Data Engineering - Associate

Build reliable data foundations that help clients turn complex data into trusted, actionable insights. 

We are seeking a highly motivated Data Engineering Consulting Associate to join our Data & Analytics practice. In this role, you will help clients design, build, and optimize modern data platforms that enable advanced analytics, reporting, and AI-driven decision-making. 

You will work alongside experienced consultants, solution architects, and client stakeholders to deliver end-to-end data engineering solutions across cloud and on-premises environments. This position offers an excellent opportunity to develop both technical expertise and consulting skills while working on large-scale digital transformation initiatives. 

We're anticipating future openings and are connecting now with great talent who'd like to be considered when the time comes.

What You'll Work On 

• As an Associate, Data Engineer, you will: 
• Design, develop, test, and maintain scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT processes. 
• Support the implementation of modern data platforms, data lakes, and data warehouses. 
• Develop data integration solutions using cloud-native and enterprise technologies. 
• Build and optimize data ingestion frameworks for structured and unstructured data. 
• Perform data quality validation, transformation, reconciliation, and performance tuning. 
• Support migration of legacy data environments to modern cloud architectures. 
• Gather business and technical requirements from client stakeholders. 
• Translate business needs into practical technical data solutions. 
• Participate in workshops, design sessions, demonstrations, and project status meetings. 
• Document technical designs, architecture decisions, operating procedures, and development standards. 
• Support disciplined project delivery across one or more client workstreams. 
• Collaborate with business intelligence, analytics, AI, and data science teams to ensure reliable data availability. 
• Support the development of curated data models for reporting and analytical use cases. 
• Assist with implementing data governance, security, privacy, and compliance controls. 
• Identify opportunities to improve platform performance, scalability, reliability, and maintainability. 
• Stay current on emerging cloud, data engineering, analytics, and AI technologies. 
• Contribute to internal accelerators, reusable assets, proposals, and knowledge-sharing initiatives. 

What You'll Bring 

• You will likely be successful in this role if you have: 
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field.  
• 1-3 years of experience in data engineering, data integration, analytics engineering, software engineering, or a related technical role.  
• Hands-on experience with SQL, relational databases, and ETL/ELT development.  
• Understanding of data warehousing concepts, dimensional modeling, and data quality practices.  
• Experience with at least one programming language such as Python, Scala, or Java.  
• Familiarity with at least one cloud platform such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud.  
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and documentation skills.  
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team-oriented, client-facing environment. 

How You Work 

• You are curious, practical, collaborative, detail-oriented, and motivated to learn through feedback and hands-on delivery.
• You handle ambiguity by clarifying assumptions, gathering evidence, communicating progress, and escalating thoughtfully when needed.
• You balance pace with quality and treat testing, documentation, reliability, security, and maintainability as part of the work.

Bonus Points If You Have 

• Experience with Azure Data Factory, Microsoft Fabric, Databricks, Synapse Analytics, Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Airflow, dbt, or comparable platforms.  
• Knowledge of distributed data processing frameworks such as Apache Spark.  
• Exposure to data governance, metadata management, master data management, or data observability.  
• Experience in consulting, professional services, or another client-facing delivery environment.  
• Relevant certifications from Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Databricks, or Snowflake.  

What Success Looks Like 

• Within your first 30 days, you understand our delivery standards, development workflow, assigned platform, and the business context behind your work.
• Within 60–90 days, you deliver tested, documented pipeline or transformation work with appropriate coaching and dependable follow-through.
• Your work improves the reliability, usability, or maintainability of the data solutions you support and meets documented requirements.
• Teammates and stakeholders view you as a responsive, thoughtful contributor who communicates clearly, raises risks early, and grows in independence.

At FormativGroup, you’ll work with people who are practical, collaborative, and focused on solving meaningful business and technology problems. We’re growing, which means you’ll have opportunities to contribute ideas, work closely with experienced leaders, and help shape how we deliver for clients.

Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa currently.

This is a remote role with approximately 50% travel. The preferred location is the Northeast U.S. To be considered for this position, candidates must reside in one of the following U.S. states or Washington, DC: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WI, or Washington, DC. Candidates residing outside these locations are not eligible for consideration currently.