Lead Clinical Data Engineer

Position Focus :

The Lead Clinical Data Engineer is a senior technical specialist responsible for leading the ongoing design and development of the Aligned Data Warehouse, a centralized data repository for biomedical research for Yale School of Medicine in Yale New Haven Health System.

In this position, the Lead Clinical Data Engineer will work with and manager other members of the data warehouse team to expand the functionality and integrate new data sources into the ADW and other research databases.

The ADW is built on the Microsoft SQL Server technology stack, with data extracted from research and clinical systems, especially the Epic’s data warehouse, and transformed into OHDSI’s Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model and other data marts.

The ADW is integrated with Linux and Windows-based systems for natural language processing, Large Language Models and other GPU-based software.

This work supports major national and regional research projects and data-sharing initiatives.

Responsibilities include : Design, build, test, maintain, and control data pipelines and ETL jobs for integrating data into the ADW and other research databases.

Such data pipelines are implemented in T-SQL stored procedures, SSIS, and SQL Agent jobs, and make extensive use of metadata-driven dynamic SQL.

Contributing to DevOps and documentation, developing standards and procedures for database and data pipeline design, operational management, and ongoing maintenance.

Design, build, test, maintain, and control other processes for data management, including management and loading of flat files in a variety of formats (, csv, tsv, pipe-delimited, XML, JSON).

Facilitate design sessions, code walkthroughs, peer reviews, and produce technical documentation. Performance tuning of database objects, stored procedures, ETL jobs, and related scripts to optimize both end-user customer queries and data pipeline ETL processing.

Monitor scheduled ETL jobs and other processes to ensure expected functioning and uptime of data pipelines. Lead and / or coordinate the troubleshooting and remediation of all ETL job failures in a timely manner.

On-call support is sometimes required. Deliver world-class customer service in all interactions with customers, stakeholders, and other teams.

Maintain a customer-focused approach to provide solutions that are science / research-driven. Maintain patient privacy and the integrity and security of healthcare data in all databases and systems, including compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and institutional policies related to its Institutional Review Board (IRB), patient privacy, and IT cybersecurity.

These laws include, but are not limited to, the Common Rule (45 CFR Part 46), HIPAA (45 CFR Part 164), and 42 CFR Part 2.

Independently investigate and stay abreast of new and emerging technologies that Scientific Computing & Data could leverage to provide new capabilities, to boost efficiencies or quality, and / or lower operating costs.

Lead projects and data stewardship strategies. Work closely with DBA team and vendors to optimize data pipelines. Assist with the design, build, test, and performance tuning of reports and dashboards in SSRS, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, or similar business intelligence tools.

Performs related duties as assigned or requested.

Essential Duties

Manages a team of software engineers that architect and design enterprise software products and operating systems. Writes product requirement documents, implements and tracks development timelines, and negotiates feature sets with the development leads and product teams.

Familiar with a variety of the field's concepts, practices, and procedures. Relies on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals.

Performs a variety of tasks. Leads and directs the work of others. A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected.

Typically reports to a head of a unit / department.

Required Education and Experience

Requires a bachelor's degree in a related area and at least 7 years of experience in software development.

Required Skill / Ability 1 :

Ten years of related experience and at least seven years of demonstrated experience supporting, creating, modifying and maintaining ETL jobs in healthcare settings.

Required Skill / Ability 2 :

Ability to collaboratively architect solutions that incorporate genomic, imaging, audit logs, and research data sources with medical records.

Required Skill / Ability 3 :

Strong SQL coding and SSIS package development skills. Strong analytical, problem solving, troubleshooting and multi-tasking skills.

Required Skill / Ability 4 :

Understanding of full life cycle development methodology.

Required Skill / Ability 5 :

The ability to communicate effectively and manage multiple conflicting priorities simultaneously. Demonstrate ability to remain effective and productive in a fast-paced and changing environment.

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills :

Masters degree. Healthcare technology experience. Minimum of 5 years’ experience working with electronic health record (EHR) and / or healthcare claims data;

experience with Epic’s Clarity & Caboodle databases. Experience with the OMOP Common Data Model, PCORnet and other research data models as well as research applications such as OnCore, Huron Click eIRB, and i2b2.

Drug Screen

Health Screening

Background Check Requirements

All candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle, DOT certification, drug testing and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements.

All offers are contingent upon the successful completion of the background check. For additional information on the background check requirements and process visit "Learn about background checks" under the Applicant Support Resources section of Careers on the It's Your Yale website.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement

The University maintains policies pertaining to COVID-19. All faculty, staff, students, and trainees are required to comply with these policies, which may be found here :

Posting Disclaimer

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative summary of the essential functions that will be required of the position and should not be construed as a declaration of specific duties and responsibilities of the particular position.

Employees will be assigned specific job-related duties through their hiring departments.