Institutional Data Engineer

Basis: 12 months

Job Search Category: Information Technology

About University of South Carolina

From the Upstate to the Lowcountry, the University of South Carolina system is transforming the lives of South Carolinians through the impact of our eight institutions and 20 locations throughout the state. More than 50,000 students are enrolled at one of eight institutions, including the research campus in Columbia and comprehensive four-year universities in Aiken, Upstate and Beaufort. In addition, our Palmetto College campuses in Salkehatchie, Union, Lancaster and Sumter enable students to earn associate or bachelor's degrees through a combination of in-person, online or blended learning. All of our system institutions place strong emphasis on service — helping to build healthier, more educated communities in South Carolina and beyond.

Veterans' Preference Statement

The University of South Carolina is committed to equal opportunity and proudly values the skills and experience military veterans bring to our workforce. Across South Carolina, we are making veterans a priority for employment and recognize their vital contributions to our state and our communities.

Advertised Job Summary

Shape the Future of Data Analytics at One of America's Most Beautiful Campuses Join the University of South Carolina in Columbia, the vibrant capital city of one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. As we revolutionize our digital landscape, we are seeking an experienced Institutional Data Engineer to join our Analytics and Data Governance team within the Division of Information Technology. Help us transform South Carolina's flagship campus into a nationally recognized hub for innovation and data-driven excellence. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference while working with evolving technologies and solving challenging problems in a collaborative environment.

The Institutional Data Engineer serves as a technical expert responsible for designing, developing, maintaining, and optimizing the University's enterprise data infrastructure, integration processes, and analytical data environments. This role integrates data from multiple enterprise systems, develops and maintains data pipelines, supports data quality and governance initiatives, and enables reliable institutional analytics and reporting for the University of South Carolina and its extended campuses.

Key responsibilities

• Provide scalable and reliable access to institutional data.
• Improve data accuracy, completeness, and consistency.
• Modernize the institution's analytics capabilities.

What We're Looking For

• Strong problem-solving and communication skills; works well across distributed teams.
• Demonstrated proficiency in data engineering technologies and processes (e.g., SQL, relational databases, ETL/ELT technologies, data warehousing)
• Brings strategic vision and operational excellence to IT service delivery.
• Thrives in a collaborative culture where curiosity and innovation are valued.

Why Join Us?

• Join a collaborative team that supports innovation and service-oriented technology solutions.
• Solve data challenges that have meaningful institutional and system-wide impacts.
• Help shape the university's analytics capabilities, data-informed culture, and institutional decision-making.

Perks of the University of South Carolina

• Join a major public research university with opportunities to work on complex, meaningful technology and data initiatives.
• Collaborate with talented professionals across the university system.
• Enjoy a professional environment that emphasizes innovation, continuous learning, collaboration, and technical excellence.
• Work in a role that offers opportunities to contribute to the strategic and operational success of the university.

Job Related Minimum Required Education and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree in a job-related field and 3 or more years of job-related experience, which may be substituted by an equivalent combination of job-related certification, training, education, and/or experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Data Analytics, Information Systems, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related field.
• Strong proficiency in ETL tools (e.g., IBM DataStorage, Informatica, SSIS) and BI tools (e.g., Cognos, Tableau, PowerBI), including recommended configuration and security practices in hardware and cloud-based server environments.
• Strong proficiency in SQL for data querying, transformation, and optimization.
• Experience with relational databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL.
• Familiarity with data warehouse concepts and dimensional modeling.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with keen attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.
• Experience working in a higher education or public sector environment.
• Experience working with enterprise data systems (e.g., HR, Finance, Student Information, Learning Management) and large-scale institutional datasets.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Knowledge of higher education data structures, business processes, and institutional research methodologies.
• Ability to follow directions and communicate effectively with colleagues and supervisors. Ability to collaborate across distributed, cross-functional teams.

Job Duties

Data Engineering and Integrations

• Serve as a subject-matter expert, leading enterprise-wide data engineering and integration projects and initiatives as directed
• Design, develop, and maintain enterprise data pipelines, ETL/ELT processes, and system integrations, and automated workflows supporting institutional reporting and analytics.
• Work in partnership with data architects to set technical standards, architecting and optimizing enterprise data models, data warehouses, curated datasets, and database objects that provide scalable, secure, and reliable access to institutional data.
• Create and optimize database objects, views, stored procedures, and integration solutions to improve system performance and scalability.
• Monitor and enhance data architecture to ensure efficient and reliable access to institutional data.
• Support integration of data across the Columbia campus and university system institutions to promote consistency and comparability of reporting

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 30

Data Quality and Integrity

• Implement data validation, reconciliation, and quality assurance processes to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of institutional data.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve data discrepancies across source systems, reporting environments, and analytical datasets.
• Develop automated monitoring processes and exception reporting to proactively detect data quality issues.
• Collaborate with data stewards and functional offices, recommending, establishing, and maintaining data standards and business rules.
• Support institutional efforts to improve enterprise data governance and data stewardship practices.
• Maintain system documentation, process documentation, technical specifications, and metadata.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 30

System Maintenance and Support

• Maintain and support enterprise data platforms, reporting databases, and data integration environments.
• Monitor system performance, troubleshoot issues, and implement corrective actions to ensure reliability and availability.
• Perform routine maintenance, upgrades, testing, and deployment activities for data infrastructure and integration processes.
• Respond to technical support requests related to institutional reporting and analytics systems.
• Assist with change management practices, backup procedures, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning related to institutional data systems.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 20

Service Innovation

• Research, evaluate, and recommend emerging technologies, tools, and methodologies that enhance institutional analytics and data management capabilities.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual processes and improve operational efficiency.
• Participate in the development of innovative reporting, dashboarding, and self-service analytics solutions.
• Support modernization initiatives involving cloud technologies, advanced analytics, and data platform enhancements.
• Contribute to continuous improvement efforts that increase the effectiveness of institutional data services.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 10

Collaboration and Requirements Gathering

• Partner with institutional research, information technology, academic units, administrative offices, and campus stakeholders to understand business needs and reporting requirements.
• Serve as a technical expert, guiding strategy and technical solutions for institutional needs.
• Participate in cross-functional project teams and working groups focused on institutional data initiatives.
• Translate functional requirements into technical specifications and data solutions.
• Provide consultation and technical guidance regarding data availability, structure, and reporting capabilities.
• Support training and knowledge-sharing activities related to institutional data resources, mentoring junior engineers and technicians across the USC system.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 5

Other Duties

• Perform other duties assigned by the AVP for IT Enterprise AI, Data, and Research Computing, the Director of Institutional Data Analytics, or your supervisor in order to support the strategic and operational needs of the division, university, and university system.
• Participate in professional development activities and maintain awareness of emerging trends, regulations, and recommended practices.
• Support university committees, working groups, special projects, system-wide initiatives, and executive requests as needed.

Essential Function: Yes

Percentage of Time: 5

Additional Information

• Safety Sensitive or Security Sensitive: No
• Hazardous weather category: Non-Essential
• Number of Vacancies: 3
• Job Open Date: 09/17/2026
• Job Close Date: 10/31/2026
• Open Until Filled: No

Special Instructions to Applicant

Positions are advertised for a minimum of five (5) business days on our job website. After five (5) business days, positions can be closed at the discretion of the department at any time. This employment site is updated on a regular basis. The length of the recruitment and screening process may vary from position to position, depending upon a variety of factors. Should review of your qualifications result in a decision to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone or email.

We are only accepting applications submitted by October 31, 2026.

The University of South Carolina offers a valuable benefits package including but not limited to:

• Health and Life Insurance
• Retirement Programs
• Paid Tuition
• Dependent Scholarships
• Annual Leave
• Sick Leave
• 13 Paid Holidays (including an extended December holiday)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Professional Development Opportunities

Click here to learn more about why you should work at USC.

Quicklink for Posting: https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/213077

EEO Statement

The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law.

Working at University of South Carolina

With more than 200 years of history and tradition, the University of South Carolina is redefining itself for decades to come. There's never been a better time to be at South Carolina, the state's flagship university and one of only 62 public universities to receive the Carnegie Foundation's highest designation for research.

The University is located in the heart of South Carolina in the capital city of Columbia, which is the nexus of government, a thriving arts and culture center, a venue for big-time Southeastern Conference intercollegiate athletics, and a community that is reinventing itself with redevelopment projects citywide. Much of the development is tied to land along the scenic, slow-moving Congaree River. Working with government, business, and community leaders, Carolina has developed a unified plan that will allow the University to expand from its origins on the historic Horseshoe to its future-Innovista, a research and innovation district that will stretch to the banks of the Congaree.

Innovista represents a new vision for research by creating a vibrant, urban community where students and researchers, including those from private firms, will live, work, learn, and play. Innovista will represent the University's four core research areas-hydrogen fuel cells, nanoscience and technology, biomedical and public health, and the environment-but will include other initiatives and business partners that serve the knowledge economy. Innovista's first private tenant, for example, is a leader in software applications for the insurance industry and will create several hundred high-paying jobs.

By attracting similar companies and jobs-and by capitalizing on an attractive location for restaurants and residential and retail space-Innovista will help drive the economy and increase per-capita income in the city and state. Recreational space will include a world-class waterfront park along the Congaree River and a new stadium for the Gamecocks' nationally ranked baseball program. Greenway paths for biking, walking, and running already line much of the river area. Innovista's 8 million square feet will blend seamlessly with the Vista, the city's nearby entertainment district of restaurants, bars, shops, and art galleries.

Chartered in 1801, Carolina began classes in 1805 with nine students and a single building, Rutledge College. As the campus grew and buildings were added during the next 50 years, a horseshoe layout was adopted. Today, the Horseshoe is on the National Register of Historic Places, with 10 of its 11 buildings dating to the 19th century. Those renovated buildings house, among other areas, the South Carolina Honors College and Undergraduate Admissions, representing much of the University's current and future lifeblood.

In fact, incoming freshman classes have never been larger or more competitive. The freshmen from fall 2006 set records for their size (more than 3,700) and SAT scores (1171 average). Freshmen enrolling in the Honors College had average SAT scores of 1398. Members of the University's prestigious scholarship programs, Carolina Scholars for in-state students and McNair Scholars for out-of-state students, had average scores of 1449 and 1477, respectively. Total enrollment at Carolina for undergraduates and graduates is more than 27,300, with some 350 degree programs to choose from. Since 1994, Carolina students have earned more than $9.9 million in prestigious national scholarships such as the Goldwater, Truman, Rhodes, and NSF scholarships and the Fulbright Fellowships.

South Carolina's student body is diverse. In fact, Carolina was recently recognized as the state flagship university with the highest percentage of African-American student enrollment in the nation. Research by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education shows African-American students made up 14.7 percent of enrollment in 2004, the latest year available. The JBHE also ranks Carolina eighth in the nation in percentage of African-American faculty at a state flagship university with 4.3 percent.

The University's faculty garnered a record $173.3 million in federal, state, and private funding for research, outreach, and training programs in 2005-06, and several key hiring plans will introduce more talent and expertise to the faculty ranks. An aggressive campus building master plan and the faculty recruiting initiatives will change the collective face of the University and the faces of many of its key teachers and researchers.

South Carolina is recruiting world-class faculty to be endowed chairs-and change agents-for a series of "research centers of economic excellence" in areas such as nanoelectronics, polymer nanocomposites, brain imaging, regenerative medicine, cancer therapeutics, drug discovery, vision research, hydrogen fuel cells, and travel and tourism technology. These centers, some in collaboration with other state research universities and health and hospital systems, are funded with $30 million annually in state lottery money, as well as private matching money. Carolina is in the midst of a faculty recruitment plan to hire 600 new members. The Faculty Excellence Initiative is recruiting 150 faculty, many in interdisciplinary clusters of emphasis, while the Centenary Plan will recruit 100 elite research faculty to lead the University's core initiatives. Additionally, 350 faculty will be hired across disciplines to replace retirees over the next few years.

The University has forged a number of international collaborations in research, and the University's global connections are also strong in academics, particularly in international business. U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked the Moore School of Business best in the nation for its undergraduate and graduate programs in international business; the undergraduate program is No. 1 for the 10th consecutive time, while the graduate program is No. 1 among public universities for the 18th consecutive year and No. 2 overall, continuing a streak of 18 years with a top-two overall ranking.