Contract Data Engineering Jobs in Chicago, IL (NOW HIRING)

Covista is America's largest healthcare educator, serving more than 97,000 students and supported by a community of 385,000 alumni across five accredited institutions. Through personalized, tech-enabled education powered by 10,000 faculty and colleagues, Covista expands access to healthcare careers and addresses the U.S. healthcare workforce shortage at scale. Covista is the parent company of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and Walden University.
Our colleagues come from a wide range of backgrounds, business, academia, healthcare, government and nonprofits, and are part of a culture where doing exceptional work and making a meaningful difference for students and society aren't separate goals-they're one and the same. This means creating an environment where colleagues can develop new skills, build careers that match their ambitions and see the tangible impact of their work on healthcare education and workforce development. Colleagues who deliver results and embrace new tools to work smarter are valued for their contributions. But what makes working at Covista distinctive is our impact. Our faculty and colleagues don't just support healthcare education-they shape it. This isn't abstract purpose work. It's solving real problems for real people in real communities while advancing careers.
We operate on a hybrid schedule with four in-office days per week (Monday-Thursday). This approach enhances creativity, innovation, communication, and relationship-building, fostering a dynamic and collaborative work environment.
For more information, visit covista.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

The Director, Data Engineering will own and operate Covista's enterprise data platform - the cloud data lakehouse, integration and ingestion pipelines, data contracts, the Knowledge Catalog (governance, lineage, and PII/consent controls), and the DataOps practice that keeps it all running. This role is accountable for driving  platform best practices, optimizing resource capacity and utilization, and ensuring robust governance around platform reliability, cost, and technical debt remediation.

As a strategic technology leader, you will own the "trust" contract with every data consumer - partnering closely with Data Science, Data Reporting, Applied AI, and business and institution stakeholders to guarantee trustworthy, performant data across Covista, ensure platform health, and foster innovation through proof of concepts (POCs) and forward-looking architecture.

Strategic Leadership

• Own and evolve the enterprise data engineering strategy across the lakehouse, integration, and governance platforms, ensuring alignment with business goals and Covista's data architecture principles.
• Establish best practices and governance frameworks for platform development, data contracts, pipeline lifecycle management, and the Knowledge Catalog.
• Platform & Technology Management
• Oversee delivery and operations across the cloud data lakehouse (BigQuery, GCS), integration/ingestion tooling, the Knowledge Catalog (Dataplex), and the DataOps platform.
• Drive standardization and modernization of the data platform, emphasizing scalability, automation, and reusability.
• Own the roadmap for platform reliability, cost optimization, and lifecycle management across data engineering technologies.

Delivery & Flex Capacity Management

• Implement a flexible resource model (FTE, contractor, and nearshore) to support project-based pipeline work, run-the-business operations, and spikes in demand.
• Manage intake and prioritization of data engineering work, ensuring efficient allocation of internal and external resources.
• Partner with Data Science, Data Reporting, and business units to support delivery of enterprise initiatives and transformation programs.
• Data Trust & Quality Oversight
• Own the "trust" contract with every data consumer, ensuring rigorous data contract enforcement, lineage tracking, and PII/consent controls are in place for all platform releases.

Technical Debt & Proof of Concepts

• Evaluate and manage technical debt across the data platform; proactively drive remediation efforts through actionable roadmaps.
• Promote a culture of experimentation through lightweight POCs, testing the viability of new data technologies and patterns before broad implementation.

People & Vendor Management

• Lead and mentor a diverse team of data engineers, data architects, platform administrators, and vendors.
• Cultivate a high-performing, inclusive culture with a focus on continuous improvement and technical excellence.
• Manage external vendors (e.g., Atlan, Fivetran), contracts, and performance metrics to ensure delivery expectations are met.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or related field.
• Ten (10) plus years experience in enterprise data engineering, data platforms, or data architecture roles.
• Five (5) plus years experience leading data engineering or data platform teams.
• Experience in higher education, healthcare, or other complex matrixed enviroinments a plus.
• Deep experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Google BigQuery, GCS), data catalog/governance tooling (e.g.,
• Dataplex, Atlan), and integration/ELT tooling (e.g., Fivetran).
• Proven track record in resource and capacity planning, technical delivery, and operational excellence.
• Experience implementing platform governance, technical debt remediation, and upgrade strategies.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with ability to work across business and technology domains.
• Demonstrated leadership abilities.
• Strong project management, process, technical and financial management knowledge.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple projects and multiple employees simultaneously.

In support of the pay transparency laws enacted across the country, the expected salary range for this position is between $100,171.61 and $181,034.70. Actual pay will be adjusted based on job-related factors permitted by law, such as experience and training; geographic location; licensure and certifications; market factors; departmental budgets; and responsibility. Our Talent Acquisition Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have, and we look forward to learning more about your salary requirements. The position qualifies for the below benefits.
Covista offers a robust suite of benefits including:

• Health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance
• 401k Retirement Program + 6% employer match
• Participation in Covista's Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy
• 12 Paid Holidays
  For more information related to our benefits please visit:
  https://careers.covista.com/benefits
  You are also eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, subject to the rules governing the program, whereby an award, if any, depends on various factors, including, without limitation, individual and organizational performance.

Equal Opportunity - Minority / Female / Disability / V / Gender Identity / Sexual Orientation