SENIOR IT PROFESSIONAL-APPLICATIONS

Full Job Description

Applications accepted from: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED

Job Classification: SENIOR IT PROFESSIONAL – APPLICATIONS (Senior Data Warehouse Engineer)

Position Number: 38042

Department: HOUSTON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES (HITS)

Division: ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS SERVICES

Reporting Location: 611 WALKER

Workdays & Hours: MONDAY – FRIDAY 8AM-5PM * Subject can Change*

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES / ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Houston, TX, is the fourth largest city in the country, with a budget of over 6 billion dollars, a workforce strong of 20,000 employees, and 23 departments with fascinating data and a wide range of questions.

Houston promotes healthy and resilient communities through smart civic investments, dynamic partnerships, education, and innovation. It is a place where anyone can prosper and feel at home.

The city offers its employees various benefits, including healthcare, wellness, professional development, and an excellent pension plan.

The Enterprise Data Office is part of the Houston IT Services department and provides city-wide services. Our four focus areas are Open Data, Data Community, Data Governance, and a Modern Data Stack.

The Senior Public Safety Data Warehouse Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and sustaining a secure, reliable, and high-performing public safety data warehouse ecosystem.

The initial focus is the ingestion and curation of HPD data (e.g., Record Management System (RMS) and other operational systems), followed by expansion to Houston Emergency Center (HEC) (e.g., CAD/9-1-1 and related systems).

This role will create robust ETL/ELT pipelines, ensure data completeness and quality, optimize complex queries for business divisions, enable reporting and analytics, perform database administration, and support a 24×7 on-call rotation for mission-critical operations.

The engineer collaborates closely with public safety stakeholders, application teams, vendors, and regularly provides guidance and training to other team members.

Key Responsibilities

Data Warehouse Engineering & Integration:

• Participate in the full lifecycle of the public safety data warehouse: architecture, design, build, test, deploy, operate, and improve.
• Design and develop data pipelines and integrations (ETL/ELT) from HPD Record Management System (RMS) and other applications into the data warehouse; extend integrations to additional systems as the program evolves.
• Use cloud data services (e.g., Microsoft Azure ADL, ADF, AWS, Snowflake); implement metadata, lineage, and cataloging.
• Implement batch and near-real-time ingestion using tools such as ADF, SSIS, APIs/REST, streaming where appropriate, and scripting languages (e.g., Python, PowerShell).
• Gather, document, and translate business needs into solution architecture, data models, and technical requirements.

Data Quality, Reliability & Security:

• Establish data quality rules, validation checks, reconciliation, and exception handling to ensure completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of public safety data.
• Implement robust observability (monitoring, alerting, logging), dashboards, and runbooks to ensure reliable operations and faster incident resolution.
• Enforce standards, role-based access control, least-privilege, encryption, auditing, and secure data sharing in compliance with CJIS and IT Security policies.
• Support data governance, retention, and legal/records compliance practices suitable for law-enforcement and emergency communications data.

Performance, Query Optimization & Reporting Enablement:

• Prepare and optimize complex SQL queries, views, and data structures for public safety divisions, analysts, and leadership; enable self-service analytics and ad-hoc reporting.
• Collaborate with reporting teams to deliver performant, curated datasets to be leverage with Power BI, Excel, or SQL; tune semantic models and views when needed.
• Proactively manage performance (indexing, partitioning, caching, workload management).

Database Administration (DBA) & Operations:

• Perform database administration on SQL Server: monitoring, performance tuning, backup/restore, high availability, disaster recovery, and user access management.
• Automate common operational tasks (CI/CD, deployments, data refreshes, environment configuration) to improve reliability and speed.
• Troubleshoot incidents, assist with complex change requests and participate in a rotation on-call duty supporting 24x7 public safety operations.
• Maintain technical documentation, SOPs/runbooks, and contribute to knowledge sharing across teams.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering, data warehousing, or database administration, including production support for mission-critical systems.
• Proficiency in SQL and performance tuning; experience with ETL tools (Azure Data Factory, SSIS) and data orchestration.
• Experience administering SQL Server.
• Working knowledge of SDLC, ITIL processes, and Agile/DevOps practices.
• Strong analytical, documentation, and communication skills; ability to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.

Compliance & Security Requirements:

• CJIS Certification (or ability to obtain within 90 days of hire) is mandatory.
• Must successfully pass a comprehensive background check, including criminal history, and fingerprinting per Houston Police Department and CJIS standards.
• Candidate must maintain eligibility for access to sensitive law enforcement systems and data.

WORKING CONDITIONS
There are no major sources of discomfort, i.e., essentially normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, and air conditions. Significant time spent using computer display, keyboard, and mouse.

Requirements

EDUCATION

Requires a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management and Information Systems (MIS) or a closely related field. Usually has advanced technical certifications that demonstrate mastery of a specialized application.

EXPERIENCE

At least six (6) years of technology experience developing, administering, and supporting applications and databases. Advanced certifications and/or greater than six (6) years applicable experience may be substituted for up to two (2) years of the education requirement.

LICENSE

None

Qualifications

**Preference shall be given to eligible veteran applicants provided such persons possess the qualifications necessary for competent discharge of the duties involved in the position applied for, such persons are among the most qualified candidates for the position, and all other factors in accordance with Executive Order 1-6.

**

Preference will be given to candidates with the following skillsets:

Additional Information

SELECTION / SKILLS TESTS REQUIRED

Department may administer skills assessment test.

SAFETY IMPACT POSITION NO

If yes, this position is subject to random drug testing and if a promotional position, candidate must pass an assignment drug test.

SALARY INFORMATION

Factors used in determining the salary offered include the candidate’s qualifications as well as the pay rates of other employees in this classification.

PAY GRADE: 29

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Only online applications will be accepted for this City of Houston job and must be received by the Human Resources Department during active posting period. Applications must be submitted online at: www.houstontx.gov.

To view your detailed application status, please log-in to your online profile by visiting: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/default.cfm or call (832/393-0450).

If you need special services or accommodations, call (832/393-0450). (TTY 7-1-1)

If you need login assistance or technical support call 855-524-5627.

Due to the high volume of applications received, the Hiring Department will contact you directly, should you be selected to advance in our recruitment process.

All new and rehires must pass a pre-employment drug test and are subject to a physical examination and verification of information provided.

EEO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The City of Houston is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.