Protect our Land, Ascend with Us!

Ascension is seeking a highly skilled Data Engineer / Programmer Analyst to support mission-critical data management, analytics, and operational improvement initiatives for a federal transportation safety program. The successful candidate will help transform complex and disparate datasets into reliable, actionable information that enables data-driven decision-making, risk prioritization, and improved program oversight.

This position is ideal for a technically proficient data professional who enjoys solving complex data challenges, designing efficient data structures, improving data quality, and developing analytical solutions that support mission outcomes.

The selected candidate will work with multidisciplinary teams consisting of program analysts, engineers, risk specialists, and government stakeholders to enhance enterprise data capabilities. The ideal candidate brings strong experience in data engineering, SQL development, ETL processes, database design, data validation, and analytics, combined with the ability to communicate technical findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

This role is especially suited for professionals who are:

• Detail-oriented and analytical problem solvers;
• Comfortable working with complex, imperfect datasets;
• Skilled at identifying data issues and developing practical solutions;
• Able to work independently while collaborating with technical and mission stakeholders;
• Experienced in building repeatable, scalable data processes.

Summary of the Contractor Role

The Data Engineer / Programmer Analyst will provide technical data engineering and analytical support to improve federal safety oversight capabilities through enhanced data integration, management, governance, and analytics.

The contractor will support activities including extracting, transforming, validating, and integrating data from multiple sources; improving database structures; developing analytical datasets; supporting risk-model data preparation; and creating reliable data products that enable operational decision-making.

The position will support PHMSA initiatives involving enterprise data capabilities such as the Master Company Hub (MCH), Probability Risk Model (PRM), and Daily Risk Ranking (DRR). These efforts require trusted datasets, improved data relationships, standardized data structures, and analytical tools to support inspection prioritization, regulatory oversight, and resource allocation.

The contractor will apply industry-standard data engineering practices to:

• Clean and normalize structured and unstructured data;
• Develop and maintain data pipelines;
• Validate datasets for completeness, accuracy, and consistency;
• Support database redesign and optimization;
• Develop analytical outputs, reports, and dashboards;
• Document data structures, workflows, and processes.

The ideal candidate will bring technical expertise in SQL, Python/R programming, ETL development, APIs, database technologies, and business intelligence platforms.

Position Responsibilities / Expected Activities

The Data Engineer / Programmer Analyst will:

• Design and develop ETL workflows to extract, transform, validate, and load data from multiple systems and sources.
• Analyze and improve existing databases by identifying duplicate records, outdated structures, inconsistent relationships, and data quality issues.
• Develop and maintain SQL queries, scripts, stored procedures, and data transformation routines.
• Perform data cleansing activities to improve accuracy, completeness, consistency, and reliability of enterprise datasets.
• Create and maintain analytical datasets supporting dashboards, reporting, risk analysis, and operational decision-making.
• Develop database solutions including schema design, table relationships, metadata documentation, and data dictionaries.
• Support data integration efforts by connecting information across systems, applications, and operational data sources.
• Validate analytical models and datasets by conducting quality checks, reconciliation activities, and testing procedures.
• Develop analytical reports and dashboards using business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar platforms.
• Support risk analytics activities by preparing structured datasets used for modeling, prioritization, and decision support.
• Document technical solutions including workflows, data processes, database structures, and user guidance materials.
• Collaborate with analysts, engineers, and program stakeholders to translate mission requirements into technical data solutions.
• Participate in technical meetings and provide recommendations regarding data quality, integration, automation, and process improvements.
• Apply data governance practices to ensure information integrity, security, accessibility, and usability.