Data Engineer

Data Engineer (Snowflake)

Location: Columbia, MD (Hybrid - Onsite 2 days per month) Local only

Type: Contract to Hire (5-12 Months)

GC/USC

onsite interview

Strong expertise in Snowflake, SQL, and Python (Snowpark) with hands-on experience in data engineering, CI/CD automation, data modeling, and governance within healthcare or regulated environments.

About the Role

Seeking an experienced Data Engineer to join its Enterprise Data Platform team. In this role, you'll design, develop, and optimize cloud-based data pipelines and analytics solutions using Snowflake , ensuring secure and efficient data operations across the organization's healthcare systems.

This position plays a key role in transforming CareFirst's data ecosystem - modernizing the data warehouse, enabling real-time analytics, and supporting critical business decisions through data engineering best practices.

Key Responsibilities

Design, develop, and optimize data pipelines and transformations within Snowflake using SQL and Snowpark (Python) .

Build and maintain Streams, Tasks, Materialized Views, and Dashboards to support enterprise analytics and reporting.

Implement CI/CD pipelines for Snowflake deployments (using tools such as Jenkins or GitLab CI).

Collaborate with data architects, analysts, and DevOps teams to design scalable and efficient data models.

Integrate Snowflake with dbt, Kafka , and other orchestration or streaming frameworks for data workflows.

Ensure compliance with HIPAA and PHI/PII data governance requirements.

Monitor and optimize data pipelines for performance, reliability, and cost efficiency.

Conduct root cause analysis and resolve complex data or performance issues.

Support enterprise data initiatives including metadata management , data quality , and data lineage improvements.

Required Skills & Experience

5+ years of experience as a Data Engineer or in a similar data-focused role.

3+ years of hands-on experience with Snowflake Data Cloud , including:

Streams, Tasks, Materialized Views, and Dashboards

Performance tuning, warehouse optimization, and resource monitoring

Strong SQL and Python (Snowpark) expertise for advanced data transformations.

Experience developing CI/CD pipelines and automation for data deployments.

Proficiency with data modeling methodologies (Kimball, Data Vault, or 3NF).

Working knowledge of data governance tools (e.g., Collibra , Alation , or Azure Purview ).

Strong communication and problem-solving skills with cross-functional collaboration experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with dbt , Kafka , or real-time data streaming.

Familiarity with data quality frameworks such as Great Expectations or Monte Carlo .

Snowflake Certification (SnowPro Core or Advanced) preferred.

Prior experience in healthcare or insurance data environments (HIPAA compliance).