Technical Specialist, Techna (Data Engineer)

Description

This is a Technical Specialist (Data Engineer) role in the TECHNA department at Toronto General Hospital, a new position with 1 vacancy. It is non-union and reports to the Project Director.

You will sit within the Data Science and Health Informatics Research teams, which work where FAIR data management meets machine learning and build health data applications and tools.

The team works with software developers, architects, business analysts, designers, managers and research stakeholders. The focus is on correct, high-quality data and on new approaches.

The company is a research hospital and a publicly funded organization with 10 sites and more than 44,000 staff. It is affiliated with the University of Toronto and runs the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, covering neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine.

The role works on health technologies that speed up research, including health data interoperability platforms and integrated predictive models.

Responsibilities

• Build, test and maintain REDCap projects, instruments, data dictionaries and integrations for clinical research and multi-site studies.
• Build and upkeep ETL processes that pull research and clinical data from several source systems, with validation and quality checks at every stage.
• Manage research data work end to end: data modelling, curation, harmonization, documentation, quality assurance and secure access.
• Turn research and business needs into technical requirements, specifications and supporting documents.
• Lead complex, mid- to long-term projects that need specialized knowledge, and make sound decisions on hard or unclear problems.
• Work with principal investigators, research coordinators, clinicians and data custodians to gather requirements, set expectations and resolve issues early.
• Report on project progress, risks and outcomes, adjusting the detail for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Build and assess prototypes, and propose ways to improve system performance and processes.
• Put in place and maintain security and access controls, and help meet privacy, REB and institutional data rules.
• Work with research programs, principal investigators and other partners to advance research and improve clinical care.

Requirements

• An undergraduate degree or recognized equivalent in Computer Science, Health Informatics, Health Science or a related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience, with a record of working on complex projects with little supervision.
• Proven work with research data in a health, clinical or academic setting, including collection, curation, quality assurance and handling sensitive data securely.
• Hands-on REDCap experience: building projects, designing data dictionaries, configuring surveys and instruments, managing users and access, and connecting via API or other external systems.
• Solid data management skills, including data modelling, data dictionaries, metadata, harmonization and documentation.
• Proven experience designing, building and maintaining ETL processes and data pipelines across several source systems.
• Experience engaging and managing stakeholders, including researchers, clinicians and technical teams, to gather requirements, manage expectations and reach agreement.
• Experience working with highly technical stakeholders and a track record of making a complex subject clear.
• Experience supporting complex research or clinical environments.
• Knowledge of data-driven or AI-enabled healthcare initiatives, and the ability to turn clinical or research needs into data and technology requirements.
• Experience in project management using both Agile and Waterfall, and the judgment to choose the right one.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence cross-functional teams toward outcomes rather than outputs.
• Working knowledge of regulatory and institutional requirements such as REB and Health Canada, or equivalent. This is an asset.
• Experience with SQL, Python, Java, Oracle, Mongo, RDF, HL7, FHIR, JavaScript or Angular. This is an asset.
• Additional requirements are listed in the posting.

Conditions

Full-time permanent position of 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

Based at Toronto General Hospital.

Closing date is November 6, 2026.

Current employees must have completed their probation, have a good employee record and satisfactory attendance under the company attendance management program to be considered.

A Criminal Record Check may be required of the successful candidate.

Artificial intelligence tools may be used to help screen, assess and select candidates.

If any information provided is found to be misleading, inaccurate or incorrect, the company may stop considering the application.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and accepts accommodation requests at any stage of recruitment.

Benefits

• Competitive offer packages.
• Membership in the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan as a government organization.
• Close access to transit and a shuttle service.
• A flexible work environment.
• Opportunities for growth and promotion within a large organization.
• Corporate discounts on travel, restaurants, parking, phone plans, auto insurance and on-site gyms, among others.