Snowflake Developer

The Snowflake Developer is responsible for designing, developing, optimizing, and operationalizing Northeastern University’s Snowflake data platform. This role requires deep expertise in Snowflake’s core capabilities-including data modeling, performance tuning, ELT pipelines, security controls, and orchestration-while also preparing the university for advanced AI and data product capabilities using Snowflake Cortex, Snowpark, vectorized storage, and machine-learning features., The developer will work across legacy data structures (Banner, Workday, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and other enterprise systems) and build modern, scalable data pipelines and transformations that enable analytics, automation, applied AI, and agentic workflows. This role is foundational to transforming our data platform into an AI-ready environment., This role requires occasional availability outside of traditional working hours to address urgent business needs as they arise, including, but not limited to, responding to security incidents, supporting software deployments, resolving system issues, and addressing other critical operational requirements. The ideal candidate must be proactive and adaptable, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations by promptly addressing any issues, regardless of time or day. Flexibility and a strong sense of urgency are essential for success in this position.

Other duties as required:

This role requires flexibility in performing duties outside of the primary responsibilities to support evolving business needs. The ideal candidate must be adaptable and willing to take on additional tasks or projects as required, ensuring smooth operations across the organization. This may include stepping in to assist with cross-functional teams, handling unexpected challenges, or contributing to initiatives that support business growth and success. A proactive mindset and the ability to pivot quickly are essential for thriving in this dynamic environment.

Hybrid work schedule:

This role is hybrid and in the office three days a week to facilitate collaboration and teamwork. In-office presence is an essential part of our on-campus culture and allows for engaging directly with staff and students, sharing ideas, and contributing to a dynamic work environment. Being on-site allows for stronger connections, more effective problem-solving, and enhanced team synergy, all of which are key to achieving our collective goals and driving success

Key Accountabilities & responsibilities

Snowflake Development & Optimization

• Build and maintain Snowflake schemas, tables, dynamic tables, materialized views, file formats, stages, and secure data sharing structures.
• Develop performant SQL/ELT code using Snowflake best practices, including clustering, micro-partitioning, and query profiling.
• Monitor workloads and optimize compute usage, warehouses, and storage for cost and performance efficiency.

Data Pipeline & Integration Development

• Design and develop ELT pipelines with Fivetran, DBT, Informatica, or equivalent tools.
• Integrate legacy and cloud systems (Banner, Workday, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Azure) into Snowflake.
• Build scalable ingestion patterns including batch, event-driven, and incremental data pipelines.

AI & Advanced Snowflake Capabilities

• Work with Snowflake Cortex for AI/ML workloads including embedding generation, LLM inference, and cognitive search.
• Develop Snowpark Python transformations, UDFs, and machine-learning features.
• Implement vectorized storage, model-serving patterns, and AI-ready data transformations.
• Support RAG/semantic search pipelines and agentic workflows leveraging Snowflake-native AI features.

Data Quality, Governance & Security

• Implement data quality rules, metadata tagging, lineage tracking, and documentation.
• Manage roles, RBAC, masking policies, and compliance with FERPA/GDPR/security controls.
• Ensure all datasets and products meet consistency, reliability, and discoverability standards.
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Collaboration & Cross-Functional Support

• Partner with data architects, data engineers, analytics teams, and domain stewards.
• Support academic and administrative units requiring Snowflake solutions.
• Troubleshoot, monitor, and improve existing data products in partnership with business and IT stakeholders.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field required, * 4-6+ years of experience building cloud-native data pipelines or enterprise data platforms.

• 3-5+ years of direct Snowflake development experience.
• Demonstrated ability to modernize legacy data structures and migrate workloads into Snowflake.
• Experience working with enterprise systems such as Workday, Salesforce, and/or ServiceNow.

Technical Competencies:

• Deep knowledge of Snowflake architecture, warehouses, micro-partitioning, clustering, performance tuning, and cost optimization.
• Strong SQL and ELT development skills including DBT, Fivetran, Informatica, or similar tools.
• Experience with Snowflake Cortex, Snowpark, UDFs, dynamic tables, streams, and tasks.
• Familiarity with AI workloads: embeddings, vector search, RAG, LLM orchestration pipelines.
• Experience with ETL/ELT frameworks, API integrations, and event streaming (Kafka/EventHub).
• Understanding of data modeling, data vault, star/snowflake schema, and data products., * Ability to write clean, optimized SQL and pipeline code.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills with ability to diagnose poorly performing workloads.
• Ability to translate business requirements into Snowflake data structures and pipelines.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills with cross-functional technical and non-technical teams.
• Ability to prioritize workload in a fast-paced environment with shifting needs., * SnowPro Core, SnowPro Advanced, or Snowflake Solutions Architect certifications.
• Experience with Snowflake’s AI/ML stack (Cortex, Snowpark ML, Vector Stores).
• Experience with DBT Cloud, GitHub Actions, CI/CD for data pipelines.
• Experience enabling AI workflows in Snowflake (RAG, inference endpoints, embeddings).
• Experience in higher education or other federated organizations.

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.