Data Engineer in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts at Central One Federal Credit Union

Job Status: Exempt (Non-Management)

Reports To: Chief Information Officer

Supervises: None

WHO WE ARE: At Central One, our values are to Deliver Exceptional Service, Work as a Team, Have Fun, and the Credit Union philosophy of People Helping People; all while striving to be C.E.N.T.R.A.L. One Ambassadors. CENTRAL stands for Caring, Enthusiastic, Nimble, Team-Oriented, Resilient, Altruistic and Loyal. At the core of our values lies a commitment to our community, members, and employees, with a focus on overall well-being.

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS:

The Data Engineer owns the design, build, and ongoing development of COFCU’s enterprise data infrastructure — a modern, scalable platform built on Azure and Microsoft Fabric. This role is the technical engine behind COFCU’s data strategy, responsible for delivering the pipelines, lakehouses, semantic models, and integrations that power trusted reporting, analytics, and AI capabilities across the organization.

The Data Engineer does not work in isolation. This role operates as a collaborative lead within the Data Infrastructure team, working closely with business department leaders, data domain owners, the Data & AI Governance Lead, and COFCU’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) to continuously build, refine, and scale the infrastructure. The Data Engineer is also an active participant in the Data & AI Governance framework — applying governance standards, enabling technical implementation of policies, and serving as a technical representative on the Data & AI Governance Committee.

This position is foundational to COFCU’s shift from manual reporting to a governed, enterprise-wide data ecosystem — and plays a central role in enabling leadership and staff to access timely, trusted insights that support strategic decision-making.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Data Infrastructure Ownership & Development

Own the enterprise data platform end-to-end and drive its ongoing evolution in partnership with the MSP, domain owners, and IT leadership.

• Serve as the primary technical owner of COFCU’s data infrastructure, including the data lakehouse/warehouse, ingestion pipelines, transformation layers, and semantic models built on Azure and Microsoft Fabric.

• Lead and manage the day-to-day execution of the Data Infrastructure team workstreams, coordinating with the MSP to ensure deliverables align with project scope, timelines, and COFCU standards.

• Partner with business departments and data domain owners (Member, Financial, Lending, Operational, Employee, and Vendor Data) to understand data needs and translate them into infrastructure design and build requirements.

• Build and maintain scalable data ingestion, transformation, and storage pipelines for structured and unstructured data from diverse sources including core banking systems, SaaS platforms, APIs, and flat files.

• Automate data processing workflows to reduce manual effort, improve reliability, and increase timeliness of data availability.

• Manage Microsoft Purview configuration, data classification, and cataloging as part of the technical governance infrastructure.

Analytics & Reporting Enablement

Ensure analysts and business users have access to clean, well-structured, analytics-ready data.

• Design and maintain semantic models and Power BI datasets optimized for performance, consistency, and self-service consumption.

• Collaborate with analysts and business teams to migrate manual reports and spreadsheets to governed Power BI dashboards.

• Establish and maintain dataset documentation, naming standards, and data dictionaries in coordination with the Governance Lead.

• Enable self-service analytics by building reusable, well-documented data products aligned to enterprise data domain definitions.

Data & AI Governance Participation

Actively participate in COFCU’s Data & AI Governance framework as the technical implementation partner for governance policies and standards.

• Serve as a standing technical member of the Data & AI Governance Committee, representing the infrastructure perspective in governance decisions.

• Partner with the Data & AI Governance Lead to implement governance policies in the platform: data quality checks, access controls, lineage tracking, classification, and auditability.

• Apply Azure RBAC, row-level security, and Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels to enforce data access and security governance policies.

• Implement and maintain data quality monitoring, alerting, and issue tracking to support Governance Committee reporting on data reliability.

• Contribute to the Enterprise Data Catalog and ensure infrastructure assets are cataloged, documented, and discoverable per governance standards.

• Support the technical implementation of AI governance controls, including data lineage and model input/output auditing, where applicable.

Platform Security, Performance & Reliability

Maintain a secure, high-performing, and cost-efficient data environment.

• Manage data platform security using Azure identity management, RBAC, and encryption best practices.

• Monitor platform performance, pipeline health, and storage costs; proactively identify and resolve issues.

• Implement CI/CD or DevOps practices for data pipeline and analytics asset deployment to ensure reliable, repeatable releases.

• Maintain disaster recovery and business continuity considerations for data infrastructure components.

Collaboration, Documentation & Continuous Improvement

• Participate in the Data Infrastructure Team channel and working sessions to maintain visibility and alignment across stakeholders.

• Contribute to data standards, reusable patterns, and best practices that can be adopted across departments.

• Document infrastructure architecture, pipeline design, and data flow to ensure institutional knowledge is retained independently of the MSP.

• Stay current on Azure, Microsoft Fabric, and Purview capabilities; identify and recommend enhancements that advance COFCU’s data strategy.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Serves as community role model and participates in volunteer activities to support the People Helping People value and enhance the Credit Union’s visibility.

• Adhere to all applicable Credit Union policies, procedures, and regulations.

• Perform other duties as requested or assigned.

Pay Range: $96,000 - $124,000 per year commensurate with experience

Schedule: This position is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement with a combination of required in office days and remote days upon completion of in-office training period.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent experience.

Experience: 5+ years of experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, or data platform development. Experience in regulated environments (financial services, healthcare, or similar) strongly preferred. Experience managing or coordinating with external vendors or MSPs on technical deliverables is a plus.

Technical Skills:

• Strong proficiency in SQL and at least one programming language (Python preferred)

• Hands-on experience with Azure data services and Microsoft Fabric (Data Factory, Synapse, Fabric workspaces, Lakehouses), Oracle and SQL databases

• Experience building and supporting Power BI semantic models (DAX, data modeling, performance tuning)

• Solid understanding of data modeling, lakehouse/warehouse design, and analytics performance optimization

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Purview for data governance, classification, and cataloging

• Experience implementing CI/CD or DevOps practices for data pipelines and analytics assets

• Familiarity with Azure identity management, RBAC, and data security best practices

Traits: Collaborative, organized, and ownership-oriented. Comfortable working in a cross-functional environment with business stakeholders, governance partners, and technical vendors. Strong communicator who can translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences. Detail-oriented with a continuous improvement mindset and genuine interest in building something that lasts.