The Bronx Defenders (BxD), an innovative, progressive, holistic indigent defense office in the South Bronx, seeks a Temporary Cloud Engineer - Data Focused, 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 

We are seeking a seasoned Temporary, Data Focused Cloud Engineer, with a minimum of five (5) years of experience, to lead and support data migrations and modern data platform initiatives. In this role, you will play a key part in implementing AWS data services, building ETL/ELT pipelines, and supporting data solutions that empower our organization to derive meaningful insights from its data. The ideal candidate will bring significant expertise in data-focused cloud engineering and will be comfortable considering multiple approaches and making recommendations based on industry best practices and the implementation at hand. The ideal candidate will also be comfortable training and enabling other technical team members on the environments and pipelines they have designed.  

• End-to-end design for data transformation from source (Jsons, tables, APIs etc.) to target, including creating and maintaining data extraction, transformation, and loading processes 

• Implementing data pipelines using AWS services such as Apache Airflow, Glue, Lambda, Step Functions, and EMR 

• Design and implement a scalable data architecture for cloud environments. 

• Configuring and optimizing AWS database services, including RDS, Aurora, Redshift, and DynamoDB 

• Implementing data lakes using S3 and related AWS services 

• Writing and testing SQL queries and stored procedures 

• Documenting technical solutions and providing knowledge transfer to customers 

• Supporting the implementation of data governance and security controls 

• Troubleshooting and resolving issues with data pipelines and services 

• Participating in code reviews and implementing feedback 

• Provide architectural guidance and hands-on support for data transformation and integration. 

• Collaborate with data engineers, stakeholders, and cloud teams to ensure smooth execution. 

• Optimize data model and architecture for integration with business intelligence tools 

• Training and enablement for other members of the Data and IT teams  

• Creating thorough documentation and subsequently training other team members  

• Analyze and work with additional technologies like Databricks, Snowflake, Graph DB etc. over the course of the engagement. 

Required Skills 

• Proven experience in Azure and AWS data platforms 

• Strong knowledge of Data Lake architecture and migration strategies 

• SQL 

• Python 

• AWS – Apache airflow, Redshift, workspaces, S3 

• APIs 

Preferred Certifications 

• AWS certifications would be relevant, but are not necessary – I’m more interested in a candidate with extensive experience 

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 

Salary is commensurate with experience.  For candidates with five (5) years of directly relevant experience, the salary range for this position is $120,000.00 to $130,000.00. 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; and a generous vacation, sick leave, and parental leave policy.   

This is a temporary, hybrid position that will last 3 – 5 months. With mutual agreement between the employee and the employer, the position may be extended beyond 5 months.   

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 overtime, whereas exempt employees are not.   

To apply, please click APPLY TO THIS JOB ONLINE and upload your resume and cover letter in one document. Your cover letter should share why you want to do this work at our office, as well as some key lived and/or professional experiences that have prepared you for this position. 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 cultivating an anti-oppressive 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 experience as well as professional experience and particularly welcome applications from the Bronx community that we work with.