Data Engineer

Position Description

About PolicyMap, Inc.

PolicyMap is a national online mapping tool and platform that enables its customers to access data about communities and markets across the US. It is used for research, market studies, business planning, site selection, grant applications and impact analysis.  We offer access to the PolicyMap tool through subscriptions and enterprise access, license the underlying data in our platform and help organizations and companies bring interactive mapping to their own websites.  Launched in 2008, PolicyMap now has hundreds of customers, including federal, state, and local government agencies, major universities, non-profit organizations, and commercial firms spanning real estate, banking, and health care.  PolicyMap is a Benefit Corporation founded on the belief that data has the power to change communities and markets.

The Data Development Team at PolicyMap is responsible for the collection, curation, maintenance, and updates of source data for PolicyMap’s core product. We build tools, processes, and documentation to clean, organize, annotate, and integrate terabytes of data from hundreds of unique sources for PolicyMap’s customers. Data format, structure, and update cadence all vary widely, so we build our infrastructure to be flexible and to reflect this reality.

PolicyMap is also embarking on an enterprise-wide infrastructure migration initiative aimed at scalability, and the Data Development Team is playing a key role in setting requirements for new tools for collecting, processing, and transferring data.

Position Summary

PolicyMap seeks an experienced Data Engineer to join the Data Development Team. Our ideal candidate is a collaborative and highly organized team member who has a background in building cloud ETL data pipelines in one or more platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure, and experience with using both SQL and Python in production environments.

The Data Engineer will be responsible for helping to architect and build data pipelines, support migration from legacy systems, and establish tools and procedures for quickly and accurately processing data updates. The Data Engineer will play a key role in updating critical elements of PolicyMap’s data pipeline, from collection/import to quality assurance and delivery. The Data Engineer will write, document, and test code written in multiple languages for rapid data processing and human-in-the-loop review. Experience with geographic data or socioeconomic data is highly desirable.

Since March of 2020, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, PolicyMap staff has worked remotely full time.  Our office in Center City Philadelphia remains open for team members who wish to work in the office from time to time.  Going forward, our intent is to continue to offer a dynamic work experience where employees can work from the location of their choosing while being held accountable for achieving goals. We value the collegiality and energy that comes from working together in person and intend to have in-person meetings in the Philadelphia office on occasion going forward.  This position will require occasional commuting to the Philadelphia office.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design pipelines and tooling to import a wide variety of data formats from static websites and APIs into a development environment
• Build and maintain ETL processes in Python and SQL that can handle a variety of data formats and sizes
• Establish suites for testing the result of import, ETL, and processing steps prior to transfer to production environments
• Coordinate data transfer architecture with the web development team
• Provide code expertise to Data Team by debugging and validate other team members’ datasets and data processes

Education, Experience, and Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Bachelor’s degree required in computer science, data science, analytics, statistics, economics, IT, or software engineering.
• Two years’ commensurate work experience required (can include internships)
• Demonstrated proficiency and experience required with SQL (MS SQL or PostgreSQL) or other relational SQL databases including postgres, redshift, oracle, and SQL Server
• Experience with AWS cloud services such as EC2, Athena, Glue, RDS, or Redshift
• Experience with object-oriented/object function scripting languages: Python, Java, C++, Scala, etc.
• Proven organizational skills and attention to detail
• Excellent technical and compositional writing skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills

Competencies:

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Ownership/Accountability – Actively manages work and issues through to completion.
• Customer Service – Understands and manages customer expectations.
• Communication – Effectively communicates needs, challenges, and expectations to other staff members.
• Initiative – Anticipates and communicates challenges and opportunities.
• Commitment – Demonstrates sense of passion and urgency for work, mission and organization.
• Adaptability – Sees opportunity and risk for continuous improvement.
• Efficiency and Productivity – Determines priorities and allocates time and focus accordingly.
• Professional/Technical Expertise – Understands and applies technical/procedural knowledge of job.

Compensation and Benefits:

• Competitive salary based on experience and skills
• Participation in the Employee Stock Equity Program
• Annual bonus based on company and individual performance
• Employer-paid health coverage and prescription plan
• Employer-paid vision and dental coverageEmployer-paid disability and life insurance
• 401(k) savings plan with employer-paid match
• Up to 31 days Paid Time Off (vacation and sick leave), depending on level of experience
• 10 paid federal holidays
• Community Volunteer Time Off

PolicyMap will not sponsor any applicants for an employment visa now or in the future for this position.

To Apply

Please email your resume, salary requirements, and research to: HR@policymap.com. Cover letters are optional.

PolicyMap, Inc. uses E-Verify to validate all new hires’ ability to legally work in the United States. PolicyMap, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. PolicyMap does not discriminate in hiring or employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, marital or familial status, national origin, non-job related disability, or status as a veteran. Minority candidates are encouraged to apply.