Data Modeling Internship Jobs in Illinois (NOW HIRING)

Midwest Railcar - Analytics Engineer

About the Role

The Analytics Engineer builds and maintains the foundational data infrastructure that transforms raw business data into reliable, analysis-ready insights for decision-making. This position is critical to establishing scalable data models, pipelines, and governance practices that will support our growing analytical needs.

The prime reason for this role's existence is to bridge the gap between raw data ingestion and analytics needs, ensuring that our analysts and stakeholders have access to high-quality, well-documented, and performant data models. This position directly contributes to the company's overall mission by enabling data-driven decision making across all departments, improving operational efficiency, and supporting strategic initiatives through reliable analytics infrastructure.

Key contributions to the company include:

• Building standardized data models that reduce time-to-insight for business users

• Implementing data quality and governance frameworks that ensure information is accurate and compliant.

• Creating reliable, well-documented data pipelines that enable consistent reporting and analytics across all business functions

What You'll Do

Data Modeling and Pipeline Development

• Design, build, and manage data models and ELT/ETL pipelines to transform raw data into structured formats within Snowflake using dbt

• Create conform and analytics layers that standardize data for business consumption

• Develop dimensional models and data marts tailored to business requirements

Data Quality and Governance

• Implement best practices for data quality, integrity, and performance monitoring

• Contribute to data governance frameworks, including maintaining data lineage and definitions

• Establish data quality checks and validation processes within dbt workflows

Performance Optimization

• Optimize data storage and retrieval processes within Snowflake to ensure scalable, reliable, and cost-effective data solutions

• Fine-tune SQL queries and data transformations for optimal performance

• Monitor and improve pipeline efficiency and resource utilization

Technical Documentation

• Create and maintain clear, comprehensive documentation for data models, processes, and key metrics

• Document data lineage and maintain metadata for analytical datasets

• Establish documentation standards and best practices for the team

Software Engineering Practices

• Leverage version control and CI/CD pipelines for streamlined, reliable development processes

• Ensure code quality through testing, peer reviews, and automated deployment

Collaboration and Stakeholder Management

• Work closely with analysts and business subject matter experts to understand requirements

• Translate business needs into effective technical data solutions

• Participate in regular stakeholder meetings to refine and expand data capabilities

What You Bring

Required Qualifications

• 2-4 years of experience in analytics engineering, data engineering, or similar role

• Advanced SQL proficiency in ANSI-SQL for querying, data transformation, and building data infrastructure

• Snowflake expertise with hands-on experience in its architecture and best practices for data management and processing

• Strong data modeling skills with deep understanding of data modeling principles and experience designing efficient structures for analytics

• dbt proficiency for managing data transformations and building data models within Snowflake

• Passion for detail and quality - skilled at spotting data and process gaps and committed to driving continuous improvement

• Strong communication skills and comfort collaborating with non-technical stakeholders

• Intellectual curiosity and drive to understand business problems through data

Preferred Qualifications

• SnowPro certification or equivalent advanced Snowflake expertise

• Experience with modern cloud data architecture (data lakes, data lakehouses, cloud data platforms)

• Experience with ELT/ETL tools (Fivetran experience a plus)

• Knowledge of data visualization tools (Tableau, Looker, Power BI)

• Previous experience in insurance, finance, or regulated industries

• Python programming experience for data parsing, transformation, and scripting within data pipelines

Midwest Railcar is a leading provider of railcar leasing and transportation solutions, committed to delivering reliability, performance, and integrity across the rail industry. With decades of experience and a strong customer-first philosophy, the company partners with businesses nationwide to supply high-quality equipment and responsive service tailored to evolving logistics needs. Driven by a culture of excellence and accountability, Midwest Railcar emphasizes innovation, operational efficiency, and long-term relationships. Interns joining our team gain hands-on exposure to a dynamic industry, working alongside experienced professionals who are dedicated to keeping essential supply chains moving safely and efficiently.

FOR OUR ASSOCIATES:

• At the office: Based on your location, we offer parking and commuter benefits programs to help make your commute a little easier.
• Getting started: We offer a comprehensive paid training program that will make you feel prepared and excited about your role.
• Staying healthy: Our wellness program, Wellworks, combined with our Employee Assistance Program (for when you need confidential support), help you keep an eye on short and long-term goals and any bumps that pop up along the way. We are also proud to offer subsidies to support your health and fitness goals by providing gym membership subsidies.
• Preparing for your future: We offer a 401(k) with a company match
• Company culture: Our Associates are the foundation of our company and we want you to enjoy working here! With company lunches, corporate outings, or even the occasional ice cream truck, you never know what will pop up to make your day.
• Peace of mind: Our insurance benefits include medical, prescription, dental, voluntary vision, voluntary life/dependent life, group term life, and AD&D.
• Time to recharge: We offer paid time off, along with paid holidays, in accordance with company policy and applicable laws.

The salary range for this position is $88,000 to $117,000. If an offer is made, the pay rate determinations will take into account relevant market data and the applicants prior experience, education and other qualifications directly related to the position to ensure internal equity.