Software Engineer Senior

Nationwide Children's Hospital; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to design and maintain production ETL/ELT pipelines and our data lake for genomics, clinical and imaging data. Deep hands-on AWS experience (Glue, Lambda, Step Functions, S3, Lake Formation, Athena) and advanced Python, data modeling/SQL, and IaC are required.

Work in a HIPAA/NIST 800-171 compliant environment and mentor engineers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in CS or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Strong backend and API design experience in modern frameworks.
• Deep SQL and data modeling knowledge for health informatics.
• Experience with cloud environments and IaC is desirable.
• Mentoring and collaboration with researchers and clinicians.

Responsibilities

• Leads development and maintenance of health informatics applications and data pipelines.
• Gathers requirements, presents plans, and reports progress to stakeholders.
• Documents systems and processes; audits computational components.
• Explores emerging technologies to enhance capabilities.
• Implements architecture improvements for performance and reliability.
• Designs usability testing and support procedures.
• Mentors junior engineers and collaborates with leadership.

Skills

Backend development

RESTful API design

Async processing

Data orchestration

Programming languages

Troubleshooting

Database design

Software engineering best practices

Version control

Documentation

Data analysis

Mentoring

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or relevant field

Master’s Degree or PhD (preferred)

Job description

Overview:

We’re hiring a Senior Data Engineer for our cloud data team in pediatric research. You’ll design and maintain production ETL/ELT pipelines and our data lake that turn genomics, clinical, and imaging data into reliable datasets for scientific discovery. Deep hands‑on AWS is essential—Glue, Lambda, Step Functions, S3, Lake Formation, Athena—plus advanced Python, strong data modeling/SQL, and IaC (CloudFormation or SAM). You’ll build data quality frameworks, lead technical projects, and mentor engineers. Work happens in a HIPAA/NIST 800-171‑compliant environment, so experience in regulated settings is a plus. We want 5–7 years in data engineering. Healthcare or research background strongly preferred.

Job Description Summary:

Leads the design, development, testing, and maintenance of applications and pipelines supporting informatics and genomics analyses within an interdisciplinary team of developers, scientists, and clinical and research stakeholders. Serves as a technical owner accountable for architecture quality, operability, and continuous improvement.

Job Description:

Essential Functions:

• Leads the development and maintenance of complex health informatics applications designed for high availability, as well as data processing and transformation pipelines.
• Gathers requirements, presents plans, and reports on progress and results to key stakeholders.
• Oversees the documentation of systems and processes for future reference and training purposes. Audits current computational systems and processes.
• Identifies and recommends emerging technologies to assess their potential to enhance operational/application capabilities.
• Designs and implements system and architecture enhancements to improve performance and reliability of data generation, analysis, and interpretation.
• Designs usability testing and validation processes and develops procedures for technical support and troubleshooting of system issues.
• Mentors and supports less experienced programmers through design review, pair programming, and formal coaching. Collaborates effectively with research and clinical leadership, faculty, and staff.
• Champions secure coding practices, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.

Education Requirement:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or relevant field, or equivalent experience, required.
• Master’s Degree or PhD, preferred.

Skills:

• Demonstrated expertise in backend application development and RESTful API design, with deep experience in modern API frameworks and strong proficiency in asynchronous processing and data orchestration patterns.
• Expert knowledge of front-end and/or back-end programming languages, as well as technical troubleshooting approaches.
• Deep knowledge of database design, development, and maintenance.
• Demonstrated ability to model and ensure software development best practices, including version control, code review, testing, and documentation.
• Ability to complete tasks with high levels of precision and to identify, collect, and analyze data.
• Ability to lead effective mentoring relationships utilizing appropriate coaching and development methods.
• Exceptional interpersonal, presentation, and communication skills, with the ability to interact effectively with research and clinical leadership, faculty, and staff.

Experience:

• 5 years of experience in development, required.
• 4 years of experience in full stack development, preferred.
• Experience with cloud computing environments, including containerization technologies, preferred.
• Experience producing applications or pipelines aligned with defined product requirements, preferred.
• Experience leading cross‑functional technical initiatives, including decomposing roadmaps into milestones and measurable outcomes, preferred.

Physical Requirements:

OCCASIONALLY: Bend/twist, Climb stairs/ladder, Flexing/extending of neck, Lifting / Carrying: 0-10 lbs, Pushing / Pulling: 0-25 lbs, Reaching above shoulder, Squat/kneel, Standing, Walking

FREQUENTLY: (none specified)

CONTINUOUSLY: Audible speech, Color vision, Computer skills, Decision Making, Depth perception, Hand use: grasping, gripping, turning, Hearing acuity, Interpreting Data, Peripheral vision, Problem solving, Repetitive hand/arm use, Seeing – Far/near, Sitting

“The above list of duties is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this classification. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive list of duties performed by the individuals so classified, nor is it intended to limit or modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct, and control the work of employees under their supervision. EOE M/F/Disability/Vet”