Reports to: Deputy Director of Data Systems
Salary: Competitive and commensurate with experience
Location: New Haven, CT
Overview:
The Connecticut RISE Network (RISE) is a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure all RISE high school students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. Founded in 2016, RISE partners with Connecticut public high schools to lead statewide networks where school communities work together to use data to learn and improve. We partner with school communities across the state to understand complex challenges, unpack data, pilot new innovations, and scale effective practices.
Today, the RISE Network represents a collaboration between nine high schools and eight public school districts that form our core partnership network, reaching over 13,000 students; the majority of RISE students identify as Black, Latinx, and/or low-income. RISE high schools work together to ensure all students experience success as they transition to, through, and beyond high school. Starting with a strong foundation in Grade 9, RISE high schools pursue school-wide improvements in Grades 9 through 12 that support college and career readiness, access, and success.
Position Summary and Essential Job Functions:
The RISE Data Engineer will play an integral role in developing, maintaining, and advancing data pipelines and databases that form the foundation of RISE data systems, providing educators with the secure and timely information they need to support student success. RISE is seeking a talented and highly motivated individual to serve on a team collaborating with school districts to build and refine data tools, systems, and practices to improve student outcomes. This is an extraordinary opportunity for an individual who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment, and is passionate about closing achievement gaps and developing the potential of all students regardless of life circumstance.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
1. Data system development and management
● Collaborate with program and applied data staff to refine data models, putting more actionable information into the hands of partner educators
● Support the integration of new variables into existing data warehouses and data tools
● Create data sets from raw files, bringing together longitudinal and immediate data for a variety of indicators
● Maintain strong relationships with district data managers
● Update and create reproducible and professionally formatted reports on key indicators
● Document and explain RISE data systems to optimize functionality for technical and non-technical colleagues
2. Data system maintenance
● Investigate data errors to identify and correct their source
● Uphold the highest data security standards
● Update and maintain existing RISE data infrastructure
● Research and integrate new technologies to enhance the RISE tech stack
● Test and revise disaster recovery Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
3. Application design and development
● Collaboratively create databases and/or APIs in support of new web applications
● Translate software requirements into data architecture and/or table specifications
● Plan and execute unit and integration testing to ensure system accuracy
● Lead capacity planning to understand the limits and scalability of the platform
● Contribute to the architecture and design of a new web-based platform
● Provide embedded, on-site support with RISE leaders around data systems and practices
Required Knowledge and Skills:
● Fluency with Python 3 and/or R programming
● Relational database management and development (e.g. Redshift)
● NoSQL data modeling for document databases (e.g. Firestore, MongoDB)
● Experience with version control systems (preferably Git)
● Outstanding interpersonal skills and teamwork
● Commitment to systems-driven solutions for scalable and sustained impact
● Strong organizational and project management skills
● Strong belief that all students can learn and achieve at high levels
● Ability to ramp up on new content and work in an independent and self-motivated manner
● Desire to work in a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and results-driven environment
● Sense of humor, positive attitude, and willingness to work in a collaborative environment
Preferred Knowledge and Skills:
● Experience managing cloud infrastructure platforms (e.g. Google Cloud, AWS)
● Experience with visualization and document preparation (e.g. Tableau, RMarkdown, LaTeX)
Required Education and Experience:
● At least 2 years of experience developing and supporting ETL pipelines and relational databases
● At least 2 years of experience managing document databases as part of web applications
● Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required
● Minimum of two years of relevant professional experience