Research Data Engineer

Advertising Summary: Accelerate biomedical research for a healthier Virginia as a Research Data Engineer with the Wright Center at VCU! In this hybrid role (2 days/week in Richmond), you will build, harmonize, and validate complex health data pipelines—integrating EMR, claims, and OMOP datasets using SQL and Python to power breakthrough clinical studies. If you have 2+ years of data engineering experience, strong SQL/Python skills, and a passion for turning complex health data into impactful research tools, join our collaborative team and apply today!

Unit: VP Research MBU

Department: Center for Translational Science

Department Summary: At the VCU Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, our mission is to foster transformative research, discovery, and innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University through service excellence.
We partner with faculty in all schools and departments as they seek funding, plan studies, establish collaborations, calculate budgets, submit grant applications, negotiate industry contracts, and secure patents and licensing agreements.
Our commitment to supporting and elevating the research community at VCU has resulted in record levels of sponsored research and has placed VCU among the nation’s premier public research universities.
Through our passion for discovery and willingness to take on challenges, we continue to advance the work that matters most and position the university as a national leader in research, innovation, creativity, and scholarship.

Duties & Responsibilities:

We are looking for a Research Data Engineer to join the informatics team at the Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research. Our team is highly collaborative, takes ownership of its projects, and enjoys building novel solutions to technical problems, all in service of accelerating research for a healthier Virginia. In this role, you will build, validate, and maintain the data infrastructure that supports biomedical research at Virginia Commonwealth University, integrating sources such as claims, electronic medical records, OMOP data, and public health data. This position requires at least two days per week in person at our Richmond office.

• Integrate and harmonize data from disparate sources, including medical claims, electronic medical records (EMR/EHR), and public health surveillance data

• Design and execute data validation and quality testing across source systems, pipelines, and data warehouses (completeness, accuracy, consistency, and plausibility checks)

• Write, version, and document SQL and Python code following reproducible, peer-reviewed coding practices

• Maintain data dictionaries, lineage documentation, and metadata catalogs

• Build and maintain dashboards and visualizations that communicate data quality metrics, cohort characteristics, and research findings

• Collaborate with investigators, biostatisticians, clinicians, and informaticists to translate research needs into data solutions

Qualifications:

Only applicants who do not require current or future sponsorship for employment will be considered.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, health informatics, biostatistics, data science, public health, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience)

• 2+ years of experience in data engineering, database development, or data management

• Proficiency in programmatic data manipulation using Python or SQL

• Experience working with relational databases (e.g., SQL Server)

• Experience building ETL processes and performing data validation or quality assurance

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, and ability to work with technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience working with health data, ideally in an academic, health system, payer, or public health setting

• Experience creating dashboards or data visualizations (e.g., Tableau, Power BI)

• Hands-on experience with OMOP CDM, including ETL implementation and use of OHDSI tools (e.g., Achilles, Data Quality Dashboard, ATLAS, WhiteRabbit/Rabbit-in-a-Hat)

• Experience with claims data (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, commercial, or all-payer claims databases) and EMR data (e.g., Epic Clarity/Caboodle, Cerner)

• Knowledge of healthcare terminologies and code sets (ICD-10, CPT/HCPCS, SNOMED)

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric or similar cloud data warehouses

• Working knowledge of HIPAA, human subjects research regulations, and data governance principles

Salary Range: $80,000-$115,000, commensurate with experience

Benefits: All full-time university staff are eligible for VCU’s robust benefits package that includes comprehensive health benefits, paid annual and holiday leave, generous tuition benefits, retirement planning and savings options, tax-deferred annuity and cash match programs, employee discounts, well-being resources, abundant opportunities for career development and advancement, and more.

FLSA Exemption Status: Exempt
Hours per Week: 40

Restricted Position: Yes

ORP Eligible: Yes

Flexible Work Arrangement: Hybrid

University Job Title: 24231Y - Bus Intelligence Analyst IT 1