Sr. Data Engineer, Internal Audit

UMC Health System is hiring a Senior Data Engineer to support Internal Audit as a technical specialist for enterprise data, IT, and cybersecurity risk. This hybrid role in Lubbock, TX combines hands-on data engineering with risk-based audit work, including managing outsourced IT audits from planning through reporting while serving as a key IT point of contact.

Responsibilities

• Independently build and maintain reliable data pipelines that support audit and risk work.
• Manage outsourced, risk-based IT audits from planning through reporting as the primary liaison with the third-party audit firm.
• Connect system activity to business processes by developing testable risk hypotheses, identifying exposures that may fall outside third-party scope, and translating complex technical evidence into clear audit conclusions and practical recommendations.
• Design, build, document, monitor, and maintain secure ELT pipelines that acquire data from enterprise applications, databases, APIs, files, and approved cloud sources.
• Validate completeness and accuracy by cleaning, normalizing, reconciling, joining, and transforming data, then loading trusted data into approved warehouses, marts, or audit workspaces.
• Design and optimize databases, schemas, data models, and reusable analytical structures using advanced SQL.
• Use JavaScript (or other appropriate tools) for integration and automation.
• Develop risk-based hypotheses with auditors and process owners, determine required data for testing, investigate patterns or exceptions, and differentiate indicators from confirmed findings.
• Create reproducible, audit-ready workpapers documenting sources, populations, transformations, parameters, validation, exceptions, limitations, code, and conclusions.
• Communicate results to audit team members for testwork and explain technical findings to management in clear business terms when needed.
• Serve as the department’s primary IT contact on outsourced IT audits, with the ability to challenge incomplete explanations and recognize when evidence does not support management conclusions.
• Evaluate prior IT Audit finding action plans and compensating controls to assess whether they address risk and root cause, operate with required precision and frequency, cover the full population, and produce reliable evidence that reduces exposure.
• Review external audit or assessment scopes and results to identify technology risks, systems, interfaces, dependencies, and control areas not addressed, coordinating evidence and follow-up without unnecessary duplication.
• Translate technical/system issues into business terms for stakeholders and translate business risk back into actionable technical terms for IT.
• Work closely with the Internal Audit team, providing technical explanation and supporting detail to relevant stakeholders.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, data engineering, cybersecurity, accounting information systems, or related fields (four additional years of directly related experience may be substituted).
• 3–5 years of progressively responsible, hands-on data engineering experience producing ELT or ETL pipelines, data warehousing, database design or modeling, and data-quality controls.
• At least 2 years supporting IT audit, IT risk management, information security, or IT controls work (may be concurrent).
• Active CISA or CISSP required within 18 months of hire and maintained in good standing thereafter, including ongoing CPE for the applicable certification.
• Advanced SQL proficiency with hands-on experience using Microsoft SQL Server.
• Working proficiency in data transformation, analysis, and automation.
• Working knowledge of IT risk and controls frameworks such as NIST, COBIT, or ISO 27001.
• Ability to operate independently, learn unfamiliar systems, question incomplete explanations, manage competing priorities, and communicate effectively with engineers, process owners, executives, external auditors, and governance committees.
• Ability to collaborate effectively across audit, IT, and business teams.

Preferred

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• 7+ years of hands-on data engineering experience.
• 3+ years of IT audit or IT risk and controls experience.
• Healthcare or similarly regulated industry experience involving sensitive data and critical operational systems.
• Experience with EHR, ERP, HR and payroll, timekeeping, identity, security, audit management, backup, cloud, API, or OData platforms.
• Active CISA at hire (CISSP also accepted; CISA strongly preferred).
• Familiarity with MySQL or another major relational database platform.
• Familiarity with FedRAMP requirements for cloud service providers.
• Familiarity with Workday and EPIC.

Technologies

ELT, ETL, SQL, Microsoft SQL Server, JavaScript, NIST, COBIT, ISO 27001, CISA, CISSP