Visiting Research IT Manager- Data Engineer, Health & Kinesiology - IIRER
Listed on 2026-01-13
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IT/Tech
Data Engineer, Data Science Manager, Data Analyst
Overview
Visiting Research IT Manager
- Data Engineer
, Health & Kinesiology - IIRER
The Illinois Institute for Rehabilitation and Employment Research (IIRER) seeks a full-time (12-month) Visiting Research IT Manager-Data Engineer. The Visiting Research IT Manager-Data Engineer will serve as a central technical resource for the IIRER at the University of Illinois and work to ensure full implementation of IIRER research projects. Primary duties include building, maintaining, and optimizing data systems critical to the Institute’s research, evaluation, field operations, and training activities.
The role blends data engineering, database management, data governance, and IT project management to ensure that research data are collected, stored, analyzed, and shared securely and effectively.
The Data Engineer / IT Project Manager ensures that multidisciplinary faculty, staff, and partners (e.g. state agencies, schools, VR programs, and community providers) are supported with reliable data systems, strong cybersecurity protocols, and high-quality digital infrastructure for research and evaluation purposes. This position does require travel within the State of Illinois.
Duties & Responsibilities- Research & Evaluation Support – Partner with all IIRER Directors (Executive, Assistant, Research, Evaluation, Operations, and Field) to design data collection systems and real-time dashboards.
- Create tools and pipelines that support mixed-methods research, workforce development analytics, and program evaluations.
- Collaborate with the Director of Field Operations to support field data capture (mobile tools, encrypted devices, remote uploads).
- Collaborate with IIRER staff to support data systems that facilitate research and evaluation activities.
- Provide data extracts, cleaned datasets, and analytic-ready files for research and evaluation staff.
- Data Engineering and Infrastructure Development – Design, build, and maintain scalable data architecture to support research, evaluation, and field operations.
- Develop Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) pipelines for large datasets from multiple sources (state agencies, partners, survey systems, field data).
- Create and manage relational databases, APIs, and secure data warehouses for use by research staff.
- Ensure interoperability and compliance of data systems with University of Illinois policies, IRB requirements, and state/federal regulations.
- Training Capacity Building & Technical Assistance – Provide training to staff, graduate students, partners, and field teams on data entry, security, dashboards, and analytic tools.
- Develop documentation, SOPs, and user guides for data handling and research software.
- Offer technical assistance to external partners (e.g., state VR, school districts, 14(c) providers) participating in research efforts.
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, data science, engineering, or related field.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in data engineering, database administration, IT project management, or related technical role.
- Experience with secure data handling in education, workforce, health, or government contexts (FERPA, HIPAA, IRB).
- Experience with ETL pipelines, data lakes/warehouses, cloud computing (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP), and API integration.
- Experience developing dashboards, automated reporting, or large-scale administrative data integration.
- Master’s degree in computer science, information systems, data science, engineering, or related field.
- Five years of experience in data engineering, database administration, IT project management, or related technical role.
- Demonstrated experience supporting research, evaluation, or public-sector data systems is strongly preferred.
Skills And Abilities
- Strong programming skills in Python, SQL, R, or similar languages.
- Familiarity with analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau) and database systems (Postgre
SQL, SQL Server, MySQL). - Proven ability to manage complex IT projects with multiple stakeholders.
- Strong organizational skills with experience in Agile, Scrum, or other project management methodologies.
- Ability to translate technical information into clear…
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