Data engineer Jobs in Independence, MO

Required Travel: 0%
Position Type: Salaried
Hourly Rate: $31.25 - $33.65

MERS/Missouri Goodwill Industries is looking for an energetic, self-motivated, and professional Junior Data Platform Administrator to join our Management Information Systems team! The ideal candidate will support our mission, "Changing Lives Through the Power of Work!" and embody our core values of diversity, integrity, passion, professionalism, respect, and responsibility.

If you're seeking an opportunity that empowers you to achieve new goals while pursuing a mission-driven career, then this is the perfect fit for you.

About the Role

The Junior Data Platform Administrator is responsible for supporting the ingestion, processing, and ongoing maintenance of data pipelines within the MERS/Goodwill Databricks environment. This position works under the direction of the Data Lake team lead and partners with IT, finance, retail operations, and business intelligence stakeholders to deliver reliable, well-documented data assets that support organizational reporting and analytics. This is an entry-level engineering role intended to develop into broader data platform responsibilities over time.

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, Analytics, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 0–2 years of professional or internship experience in data engineering, analytics engineering, business intelligence, or database administration.
• Working knowledge of SQL, relational databases, data modeling, and ETL/ELT concepts.
• Experience with at least one programming language, preferably Python.
• Familiarity with cloud data platforms, including Databricks, Apache Spark, or PySpark preferred.
• Understanding of structured and unstructured data formats such as CSV, JSON, and Parquet.
• Ability to troubleshoot, validate data, and interpret existing code and pipelines.
• Familiarity with Git and exposure to Microsoft Azure or Entra ID is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Detail-oriented with a commitment to continuous learning and data security best practices.

Primary Duties/Responsibilities

• Build, monitor, and maintain data ingestion pipelines into the Databricks from various source systems including API endpoints and POS systems.
• Develop and maintain notebooks, jobs, and workflows in Databricks using PySpark and SQL.
• Perform routine maintenance of the Databricks environment, including cluster configuration assistance, job scheduling, pipeline reruns, and data quality validation.
• Investigate and resolve pipeline failures, data freshness issues, and schema drift; document root cause and remediation steps.
• Apply medallion architecture practices (bronze, silver, gold) under the direction of senior team members to organize raw, refined, and curated data.
• Collaborate with the Data Lake team and business stakeholders to translate reporting and analytics requirements into data engineering tasks.
• Maintain accurate documentation of data sources, pipelines, table schemas, and operational runbooks.
• Support data governance practices including access control, sensitivity classification, and audit logging in accordance with organizational requirements.
• Participate in code reviews, version control workflows, and CI/CD processes for data engineering assets.
• Respond to ad hoc data requests and assist with data extraction and validation tasks as assigned.
• Participate in team meetings, status reporting, and ongoing skill development activities.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Individual and family medical benefits for full-time employees working 30 or more hours per week the first day of the month after date of hire.
• Individual and family dental and vision benefits on the first of the month following the hire date for employees working 20 or more hours week.
• Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance on the first of the month following the hire date for employees working 20 or more hours per week.
• 403(B) Retirement on date of hire for employees working 20 or more hours per week.
• 403(B) Retirement + Employer Match after one year of employment for employees working 20 or more hours per week.
• 401(A) Retirement on date of hire for employees working 20 or more hours per week.
• PTO Accrual up to 15 days based on hours worked.
• Employee store discount
• Paid holidays
• Flexible Schedules
• Career Growth Opportunities

MERS Missouri Goodwill is an equal-opportunity employer. MERS Goodwill does not discriminate in employment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or any other non-merit factor.

MERS Missouri Goodwill requires various background and records checks upon employment.