Working Title: Data Engineer

State Role Title: Information Technology Specialist III

Position Type: Full-time Staff (Classified)

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: Information Technology

Department: 100328 - Information Technology

Pay Band: 6

Pay Rate: Maximum Starting

Specify Range or Amount: 95,000 

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No

Beginning Review Date: March 25, 2026

About JMU:

Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are
Situated in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is a vibrant community with a population of approximately 52,000. Harrisonburg is conveniently located approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA.

JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and supportive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 21,000 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

Information Technology (IT) at James Madison University, in collaboration with Student Success Analytics (SSA), is accepting applications for a Data Engineer as part of its work toward leveraging data and technology for improving student success and retention. This position reports to the Infrastructure and Database Services Manager in IT and will primarily be working with SSA supporting their strategic vision to achieve the highest level of data maturity that maximizes success outcomes for all students.

The Data Engineer designs, builds, and maintains secure, reliable, and scalable data infrastructure that enables high-quality analytics, reporting, and decision-making across the university. This position serves as a technical bridge between operational systems, enterprise databases, and the future data warehouse, supporting SSA, IT, and campus stakeholders.

This position is telework eligible.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Data Collection, Integration, and ETL
• Design, develop, test, and maintain ETL/ELT pipelines to extract, transform, and load data from enterprise systems, CRM platforms, and external data sources.
• Build and support infrastructure for efficient data ingestion using SQL Server and cloud-based technologies.
• Develop repeatable and automated processes to support mandated federal, state, and institutional reporting.

Data Processing, Quality, and Governance
• Clean, validate, reconcile, and transform data to ensure accuracy, consistency, security, and integrity.
• Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve data discrepancies, anomalies, and performance issues.
• Apply and promote best practices related to data governance, documentation, privacy, security, and ethics.

Analytics, Reporting, and Visualization Enablement
• Collaborate with SSA analysts, data scientists, and functional partners to support complex analyses and reporting needs.
• Develop and maintain data tables, views, and semantic layers that support dashboards and analytics tools.
• Support the effective use of visualization platforms (e.g., Tableau) to improve data access and decision-making.

Data Management and Infrastructure Support
• Manage, optimize, and support the SSA SQL Server database, related data storage solutions, and the future data warehouse.
• Assist with performance tuning, query optimization, database upgrades, patches, backups, and recovery in collaboration with IT colleagues.
• Contribute to the design, implementation, and ongoing improvement of the university’s data warehouse or data lake environment.

Collaboration, Consultation, and Service to the University
• Partner with Student Success Analytics, IT, and campus stakeholders to understand data needs and recommend appropriate technical solutions.
• Participate in cross-functional projects and working groups related to data, analytics, and reporting.
• Communicate technical concepts and data limitations clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.

Documentation and Continuous Improvement
• Create and maintain technical documentation, data dictionaries, data maps, and process documentation.
• Identify opportunities to improve data workflows, automation, and system performance.
• Stay informed on emerging data engineering tools, technologies, and best practices.

Qualifications:

Required Qualifications
• A background in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Statistics, or a related field.
• Relevant professional experience in data engineering, data management, or data analytics.
• Strong proficiency in SQL, including complex queries, views, and stored procedures.
• Experience with Microsoft SQL Server technologies, including SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS).
• Understanding of relational databases, data modeling, and data warehousing concepts.
• Demonstrated experience supporting data pipelines, ETL processes, or analytics platforms.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Knowledge of and commitment to data privacy, security, and ethical data practices.

Additional Considerations
• Experience working in a higher education environment.
• Experience building or supporting a data warehouse or data lake.
• Experience automating and optimizing ETL processes.
• Working knowledge of data governance and data literacy practices.
• Experience designing or supporting dashboards and visualizations using Tableau.
• Exposure to cloud-based data platforms or big data technologies.

Additional Posting Information:

JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.

Conditions of Employment:  

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or jobs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.