Data Engineer

Overview

The Bronx Defenders (BxD), an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx, seeks a Data Engineer to join our Data Team.

Founded in 1997, The Bronx Defenders is a public defender nonprofit that has developed a nationally recognized model of representation called holistic defense, which provides people with teams of lawyers, social workers, and advocates to defend them zealously in court as well as to address the underlying drivers and enmeshed penalties of legal system involvement.

Since opening our doors, we have grown into an organization of more than 400 staff members defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers each year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings who face incarceration, family separation, eviction, and deportation, among other devastating consequences.

Today we are reimagining the role of public defense even further, using community organizing and engagement, legislative advocacy, and impact litigation to partner with the communities we represent to bring about long-lasting systemic change.

We also share our model and lessons learned with current and future public defenders. We run two legal clinics at NYC law schools and train public defenders from one end of the country to the next on how to move to a holistic model of representation.

Description

The Data Engineer plays a pivotal role in advancing the mission of our public defender nonprofit by designing, building, and maintaining robust data infrastructure and analytics solutions. This position supports advocacy, strategic planning, and reporting obligations through the development of scalable data pipelines, cloud-based architectures, and secure data environments. Working collaboratively with cross-functional teams, the Data Engineer ensures data integrity, compliance, and accessibility, while fostering continuous improvement and knowledge sharing across the organization. Ideal candidates will demonstrate technical expertise in AWS platforms, strong problem-solving skills, and a commitment to leveraging data for social impact in a fast-paced, mission-driven setting.

Responsibilities:

Data Pipeline & Infrastructure Development

• Designing scalable data architectures for cloud environments
• Design, build, and maintain data pipelines (ETL/ELT processes) to support analytics, reporting, and organizational data needs.
• Data modeling for use in business intelligence tools such as ThoughtSpot
• Develop and maintain data models and databases to ensure reliable, up-to-date, and accessible information.
• Implement and optimize cloud-based data solutions (AWS required but knowledge of Azure preferred).
• Supporting database migrations and infrastructure changes with a focus on data integrity
• Identify, explore, and document new data sources and integrate them into existing infrastructure.
• Use AWS services, python scripts, SQL scripts, and other tools to build pipelines and automation for required funder reporting.
• Handling data wrangling, tokenization, and integration from APIs and external sources, which often involve unstructured formats.
• Ensure data quality and integrity through robust validation and cleaning processes.

Data Quality, Governance, & Security

• Administer and ensure data quality, integrity, and security in databases and reporting systems, as advised by our managed service provider, our IT, and our general counsel.
• Support data governance practices and best practices for data access and management.
• Ensuring compliance with standards like GDPR/CCPA when handling PII
• Review governance and compliance requirements with our AWS/Azure Managed Service Provider, as well as Bronx Defenders’ general counsel.

Problem-Solving & Support

• Troubleshoot and resolve issues with data pipelines, infrastructure, and reporting systems, with critical infrastructure as highest priority, within business hours.
• Available to launch infrastructure development during off-hours, if practical and necessary.
• Collaborate with business and data analysts to create systems and tools to maximize the efficient use of all data sources.
• Ready and able to cover gaps in capacity on the team (see core data team responsibilities below).

Core Data Team Responsibilities:

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Work

• Work collaboratively with Data, IT, and other teams to develop, maintain, and improve data infrastructure, reporting dashboards, and data projects.
• Provide guidance and support for data transformation and integration, often working with stakeholders and technical/non-technical staff.
• Working closely with Data and IT teams to align data projects with strategic goals
• Supporting advocacy efforts, strategic planning, and funding obligations through data

Reporting, Analytics, & Visualization

• Develop and maintain automated reporting tools and dashboards to meet advocacy, strategic planning, and contractual obligations.
• Produce clear, actionable documentation about systems, tools, and technical solutions.

Continuous Improvement & Learning

• Identify, explore, and document new data sources and integrate them into existing infrastructure.
• Stay current with new tools, technologies, and best practices in data engineering, analytics, and cloud platforms.
• Opportunities for professional development in Azure and cloud best practices will be provided.

Training, Documentation, & Knowledge Sharing

• Train and enable other team members (including technical and non-technical staff) on data environments, pipelines, and tools.
• Document technical solutions and processes for knowledge transfer and organizational learning.

Problem-Solving & Support

• Respond to ad hoc requests for data, reports, or technical support from across the organization.

Required Skills

• Proven experience in AWS data platforms and ability to implement data pipelines using AWS services such as Glue, Lambda, Step Functions, EMR, and Apache Airflow, Redshift, workspaces, S3
• Strong knowledge of Data Lake architecture and migration strategies
• SQL – PostgreSQL preferred, but other dialects are satisfactory
• Python and data science libraries such as Pandas
• Proficiency pulling data using an API
• Proficiency using source control systems such as Git
• Ability to extract data from diverse sources and formats, including unstructured data
• Comfortable manipulating common data file types, such as JSON, CVS, parquet
• Experience with Business Intelligence/Analytics platforms such as Tableau, ThoughtSpot, Qlik, or Power BI

Preferred Certifications and Skills

• AWS certifications would be relevant, but are not necessary
• Experience in Azure is a plus

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with lawyers and non-lawyers
• Ability to think critically and creatively in fast-paced settings
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Ability to receive feedback constructively, reflect and shift behavior accordingly
• Ability to exercise excellent judgment, discretion, and confidentiality around sensitive issues
• Ability to engage effectively with people from various backgrounds and experiences
• Strong interest in developing proficiency with new tools, technologies and techniques
• Ability to multitask, maintain order and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment

Salary is commensurate with experience. For candidates with 5 - 10 years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position is $125,000 to $150,000 annually. Full-time employees are also eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including but not limited to medical, dental and vision coverage; a 403(b) plan with employer contribution; a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.

Approximately 70% of The Bronx Defenders' staff, including attorneys and non-attorneys, are represented by UAW Local 2325 - Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (AFL-CIO). This position is not within the bargaining unit.

This position is exempt. By law, nonexempt employees are compensated hourly based on their annual rate and therefore are entitled to over-time, whereas exempt employees are not.

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter in one document. Your resume will be used to determine your salary based on the number of years of directly relevant professional experience and should include all relevant professional experience. Applications without a written cover letter will not be considered.

The Bronx Defenders is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to maintaining a workplace that embraces staff with a diversity of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We acknowledge the ways in which systemic oppression and injustice can undermine access to professional opportunities and are committed to conducting hiring and promotion processes that are equitable and accessible to those commonly excluded from the workforce. We do not discriminate against and in fact specifically encourage applicants from marginalized communities to apply, including those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color, queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, disabled, neurodivergent, and those directly impacted by criminal, civil, family, and immigration legal systems. We value lived as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we serve.