Data Engineer

Role Responsibilities

Are you an experienced Data Engineer with a strong skill set in cloud data platforms who thrives at the intersection of data, technology, and business decision making? We are seeking a results oriented Data Engineer to join our high performing data science team within Tax and Revenue Administration (TRA). This role involves close collaboration with analytics, data science, and business partners to design, build, and maintain reliable, high quality data pipelines that enable reporting, advanced analytics, and AI/ML use cases.

Reporting to the Manager, Business Intelligence & Analytics, you will be responsible for developing and operating scalable, secure, and trusted data solutions that support evidence based decision making, improve program effectiveness, and ensure data is fit for purpose across the organization.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, develop, and maintain end-to-end batch and streaming data pipelines to ingest, transform, and serve structured, semi structured, and unstructured data using modern data engineering tools and frameworks  
• Implement robust data integration and ETL/ELT processes from diverse sources such as databases, files, APIs, cloud storage, and event streams
• Develop and manage data solutions in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP), leveraging native cloud data services
• Ensure data quality, reliability, and performance through validation, testing, and monitoring frameworks
• Implement data pipeline monitoring, alerting, and logging to ensure operational stability and rapid issue resolution
• Collaborate with analytics, BI, data science, and business teams to translate requirements into scalable data solutions supporting reporting and advanced analytics
• Apply data modeling and schema design best practices for downstream data science workloads and operational use cases
• Develop, manage and optimize data storage solutions such as data lakes, warehouses, and lakehouse architectures
• Produce clear documentation for data pipelines, architectures, and operational processes to support maintainability and knowledge sharing
• Apply best practices for data versioning, migration, and change management across environments
• Create reports on data quality aligned with TRA’s strategic goals and communicate findings, assumptions, and results clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Promote a strong data culture through training and consultative support, and apply best practices for data governance, privacy, security, and ethical use of data
• Ensure compliance with Alberta’s data privacy legislation, including Protection of Privacy Act (POPA), and support TRA’s standards for data protection, transparency, and responsible data use

This role demands strong systems thinking, practical problem solving, a results oriented engineering mindset, and the agility to adapt to evolving priorities and complex data challenges.

Please click on this link to view the job description for this position.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

Systems thinking: Work within the APS takes place in a broader, integrated, and inter related environment. Actions in one area may impact multiple groups and initiatives both within and outside the APS. Applying systems thinking helps ensure these broader impacts and interdependencies are considered. 

Practical problem solving: Demonstrates the ability to approach complex and technical challenges with practical mindset assessing options and trade-offs to deliver reliable, sustainable solutions. 

Agility: Demonstrates the ability to adapt effectively to changing priorities, evolving technologies, and uncertainty, while consistently delivering high quality outcomes.

Drive for Results: Demonstrates the ability to set and achieve priorities that deliver outcomes aligned with government direction, departmental objectives, and public expectations.

Qualifications

A university degree in a relevant discipline – such as Data Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Data Science or a closely related field –  is required, along with a minimum of four years of progressively responsible experience in data engineering or related technical roles. 

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong engineering, problem solving, and analytical skills, supported by sound judgment and a proven ability to design, build, and maintain scalable data pipelines and platforms. This includes performing data mining, transformation, and feature preparation to produce trustworthy, production ready data assets that support evidence based policy, program delivery, and operational decision making.

Key skills and qualifications include:

• Strong understanding of data engineering fundamentals, including data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and serving layers
• Experience working with structured (SQL-based), semi-structured (JSON, XML), and unstructured data (text, documents, logs, images etc.)
• Advanced SQL skills for querying, transformation, and performance optimization
• Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Python, Scala, or Java for data pipeline development and transformation logic
• Hands-on experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., AWS Glue, S3, Redshift, Azure Data Factory, Synapse, ADLS or equivalent)
• Experience with big data and distributed processing frameworks such as Spark or Databricks
• Familiarity with workflow orchestration and scheduling tools (e.g., Step Functions, Azure Data Factory,  Airflow)
• Knowledge of data pipeline monitoring, error handling, and performance tuning
• Strong understanding of data modeling concepts, including dimensional and analytical models
• Experience implementing CI/CD practices for data pipelines and infrastructure
• Strong practical problem solving skills, with the ability to work effectively in an agile, collaborative environment and communicate clearly with cross functional teams
• Continuous learner with a strong engineering mindset, capable of evaluating emerging data technologies and incorporating them into production environments where they deliver measurable value
• Strong understanding of database fundamentals, including relational concepts, indexing, normalization, and query optimization
• Hands on experience managing schema design and schema evolution, including versioning and migration strategies
• Familiarity with data storage formats such as Parquet, Avro, and/or Delta Lake.
• Experience contributing to data engineering related initiatives including project planning, cross-functional collaboration and solution delivery in a data-driven environment
• Knowledge of Alberta’s data privacy legislation (POPA), and related policies governing the ethical handling, protection, and sharing of sensitive or personally identifiable information in analytics workflows

Qualifications Continued

Additional assets for this role include:

• Experience with streaming technologies (e.g. Kafka, Kinesis, Event Hubs)
• Exposure to ML/AI data pipelines, including feature engineering and data support for model training and inference
• Understanding of machine learning fundamentals and how predictive models are enabled and supported in production data platforms
• Experience with large scale, high volume data in production environments
• Familiarity with data governance, metadata management, lineage, and controlled schema evolution
• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or ARM
• Proven ability to support multiple downstream consumers (BI tools, ML pipelines, APIs) and provide technical guidance to business and technical stakeholders
• Cloud data engineering certifications (AWS or Azure) are considered an asset

Equivalencies of directly related education or experience considered on the basis of: 

• 1 year of education for 1 year of experience; or 1 year of experience for 1 year of education.
• Diploma in a related field with 5 years of related experience 

A cover letter outlining how your experience relates to the qualifications of this role is required and will be used to assess your communication capabilities

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 
Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

There is one permanent full-time position available at the Terrace Building (9515 107 ST NW) in Edmonton.

Hours of work: 7.25 hours per day / 36.25 hours per week (Monday – Friday) 

Final candidates for this position will be asked to undergo a level 2 security screening.

 Candidates may be asked to participate in an assessment / presentation in person at the Terrace Building in Edmonton. 

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. 

Links and information on what the GoA have to offer to prospective employees.

• Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx.
• Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca.
• Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits.
• Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive.
• Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca.
• Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.
• Leadership and mentorship programs.