Senior Data Specialist (Field Based)

Environmental Resources Management (ERM); Walnut Creek (CA); On-site; USD 105,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

paid time off

medical

dental

vision

401(k)

life & disability insurance

Job summary

ERM is seeking a Senior Data Specialist in the San Francisco Bay Area to advance data engineering, analytics, and enterprise data management initiatives. The role is full-time, limited-term (one year) with renewal potential, working in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team.

Responsibilities include governance of data models, ETL/ELT development, dashboard-ready datasets, and SQL optimization. Strong Python or R and cloud experience are essential for delivering scalable analytics outputs.

Qualifications

• Proficiency in SQL, relational databases and data modeling.
• Experience building or supporting ETL/ELT workflows.
• Hands-on with Python or R for data processing and version control.
• Experience with Power BI or Tableau for dashboards.
• Exposure to cloud data environments (Azure/AWS/Snowflake).
• Ability to document governance artifacts and data lineage.

Responsibilities

• Design, maintain, and govern enterprise data models for consistency.
• Develop and maintain scalable ETL/ELT pipelines from multiple sources.
• Create analytical datasets for dashboards and data products; fix data quality issues.
• Write and optimize complex SQL; mentor junior team members.
• Translate business needs into technical data solutions with cross‑functional teams.
• Perform data QA/QC and drive automation to improve efficiency.

Skills

SQL

Python or R

Power BI

ETL/ELT

Data modeling

Cloud platforms

QA/QC

Documentation

Git/version control

Education

Bachelor's degree in data science / CS / IS

Tools

Power Automate

Power Apps

Tableau

PostgreSQL

SQL Server

Azure

Snowflake

Git

Job description

Role Overview

ERM is seeking a Senior Data Specialist in the San Francisco Bay Area to support data engineering, analytics, and enterprise data management initiatives within our San Francisco Bay Area operations. This is a full‑time (40 hours/week), limited‑term (one‑year) position with the potential for renewal. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical capabilities in data engineering, cloud platforms, and database administration, and will operate effectively within a collaborative, multidisciplinary team environment.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design, maintenance, and governance of enterprise data models to ensure accuracy, integrity, and consistency across systems.
• Develop, enhance, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT pipelines that integrate data from multiple sources while ensuring performance and reliability.
• Create and sustain analytical datasets that support dashboards, reporting tools, and data products, and resolve associated data quality issues.
• Write, review, and optimize complex SQL queries and transformation logic; maintain technical documentation and provide guidance to junior team members.
• Translate business and functional requirements into technical data solutions and collaborate with cross‑functional teams to deliver effective analytics outputs.
• Conduct data validation and QA/QC activities; identify and implement process improvements and automation opportunities to increase operational efficiency.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in data science, computer science, information systems, or a related discipline is preferred.
• 5+ years of relevant professional experience.
• Proficiency in SQL, relational databases (e.g., SQL Server, PostgreSQL), and foundational data modeling principles.
• Hands‑on experience developing or supporting ETL/ELT workflows.
• Working knowledge of Python or R for data processing; familiarity with version control practices.
• Working knowledge of Power Automate and Power Apps.
• Experience preparing datasets for reporting and dashboards using Power BI or Tableau.
• Exposure to cloud data environments (e.g., Azure, AWS, Snowflake) related to storage, pipelines, or analytics workloads.
• Ability to perform data QA/QC activities and maintain documentation, metadata, and related governance artifacts.
• Ability to design user‑focused dashboards and develop robust semantic data models in Power BI using Power Query and DAX.
• Experience optimizing Power BI performance, managing workspace publishing and refresh schedules, and implementing role‑based security.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams and deliver high‑quality work within established timelines and budgets.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to learn new technologies quickly, work independently, and produce technical deliverables in a timely manner.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with environmental data or environmental information systems.
• Advanced SQL expertise, including performance tuning, stored procedures, complex transformations, and optimization of large datasets.
• Advanced proficiency in DAX and Power BI optimization (e.g., incremental refresh, composite models, deployment pipelines).
• Experience with data cataloging and governance tools.
• Familiarity with DevOps and CI/CD workflows, Git branching strategies, and automated testing frameworks.
• Experience contributing to or leading technical solution design and mentoring junior staff.
• Knowledge of data security, privacy standards, and protection controls.

Pay

Pay Transparency: For the Senior Data Specialist position, we anticipate the annual base pay of $104,572 - $144,560, $50.28 -$69.50/hr USD, limited-term, non‑exempt. An employee’s pay position within this range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, shift, travel requirements, sales or revenue‑based metrics, and business or organizational needs. We also may have instances where employee’s fall outside of the range based on the factors noted above. This job may be eligible for bonus pay (casual and fixed term/Flexforce employees are NOT bonus eligible).

Benefits

• paid time off
• medical
• dental
• vision
• 401(k)
• life & disability insurance to benefits eligible* employees
• *Benefits Eligibility is limited to Regular employees regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week.
• Fixed‑Term employees (including Flexforce) who are regularly scheduled to work 20 hours a week or more are eligible for a limited benefits package.
• Casual employees are NOT benefits eligible.

Company Culture

Who We Are: As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, we partner with the world’s leading organizations, creating innovative solutions to sustainability challenges and unlocking commercial opportunities that meet the needs of today while preserving opportunity for future generations.

At ERM we know that creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment is an essential part of making our company a great place to build a career.

We also see our diversity as a strength that helps us create better solutions for our clients.

Our diverse team of world‑class experts supports clients across the breadth of their organizations to operationalize sustainability, underpinned by our deep technical expertise in addressing their environmental, health, safety, risk and social issues.

We call this capability our “boots to boardroom” approach for its comprehensive service model that allows ERM to develop strategic and technical solutions that advance objectives on the ground or at the executive level.

ERM is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Thank you for your interest in ERM! At ERM, sustainability is our business. We are the world’s largest advisory firm focused solely on sustainability, offering unparalleled expertise across business and finance.

ERM partners with clients to operationalize sustainability at pace and scale, through our unique combination of strategic transformation and technical delivery capabilities. Our diverse global team of experts works with the world’s leading organizations to help them set clear sustainability targets, measure progress and operationalize strategy through deep implementation and business transformation. With more than 50 years of experience, our ability to integrate sustainability solutions and our depth and breadth of technical knowledge are why organizations choose to partner with us as their trusted advisor.

Every one of us firmly believes in the potential to create value for our clients through an integrated approach to sustainability (because we have personally seen it and professionally achieved it). Our team members are passionate about client service. We work closely with our clients to help them operationalize their sustainability goals and meet their environmental, health and safety objectives while advancing ERM’s purpose through delivering tangible progress in what the United Nations coined The Decade of Action.

Organizing our people across globally integrated communities of technical and strategic talent positions ERM to be a “boots to boardroom” leader in bringing that value creation to our clients, partners, and the world.

We recruit exceptional professionals with a personal and professional passion for sustainability and nurture them to even greater success as specialists. We prepare our consultants to bring integrated, innovative and sustainable solutions to our clients and provide opportunities for ongoing development across a variety of subject areas related to technical, business, and personal growth. At ERM, effort pays off and becomes career defining work that leaves a positive imprint on our planet.