Lead Data Engineer- Healthcare Interoperability

Lead Data Engineer- Healthcare Interoperability

We are seeking an experienced Lead Data Engineer to join our healthcare technology team with a primary focus on healthcare interoperability. This role will be instrumental in designing, building, and maintaining our Azure-based data infrastructure, including databases, data pipelines, analytics platforms, and business intelligence solutions - with an emphasis on integrating with Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and healthcare data exchange standards (FHIR, C-CDA, HL7). The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in the Microsoft data stack, strong architectural thinking, and experience with healthcare data compliance requirements. This senior-level position will also provide technical leadership, mentorship to the broader engineering team and reports to the Director of Data Engineering.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Design and implement scalable, secure data architectures on Azure to support business intelligence, analytics, and operational systems
• Build and maintain data pipelines using Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse and related services
• Contribute to database designs across multiple platforms (Azure SQL Database, SQL Managed Instance, PostgreSQL, CosmosDB)
• Optimize data storage strategies across Azure Blob Storage, Data Lake, and structured databases
• Design data models and structures that enable efficient analytics and reporting
• Design, develop, and maintain complex stored procedures, functions, triggers, and views
• Implement database DevOps processes including schema versioning, deployment automation, and rollback procedures
• Perform database performance tuning, indexing strategies, and query optimization
• Ensure data integrity, security, and compliance with HIPAA/HITRUST requirements for PHI data
• Manage database lifecycle across development, pre-production, and production environments utilizing RedGate Flyway
• Design and implement ETL/ELT processes to integrate data from multiple sources
• Build event-driven data processing solutions including message producers, consumers, and workers using Azure Service Bus, Event Grid, and related messaging services
• Integrate with external REST APIs for data ingestion and develop internal data APIs using Python (FastAPI/Flask) on Azure Container Apps or Functions
• Develop data transformation logic and orchestration workflows
• Ensure data quality, consistency, and lineage across the data platform
• Integrate with Azure AI services and machine learning endpoints as needed
• Review designs of Power BI solutions including semantic models, reports, & dashboards
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Optimize data structures for reporting and analytics performance
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior developers and engineers
• Contribute to data engineering best practices, standards, and patterns
• Participate in architecture reviews and technical decision-making
• Collaborate with DevOps and Infrastructure teams on platform improvements
• Drive continuous improvement in data quality, performance, and reliability
• Create and maintain comprehensive technical documentation including data dictionaries, architecture diagrams, and process flows
• Document data lineage, transformation logic, and business rules
• Ensure all data handling practices meet HIPAA/HITRUST compliance requirements
• Maintain audit trails and documentation for compliance purposes
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex data-related issues across the platform
• Provide escalation support for production incidents
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support business operations
• Participate in on-call rotation as needed

Preferred:

• Build and maintain integrations with EHR systems using FHIR resources (e.g., Patient, DocumentReference) and C-CDA document parsing/transformation
• Support HL7 v2/MDM/ADT message flows where needed, including message parsing and acknowledgment handling
• Define and maintain OpenAPI specifications and API versioning; write contract tests to prevent breaking changes
• Lead the document templating framework and server-side rendering pipeline for HTML-to-PDF output; ensure accessibility and compliance requirements

Experience & Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related field, or equivalent work experience
• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, database development, or related roles
• Expert-level proficiency in T-SQL and Microsoft SQL Server
• Expert-level proficiency of Python
• Experience building REST APIs and background workers in Python (FastAPI/Flask)
• Understanding of event-driven architectures and asynchronous processing patterns
• Strong experience with Azure data services (Azure SQL, Data Factory, Synapse, Blob Storage, etc.)
• Hands-on experience building and maintaining data pipelines and ETL/ELT processes
• Knowledge of Power BI development skills including DAX, data modeling, and performance optimization
• Solid understanding of database design principles, normalization, and data modeling
• Experience with version control systems (Git) and CI/CD practices
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment
• Microsoft certification (Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure Database Administrator, Power BI Data Analyst)
• Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, ARM templates)
• Knowledge of additional Azure services (Container Apps, Functions, Logic Apps)
• Experience with other database platforms (PostgreSQL, CosmosDB)
• Understanding of HIPAA/HITRUST compliance requirements for healthcare data
• Experience PowerShell for automation and scripting
• Experience with Azure DevOps or similar platforms for CI/CD
• Experience with data governance, cataloging, and metadata management
• Background in healthcare technology or regulated industries
• Experience with OpenAPI/Swagger specification design and contract testing
• Proficient in advanced usage of AI development tooling (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot)
• Azure API Management and private networking patterns
• Travel up to 15%.

Preferred:

• Practical experience with FHIR (resources, search parameters, OAuth2/SMART on FHIR) and C-CDA parsing/transformation
• Experience integrating with Epic, Cerner, Athena, or other EHR/EMR systems
• Experience with HL7 v2 (MLLP/MDM/ADT) message handling