Data Engineer IV - IT Enterprise Analytics & Integrations

FirstEnergy - Akron, OH

Full-time - Mid Level

Akron, OH

Utilities

About the position

FirstEnergy is a forward-thinking electric utility dedicated to safety, reliability, and operational excellence. The Data Engineer IV position is part of the Data Management team within FirstEnergy's Information Technology group, which is responsible for the design, development, and enhancement of Data Warehousing and Analytics applications. The role requires a confident individual who can act as a Data Engineer during the development of Data Lakes and Data Warehouses. This position involves close collaboration with Business Systems or Business resources to make informed technological choices and to architect and design the necessary applications. A deep understanding of data architecture, data engineering, data analysis, reporting, and a basic understanding of data science techniques and workflows is essential. The ideal candidate will be a skilled data and software engineer with experience in creating data products that support analytic solutions. In this role, the Data Engineer will engage in various activities throughout the application development process. This includes conducting requirements analysis in collaboration with Business Systems team Analysts or independently, to collect, document, and review both functional and non-functional requirements for the application. The Data Engineer will also be responsible for maintaining the data warehousing platforms, which include components of MemSQL/SingleStore, Teradata, and legacy Oracle Data Marts, as well as Azure Synapse Notebooks/Pipelines. The position requires the Data Engineer to architect the application by decomposing it into various components and making appropriate technological choices for implementation and integration, while considering availability, recovery, security, performance, and governance requirements. The Data Engineer will define and document logical and physical data models, create Data Lake and Data Warehousing models for reporting or analytics, and identify contributing source systems and data elements. They will also help define and build extraction functions to obtain source data supporting change data capture, and document the necessary data transformations. Additionally, the Data Engineer will create physical data models, implement data extraction functions and transformation logic, and document all design specifications and metadata information. They will develop early prototypes for applications as needed and support the development of complex logic or functions that help the organization achieve its business goals. Effective communication of design and logic to business users is crucial, as the Data Engineer must explain how data models relate, where data comes from, and the logic used in the ETL (extract, transform, load) process. The role fosters a culture of sharing, re-use, and design for scale stability and operational efficiency of data and analytical solutions.

Responsibilities

• Conduct requirements analysis with Business Systems team Analysts or independently to collect, document, and review functional and non-functional requirements for applications.
• Maintain data warehousing platforms including MemSQL/SingleStore, Teradata, and legacy Oracle Data Marts, as well as Azure Synapse Notebooks/Pipelines.
• Architect applications by decomposing them into components and making technological choices for implementation and integration.
• Define and document logical and physical data models, and create Data Lake and Data Warehousing models for reporting or analytics.
• Identify contributing source systems and data elements, and help define and build extraction functions for change data capture.
• Document necessary data transformations and incorporate maintainability, security, and performance requirements into designs.
• Create physical data models and implement data extraction functions and transformation logic.
• Document all design specifications and metadata information, and develop early prototypes for applications as necessary.
• Support the development of complex logic or functions to help the organization achieve its business goals.
• Communicate design and logic to business users, explaining data models, data sources, and ETL logic.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a quantitative discipline such as Computer Science or a related field.
• 5 years of related experience in data engineering and analytics.
• Knowledge of Agile/Scrum methodologies, RDBMS, and ETL processes.
• Ability to learn quickly and undertake assignments involving unfamiliar subjects.
• High motivation and ability to work independently with a high level of productivity.
• Excellent communication skills for conveying complex ideas and concepts both verbally and in writing.
• Experience with development and tuning on RDBMS technology including Teradata, SingleStore, Oracle, or SQL Server.
• Knowledge and experience in development and tuning of ETL processes using tools like PowerCenter or Informatica Data Replication (IDR).
• Experience in creating, analyzing, and documenting ER and Dimensional models, preferably with ERWIN.
• Preferably experience using the Kimball methodology for designing and developing Enterprise Data Warehouses and Data Marts.
• Ability to prioritize and plan activities, multitask, and meet deadlines.
• Willingness and ability to mentor less experienced personnel.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with cloud-based data solutions and architectures.
• Familiarity with data science techniques and workflows.
• Knowledge of data governance and data quality best practices.

Benefits

• Competitive pay plus incentive compensation.
• Company-sponsored pension plan.
• 401(k) savings plan with matching employer contribution.
• Choice of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, and life insurance programs.
• Skills development training with tuition reimbursement.