Data Engineer

Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. is building a digital twin for a fleet of power plants, and the Plant Asset Management Technology team is looking for a Data Engineer to help turn operational, financial, and work management data into a web-based product that plant and executive users can rely on.

What you’ll build and own

You’ll architect lakehouse models and pipelines that connect telemetry from thousands of sensors and devices with work management and financial data. From there, you’ll create the data mart and semantic model that powers user-driven analytics, and design the high-level models that bring together asset-level predictive models with operational, work management, and financial perspectives. The goal is a fleet-wide picture of health, risk, and performance.

You’ll also help business teams connect their asset models seamlessly into the broader digital twin, integrate financial perspectives into reliability and lifecycle models, and continually expand coverage by bringing in additional operational, planning, and maintenance systems.

How the team works

You'll work in a small, empowered agile product team with a dedicated Product Manager (your direct lead), UX designer, software engineers, and analysts. You’ll collaborate daily to deliver a web-based product, iterating with plant staff and executives so the solution works in real-world conditions. You’ll partner with PM, UX, software engineers, and expert stakeholders to turn data, models, and visuals into a web app users can adopt quickly.

Responsibilities

• Architect lakehouse models and pipelines to combine sensor telemetry with work management and financial data.
• Build the data mart and semantic model that supports user-driven analytics.
• Design high-level integration models to connect asset-level predictive models with financial, work management, and operational data.
• Partner with business teams to ensure asset models connect seamlessly into the digital twin.
• Integrate financial perspectives into reliability and lifecycle models.
• Continuously bring in additional operational, planning, and maintenance systems to enrich the digital twin.
• Champion the people who rely on the product, from plant floor staff to executives.
• Improve how insights are captured, modeled, and delivered, connecting them to the information users need for faster decisions.
• Collaborate with PM, UX, software engineers, and stakeholders to deliver a web app backed by data and models.
• Support quality and value so every release strengthens the product.

What you bring

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field (or equivalent experience) with a strong foundation in data engineering, system design, and enterprise integration patterns.
• Proficiency with ETL/ELT, SQL/NoSQL, and cloud-based data platforms, especially Microsoft Azure (Storage Accounts, SQL Databases, Synapse Analytics, Data Factory, Data Lake, Delta Lake).
• Deep understanding of data architectures for analytics and data science operations, including data modeling, star schemas, semantic layers, and decoupled integration patterns that scale and support ML/AI workloads.
• Ability to build and evolve Databricks models for the digital twin, combining financial, operational, and reliability data.
• Experience integrating asset-level models into fleet-wide views and ensuring they connect into the larger platform.
• Skills for building visual dashboards, charts, and tools for dense, clear expert analytics.
• Familiarity with best practices such as Stephen Few’s work is a plus.
• Comfort with Python (or similar) or scripting to automate pipelines and integrate with downstream systems.
• Bonus: ability to communicate with software engineers and guide how data integrates into the UI.
• Ability to understand business processes, including the “why” behind requirements, and connect technical decisions to business value.
• Excellent communication skills to navigate technical and business discussions and align diverse teams.

Tech stack you’ll work with

• Azure, Databricks, Delta Lake, Azure SQL, Cosmos DB
• Azure Web Apps, Azure Storage Accounts, Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake
• SQL, NoSQL, ETL, ELT
• Star schemas, semantic layers
• Python, C#
• ML/AI workloads

Benefits

• Total compensation package that reflects your experience and contributions.
• 401(k) program with a generous employer match.
• PTO and paid holidays.
• Premier healthcare plan with medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family, beginning on your first day of employment.

Location: Springfield, MO (onsite).

How Associated builds: Leadership support and a mandate to deliver something that makes a lasting difference, using a cloud-first Microsoft stack (Azure, Databricks with Delta Lake, Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Azure Web Apps, and Python/C#).