Data Engineer

Description

DATA ENGINEER

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is a mission-driven non-profit dedicated to ensuring the future of elk, other wildlife, their habitat and our hunting heritage. Since our founding in 1984, we have helped conserve nearly one square mile of elk country every day. In partnership with others, we have conserved or enhanced more than 9.1 million acres, including improving public access to 1.6 million acres. Our impact will extend to 10 million acres by 2030.

RMEF is proud of our conservation successes and is committed to making an even larger impact in the future. We are seeking a Data Engineer to transform how RMEF leverages data (working closely with IT leadership and business stakeholders) – moving from ad-hoc reporting and manual data extraction to self-service analytics and automated data pipelines. The Data Engineer will establish a centralized data foundation that serves as the single source of truth for membership, fundraising, and operational data, reducing conflicting reports and improving organizational efficiency.

This is an exciting opportunity for IT professional to apply their expertise in a dynamic, mission-focused environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Data Science, or a related field, OR equivalent combination of education and data engineering experience.
• Five plus years of experience in data engineering, data architecture, or analytics engineering roles.
• Proven experience building and deploying production dashboards and analytics solutions for business users.
• Experience with NetSuite (SuiteAnalytics, saved searches, data model) or similar ERP systems (must understand complex transactional databases).
• Strong SQL skills and experience with relational database design.
• Experience with ETL/ELT tools and data integration patterns.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into dashboards and self-service analytics (Power BI, Tableau, Looker, etc.).
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with nonprofit membership and fundraising data models.
• Experience with cloud data platforms (Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, or Azure Synapse).
• Knowledge of Python or similar scripting languages for data processing.
• Experience with data governance frameworks and master data management (MDM).
• Professional certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Data Analytics, Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer, Snowflake SnowPro).
  
  

Evolving Technology & Modernization

As RMEF continues to modernize its data infrastructure, the Data Engineer will be expected to support and integrate emerging technologies, including future ERP, CRM, or analytics platforms adopted by the organization.

Location: This is a full-time, remote position. Travel to RMEF headquarters in Missoula, Montana will be required for training sessions, team meetings, and other business needs as determined by the organization.

Join RMEF and help shape the future of conservation!

Job Summary

The Data Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s (RMEF) data infrastructure and analytics platforms. This role serves as the technical owner of data architecture, ensuring data quality, governance, and accessibility across the organization. The Data Engineer will implement and manage analytic platforms and data integration pipelines, enabling leadership and staff to make data-driven decisions with confidence. The Data Engineer is responsible for supporting and integrating emerging technologies, including future ERP, CRM, or analytics platforms adopted by the organization.

Essential Functions

• Design and implement enterprise data architecture, including data models and integration patterns, to establish a single source of truth for member and donor data.
• Implement and manage NetSuite Analytics Warehouse (NSAW) as the primary analytics platform for the organization.
• Develop and maintain high-value Power BI dashboards for leadership and operational teams to enable data-driven decision making.
• Design and build automated data integration pipelines (ETL/ELT) between NetSuite, M360suite, Klaviyo, and payment gateways.
• Define and document data governance policies, including metric definitions, data quality rules, and access controls.
• Monitor data pipeline performance, troubleshoot failures, and implement automated error handling to ensure system reliability.
• Investigate and resolve data quality incidents (e.g., duplicates, sync failures) and implement monitoring to detect anomalies.
• Enable self-service analytics by creating user-friendly data models and training staff on tools to reduce ad-hoc report requests.
• Ensure data handling practices comply with relevant regulations (e.g., PCI-DSS) and implement appropriate access controls.
• Serve as technical advisor to IT leadership data strategy, recommending technologies and best practices to advance organizational capabilities.
  
  

Additional Responsibilities

• Provide technical mentorship to IT staff on data-related topics.
• Perform other duties as required.
  
  

Supervision Of Others

• This position has no supervisor responsibilities.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Expert-level SQL proficiency for complex queries, optimization, and database design.
• Strong understanding of data modeling (dimensional modeling, star schema, data vault, etc.).
• Experience building production dashboards that non-technical users use (focus on usability, performance, and self-service enablement).
• Experience with data integration tools (Fivetran, dbt, Talend, Azure Data Factory, or similar).
• Proficiency with Power BI or similar BI platforms (DAX, data modeling, report design, user training).
• Working knowledge of NetSuite data structures.
• Understanding of API design and RESTful web services for data integration.
• Familiarity with version control (Git) and CI/CD practices for data pipelines.
• Ability to translate business requirements into technical data solutions that stakeholders can use.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Experience delivering dashboards to executives and business users.
• Understanding of membership, fundraising, and nonprofit operations data models.
• Ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Focus on customer building dashboards and analytics that stakeholders need and will be able to utilize.
• Ability to be accountable taking responsible for end-to-end data quality, pipeline health, and user satisfaction.
• Ability to maintain high quality standards and ensure data is accurate, timely, and trustworthy. Ninety-five percent data quality is the baseline.
• Ability to deliver working solutions and measurable outcomes. Ship dashboards that reduce the burden of ad-hoc requests.
• Knowledge and support of RMEF’s mission, goals, and activities.
  
  

Work Environment And Physical Requirements

• The employee must sit or stand for long periods of time; use a computer terminal extensively; reach forward and to the side; bend from both standing and sitting positions; and lift items weighing up to 25 pounds occasionally.
• This position operates in a professional office environment with standard office equipment.
• The role requires extensive screen time and focused concentration for technical work.
• Minimal travel may be required (less than 10% annually) for training, conferences, or vendor meetings.
  
  

The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of the job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of essential functions, responsibilities, or requirements.