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).