Data Engineer

Overview

The Data Engineer will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation's mission by developing and implementing a FHIR strategy for a public health organization. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements.

Working within the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), the Data Engineer will lead the development and implementation of TDH’s enterprise FHIR strategy in support of modern, standards-based interoperability. This role will design and operationalize FHIR architecture integrating Rhapsody, a FHIR server, the CDC DIBBs Query Connector, and the SPARK Data Repository. The position emphasizes roadmap development, technical architecture design, and proof-of-concept implementation to build foundational FHIR capabilities that can be scaled across programs and sustained beyond the placement period.

The Data Engineer will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Tennessee Department of Health. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

Lead development and documentation of a department-wide FHIR roadmap.

Establish and facilitate the FHIR Roadmap Team with program, informatics, and IT stakeholders.

Design FHIR architecture integrating Rhapsody, FHIR server, and the SPARK data repository.

Implement and configure the CDC DIBBs Query Connector for interoperable querying.

Support evaluation, procurement, and initial implementation of a FHIR server.

Lead proof-of-concept and pilot use cases leveraging SPARK data via FHIR

Provide technical guidance and documentation to support long-term sustainability

Up to 10% domestic travel may be required.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Health Informatics, or related field.

Minimum of 5 years of experience in data engineering or interoperability-focused roles.

Demonstrated experience with HL7 FHIR standards and APIs.

Experience with cloud-based architectures and integration platforms.

Strong understanding of health data standards and public health data workflows.

Ability to translate business and program requirements into technical designs.

Familiarity with agile development methodologies, software design patterns, and best practices.

Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.

Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.

Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; and the ability to develop productive working relationships with colleagues and partners.

Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams

Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Job Highlights

Location: Remote, must be based in the United States, Up to 10% domestic travel may be required.

Salary Range: $103,500-$143,500 per year, plus benefits. Individual salary offers will be based on experience and qualifications unique to each candidate.

Position Type: Grant funded, limited-term opportunity

Position End Date: June 30, 2027

Special Notes

This role is involved in a dynamic public health program. As such, roles and responsibilities are subject to change as situations evolve. Roles and responsibilities listed above may be expanded upon or updated to match priorities and needs, once written approval is received by the CDC Foundation, in order to best support the public health programming.

The CDC Foundation is a smoke-free environment.

Relocation expenses are not included.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disabilities, veteran status, and all other characteristics protected by law.

We comply with all applicable laws including E.O. 11246 and the Vietnam Era Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 governing employment practices and do not discriminate on the basis of any unlawful criteria in accordance with 41 C.F.R. 60-300.5(a)(12) and 60-741.5(a)(7). As a federal government contractor, we take affirmative action on behalf of protected veterans.

About the CDC Foundation

The CDC Foundation helps CDC save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission. The CDC Foundation

manages hundreds of programs each year impacting a variety of health threats from chronic disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and cancer, to infectious diseases like rotavirus and HIV, to emergency responses, including COVID-19 and Ebola.

Visit www.cdcfoundation.org for more information.