Overview

• The Systems Architect will play a crucial role in advancing the CDC Foundation’s mission by designing and overseeing the implementation of complex technical solutions that support the mission-critical systems in a public health organization. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements. Working within Multnomah County Health Department, Development, Data & Analytics Platforms Team, the Systems Architect will provide expertise and guidance in on-prem SQL Server and Azure Cloud architecture to redesign public health Data Warehouse systems to increase efficiency and capability in the Azure Cloud with Snowflake. The Systems Architect will work collaboratively to identify needs, prioritize gaps and vulnerabilities, and develop and support implementation of a technical approach that enables the public health organization to move forward on its mission. The Systems Architect will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the Multnomah County Health Department Development, Data & Analytics Platforms Team. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

• Provide expertise and leadership in on-prem SQL Server and Azure Cloud architecture in order to redesign public health Data Warehouse systems to increase efficiency and capability in the Azure Cloud with Snowflake.
• Contribute to and manage the planning, design, delivery and implementation of user-centric solutions related to large scale, complex products required to meet the critical business requirements.
• Contribute to the definition, evaluation, and development of architecture policies, standards, guidelines and best practices affecting government initiatives.
• Collaborate with partners to understand business requirements and objectives. Design and develop architectural solutions that meet these needs.
• Collaborate with County central information technology team (IT) to create system architecture diagrams, documentation, and guidelines to communicate design decisions and best practices.
• Evaluate existing systems and technologies to identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.
• Collaborate with County central IT to define technical standards, protocols, and guidelines to ensure consistency and interoperability across systems.
• Collaborate with County central IT to recommend and implement new technologies, tools, and frameworks to enhance system performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Collaborate with data engineers to design and implement data pipelines and integration processes that support the optimized infrastructure.
• Ensure that system architecture and solutions adhere to relevant public health data security and compliance standards (e.g., HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules).
• Conduct feasibility studies and risk assessments for proposed architectural changes or initiatives.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to development teams during the implementation phase.
• Perform system performance tuning, capacity planning, and scalability assessments.
• Ensure security, compliance, and regulatory requirements are integrated into the system architecture.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, network, and security teams to design and implement robust and resilient systems.
• Knowledgeable about industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in system architecture.
• Establish effective working relationships, obtain buy-in for systems development, promote systems to partners and agency leaders.
• Collaborate with County central IT to develop and implement Azure Cloud and Snowflake strategies aligned with business goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Experience and expertise in system architecture with deep technical knowledge of application design, implementation and deployment, as well as current and emerging architecture practices.
• Hands-on experience designing modern architectural patterns to support delivery of complex and legacy IT solutions that are stable, secure, responsive, and scalable.
• Knowledge of technical security and product management best practices.
• Knowledge of current industry standards and practices particularly to architect, automate and integrate the processes that would enable teams to build, test and release product’s features faster (e.g. such as Git, CI/CD, etc.)
• Hands-on knowledge of Azure Cloud and Snowflake tooling, including Azure Data Factory, Snowflake Native tools, Snowflake Dynamic tables, Snowflake Data Metric Functions, Snowflake Tasks, and Snowflake Alerts.
• Experience with programming languages (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, and/or C#) and proficiency in Transact-SQL and Snowflake’s SQL dialect.
• Expert level understanding of modern architectural standards for cloud-based solutions.
• Advanced knowledge and skill with Azure Cloud environments, Azure DevOps, and Azure Blob Storage
• Working knowledge and skill with Snowflake, Snowflake architecture on Azure Commercial, working with virtual data warehouses, data loading into Snowflake, and data query capabilities.
• Advanced knowledge and skill with on-prem SQL Server architecture.
• Proven ability to design and implement secure systems with appropriate access controls and data protection mechanisms.
• Experience in data migration and integration projects, ensuring data integrity and minimizing disruptions during transitions.
• Experience with healthcare or public health data systems as well as relevant data standards and regulations strongly preferred.
• Experience designing and writing automated test scripts for unit, integration, end-to-end, cross-browser, device, and accessibility testing.
• Proven experience applying software engineering best practices and architectural practices to product delivery.
• Experience conducting feasibility studies, reviewing new application system architecture or re-engineering legacy systems or enterprise level platforms.
• Ability to develop architectural solutions to meet complex, multi-year plans, spanning multiple internal/external partners and broadly defined business priorities.
• Ability to resolve significant integration and technical issues to address multiple systems/applications linkages, interdependencies and impacts where requirements are not initially clear.
• Demonstrated success fostering an inclusive environment working with and leading professionals from diverse backgrounds and geographies.
• Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to convey technical concepts to non-technical partners effectively.
• Flexibility to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; and the ability to develop productive working relationships with colleagues and partners.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.