Full-time (100%), fixed-term position for up to 12 months
Base salary will be in the range $115,645.22 - $129,654.48 + 17% Superannuation (HEW Level 8)
A rare opportunity to combine deep technical work with team leadership, autonomy, and purpose, guiding a data function into its next phase of maturity.
Based at our Toowong office, with up to two days working from home
We are seeking a Senior Data Engineer to play a critical role in the ongoing development, optimisation, and governance of the data infrastructure underpinning the ATLAS Indigenous Primary Care Surveillance and Research Network. This role provides senior technical leadership, mentoring, and capability uplift across the data function.
ATLAS is a longstanding, Indigenous-led sentinel surveillance system coordinated by the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. Working in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), ATLAS monitors sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs) to support improved health outcomes through high-quality reporting, analytics, and evidence-based public health insights. The network currently captures approximately 10 million electronic medical records from over 200,000 individuals across around 90 primary healthcare sites.
As ATLAS continues to expand its clinical domains and participating sites, the Senior Data Engineer will lead the transition from legacy pipelines to a scalable, secure, best-practice data architecture that supports long-term surveillance and research goals, while maintaining business-as-usual operations. The role offers a high level of autonomy and the opportunity to help mature and scale a data function into a sustained, long-term capability.
Key responsibilities will include:
Lead the design, development, and optimisation of automated data ingestion, transformation, and validation pipelines for large-scale EMR data.
Re-architect existing workflows to create modular, maintainable, and scalable data products.
Operate within secure, on-premises research computing environments, while complying with ethics and governance requirements, cybersecurity standards and Indigenous data sovereignty principles.
Implement robust automated quality assurance processes and maintain comprehensive documentation.
Collaborate with technical teams, researchers, and stakeholders to ensure alignment of data systems with project and analytical requirements.
Provide technical advice and guidance to researchers on best-practice data workflows.
Contribute to a proactive culture of safety, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
As part of the UQ community, you will have the opportunity to work alongside the brightest minds, who have joined us from all over the world.
Everyone here has a role to play. As a member of our professional staff cohort, you will be actively involved in working towards our vision of a better world. By supporting the academic endeavour across teaching, research, and the student life, you will have the opportunity to contribute to activities that have a lasting impact on our community.
Join a community where excellence is at the core of our culture, contributions are valued and a range of benefits and rewards are available, such as:
Up to 26 weeks paid parental leave/paid primary care leave
17% superannuation contributions + 17.5% annual leave loading
Access to flexible working arrangements including hybrid working options, flexible start/finish times, purchased leave, and a condensed fortnight
Health and wellness discounts – fitness passport access, free yearly flu vaccinations, discounted health insurance, and access to our Employee Assistance Program for staff and their immediate family
Career development opportunities –access to exclusive internal-only vacancies and our Study for Staff program
Salary packaging options
As an Indigenous-led centre, we strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We value lived experience, community connection, and diverse career pathways.
Qualification in software engineering, computer science, IT, or related discipline, or equivalent experience.
Demonstrated experience working with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data
Experience designing and optimising data pipelines and architectures using tools such as DBT or SSIS.
Proficiency in SQL, Python programming skills and R for analytical workflows.
Familiarity with database administration (e.g., Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle) and Git/GitHub.
Strong organisational, problem-solving, and communication skills, with experience engaging diverse stakeholders.
Commitment to research integrity, ethics, workplace health and safety, and UQ values.
Highly Desirable
Supervisory experience and readiness for team leadership.
Knowledge of Indigenous Data Sovereignty principles.
PhD or Research Masters (or progress towards one).
Experience with DevOps, agile, containerisation (Docker), Linux server administration, full-stack development, or network security.
Appointment to this role is subject to the successful completion of relevant pre-employment checks, which may include verification of the right to work in Australia, qualifications and criminal history checks. This may also include checks relating to gender-based violence matters or other integrity and conduct requirements.
You must maintain unrestricted work rights in Australia for the duration of this appointment to apply. Employer sponsored work rights are not available for this appointment.
For more information about this opportunity, please contact Dr Carol El-Hayek at c.elhayek@uq.edu.au
For application inquiries, please reach out to the Talent Acquisition team at talent@uq.edu.au, stating the job reference number (below) in the subject line.
We welcome applications from all individuals and are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. To be considered, please ensure you upload:
Resume
A cover letter summarising how your background aligns with the 'About You' section
Our strength as an institution lies in our diverse colleagues. We're dedicated to equity, diversity, and inclusion, fostering an environment that mirrors our wider community. We're committed to attracting, retaining, and promoting diverse talent, particularly from Australia’s First Nations Peoples. If you require an alternative method to submit your application due to accessibility needs or personal circumstances, please contact talent@uq.edu.au.
UQ is committed to a fair, equitable and inclusive selection process, which recognises that some applicants may face additional barriers and challenges which have impacted and/or continue to impact their career trajectory. Candidates who don’t meet all criteria are encouraged to apply and demonstrate their potential. The selection panel considers both potential and performance relative to opportunities when assessing suitability for the role.
Applications close Sunday 1st February 2026 at 11.00pm AEST (R-60214).