ELT data pipelines, administering and supporting the data warehousing and analytics infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience in Databricks and Azure Data Factory or similar technologies (examples, Microsoft Fabric, Informatica, Snowflake, Qlik).
• Proficiency in Python for data engineering.
• Experience with Git and CI/CD practices for data pipeline deployment.
• Ability to document and communicate technical solutions to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with Azure Data Lake Storage.
• Exposure to Infrastructure-as-Code concepts (Databricks Asset Bundles preferred; Terraform, Bicep, or ARM templates a plus).
• Experience with data modeling (dimensional/star schema).
• Familiarity with governance and metadata management tools.
• Knowledge of higher education data systems (student, HR, finance, etc.).
• Familiarity with data architecture concepts.

Key Responsibilities

Percentage Of Time

Percentage Of Time 65%

Key Responsibility

Build and Maintain Data Pipelines

• Design, develop, and manage ETL / ELT pipelines using Azure Data Factory and Databricks.
• Ingest and integrate structured and semi-structured data from enterprise systems into the data platform.
• Ensure reliability, reusability, cost efficiency, and performance of data movement and transformation processes.
• Translate institutional requirements into scalable data models and transformations in collaboration with data architecture and stakeholders.

Percentage Of Time

Percentage Of Time 15%

Key Responsibility

Administer and Support the Enterprise Data Platform

• Assist with configuration, monitoring, and maintenance of Azure Data Lake and Databricks services.
• Implement data quality, security, and governance standards and controls.
• Monitor workloads and optimize for performance and cost.
• Produce technical documentation and operational runbooks.
• Support internal and external data integrations by assisting with secure connectivity between enterprise applications and the data platform, in collaboration with data architecture, infrastructure and information security teams.
• Help troubleshoot data access, authentication, and connectivity issues impacting pipelines and data consumers.

Percentage Of Time

Percentage Of Time 10%

Key Responsibility

Automation and DevOps Practices

• Contribute to automation efforts using CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code.
• Develop and maintain reusable deployment templates and standards.
• Improve operational efficiency and reduce manual interventions through scripting and tooling

Percentage Of Time

Percentage Of Time 10%

Key Responsibility

Other departmental duties as needed

• Supporting the administration of Databricks.
• Helping to ensure the overall health and security of the enterprise data environment.
• Working with data architecture to develop advanced platform administration skills while contributing directly to the University’s data-driven initiatives.

ADA Checklist

R for Rare (0-30%), O for Occasional (30-60%), F for Frequent (60-90%), C for Constant (90-100%).

Physical Effort Hand Movement-Repetitive Motions - f, Hearing - f, Talking - f, Sitting - f

Work Environment Inside - c

Required Documents

• Resume/CV
• Cover Letter
• List of References

Optional Documents

• Reference Letter 1
• Reference Letter 2
• Reference Letter 3

Supplemental Questions

Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).

• * Please indicate how you learned of the vacant position for which you are applying:
  • UNCGjobsearch Website
  • Greensboro News & Record
  • Carolina Peacemaker
  • Other Newspaper
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Inside Higher Ed
  • Other Professional Journal
  • NCWorks.gov
  • UNC System Job Board
  • Other Online Job Board
  • Personal Networking
  • Other
• * If you selected "Other", please provide the name of the resource here.

  (Open Ended Question)

• * Are you eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship?
  • Yes
  • No
• * Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship for employment at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro?
  • Yes
  • No