Data Engineer for Asset Management

Virginia Passenger Rail Authority•Alexandria, VA

20h•Onsite

About The Position

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) is seeking a Data Engineer to provide expert analytical support and transform complex data into business intelligence tools that enhance asset decision-making. This role focuses on developing and maintaining database architecture, GIS solutions, and data visualization tools for VPRA's large and dynamic rail infrastructure program. The Data Engineer will play a key technical role in creating data-driven asset management systems, including backend databases and user-facing interfaces, as well as supporting the development of GIS-based Enterprise Asset Management tools for new and existing assets. The Data Engineer will collaborate closely with Engineering and Construction, Planning, IT, and Rail Services teams, serving as VPRA's subject-matter expert in asset-focused data solutions.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Data Science, Geospatial Data Science, or similar field.
At least 3 years of professional experience in: Programming and Scripting experience in Python, Java, or Scala.
Database Management in SQL and understanding of relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL).
Pipeline development utilizing Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) concepts.
Experience working in Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft Azure or AWS.
At least 1 year of professional experience in ESRI software.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in any of the fields listed above.
Five years of combined professional experience in the tasks listed above (programming and scripting, database management, etc.).
One year of experience working on transportation or railroad data models, including geospatial databases.
Professional experience in transportation or infrastructure asset management.

Responsibilities

Build, automate, deploy, and support software solutions for the purposes of asset management using contemporary programming practices and DevOps methods; use Git effectively; participate in code reviews; and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver resilient, maintainable applications.
Contribute to the improvement and development of operational workflows.
Design, implement, and maintain secure, efficient, and scalable database solutions for asset management data, including creating logical and physical data models, query optimization, and automation.
Implement and maintain data integration processes (ETL/ELT pipelines, data imports/exports) utilizing relevant languages, use version control for database scripts, automate deployment workflows, and ensure all database work meets and follows VPRA's security and compliance standards
Provide technical oversight and quality review for contractors on the EAM development team, guide decisions related to data architecture and tech stack, and serve as a liaison with the Asset Management Senior Manager.
Mine, translate, and prepare data sources to determine what data is available on new or conveyed assets; convert data into useable tables or geospatial data, and integrate the new data into the asset management databases.
Develop, oversee, and maintain extract, translate, load (ETL) processes for various data sources and execute that process or modify it as needed when new assets require data extraction.
Support the creation of business processes and workflows for asset data collection or handover; identify automation opportunities; ensure efficiency and quality of results; and contribute to streamlining or improving existing workflows that enhance efficiency and quality.
Transform raw data into meaningful information using data-oriented programming languages and visualization software; support testing of data mining, modeling, natural language processing, and machine learning techniques; and contribute to dashboards and other decision-support tools.
Provide technical guidance to ensure that analysis of asset data is accurate and identifies emerging needs.
Conduct statistical analysis, predictive analytics, and geospatial analysis (including GIS techniques) to support asset management questions and validate analytical approaches.
Recommend new analytical methods, GIS techniques, and other emerging technologies to develop decision-support tools for asset management.
Other duties as assigned by the manager.