Do you want to be part of an inclusive team that works to develop innovative therapies for patients? Every day, we are driven to develop and deliver innovative and effective new medicines to patients and physicians. If you want to be part of this exciting work, you belong at Astellas!

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are committed to turning innovative science into medical solutions that bring value and hope to patients and their families. Keeping our focus on addressing unmet medical needs and conducting our business with ethics and integrity enables us to improve the health of people throughout the world. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.com .

Building your career at Astellas continues to offer inspiring challenges and a chance to make your mark in doing good for others. Our open and progressive culture is what makes us Astellas. It’s a culture of doing good for others and contributing to a sustainable society.

About This Job As part of the Astellas commitment to delivering value for our patients, our organization is currently undergoing transformation to achieve this critical goal. This is an opportunity to work on digital transformation and make a real impact within a company dedicated to improving lives.

DigitalX our new information technology function is spearheading this value-driven transformation across Astellas. We are looking for people who excel in embracing change, manage technical challenges and have exceptional communication skills.

We are seeking committed and talented Data Engineers, to join our InformationX team- which lies at the heart of DigitalX. As a member of our team within InformationX, you will be responsible for ensuring our data driven systems are operational, scalable and continue to contain the right data to drive business value.

Purpose And Scope As an Information X Data Engineer, you will play a crucial role in leading, designing, building, and maintaining our data infrastructure. Your expertise in Data engineering across multiple platforms including Posit, Azure/ AWS Cloud Data Warehousing, Databricks, PySpark, SQL, Business Intelligence (Qlik), Application management and other related technologies, will be instrumental in enabling data-driven decision-making and outcomes. Working within small agile teams that are focused on delivering value, you will play a pivotal role in building, maintaining and enhancing our strategic systems across the organization. This is a fantastic global opportunity to use your proven agile delivery skills across a diverse range of initiatives, utilize your development skills, and contribute to the continuous improvement/delivery of critical IT solutions.

Essential Skills & Knowledge

• Strong communication and collaboration skills, coupled with excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Subject Matter Expertise: possess a strong understanding of data architecture/ engineering/operations/data model (e.g. data vault, dimensional data model).
• Experience within Life Sciences/ Pharma /Manufacturing industry is preferred.
• Proven experience in building robust data pipeline; experience in (near) real-time processing is preferred.
• Technical Proficiency: Strong coding skills for example, Python, PySpark, SQL, or R.
• Engineering experience across multiple platforms for example AWS, Azure, Databricks, Docker, Kubernetes or Change Data Capture (eg. Fivetran) is preferred.
• Expertise in building data pipelines and strong understanding of data management best practices
• Proficiency in network architecture and security concepts
• Proven experience with data analytics practices and techniques and organizations
• Agile Practices: Experience working in Agile development environments, participating in sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospectives.
• Cloud Data Solutions: Familiarity with other cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and their data services
• Analytical Thinking: Demonstrated ability to lead ad hoc analyses, identify performance gaps, and foster a culture of continuous improvement
• Agile Champion: Adherence to DevOps principles, automation, and a proven track record with CI/CD pipelines for continuous delivery
• Understand and Interpret business requirements and can term them into technical requirements.

Responsibilities

• Platform Management:
• Conduct health checks on the Posit platform and oversee application access and initial setup for Posit Workbench and Connect.
• Manage the installation, upgrades, and product upgrades for Posit packages, Workbench, Connect, and PostgreSQL.
• Deployment and Access:
• Deploy applications in production environments and set up application access and Active Directory groups for various users.
• Configure global environment variables for dashboards and set up service accounts or SQL IDs.
• Content Scheduling and Security:
• Schedule content for Shiny, Markdown, and API applications.
• Perform security checks for cross-environment connections and hardcoded credentials.
• Troubleshooting and Performance Tuning:
• Troubleshoot deployment issues, including logs, connection issues, and token errors.
• Scale and tune the performance of RStudio applications, addressing runtime changes and timeout errors.
• Conduct root cause analysis and investigate server issues reported by multiple users, including application performance, authentication, and connectivity issues.
• User Management and Cleanup:
• Clean up inactive user licenses for Posit Workbench and Connect.
• Monitor and manage the availability of servers, applications, file systems, and databases, including expansion and cleanup.
• Post-Patching and Security Management:
• Perform post-patching checkouts for production and non-production environments.
• Rotate passwords for LDAP or CIFS service accounts using CyberArk and manage SSL certificate and product license renewals.
• Vendor Coordination:
• Coordinate with 3rd parties where necessary for debugging issues and identifying best practices.
• Design, develop and implement robust and scalable data analytics using modern technologies.
• Collaborate with cross functional teams and practices across the organization including Commercial, Manufacturing, Medical, FoundationX, GrowthX and support other X (transformation) Hubs and Practices as appropriate, to understand user needs and translate them into technical solutions.
• Provide Technical Support to internal users troubleshooting complex issues and ensuring system uptime as soon as possible.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives identifying opportunities to optimize performance security and maintainability of existing data and platform architecture and other technology investments.
• Participate in the continuous delivery pipeline. Adhering to DevOps best practises for version control automation and deployment. Ensuring effective management of the FoundationX backlog.
• Leverage your knowledge of data engineering principles to integrate with existing data pipelines and explore new possibilities for data utilization.
• Stay-up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies in data engineering and cloud platforms.

Experience

• Proven experience in a Posit server environment, including design, installation, and maintenance of Posit Workbench and Connect related technologies.
• Strong proficiency with Posit Package Manager and experience in setting up and maintaining containers for various R packages and versions, with a solid understanding of Kubernetes architecture and pod management.
• Proficient in Unix/Linux command line skills, including the use of the vi editor.
• Familiarity with cloud infrastructure, specifically hosting Posit environments on AWS and Azure, and experience with Redshift, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and Ubuntu operating systems.
• Experience with R and Python programming, including relevant R packages and Python libraries for data analysis and visualization.
• Knowledge of statistical analysis and troubleshooting end-user issues.

Qualifications Required: Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field (Master’s preferred) or equivalent experience.

Any relevant cloud-based integration certification at associate or professional level. For example:

• AWS certified DevOps engineer (Associate or Professional),
• AWS Certified Developer (Associate or Professional)
• DataBricks Certified Engineer
• Qlik Sense Data Architect / Business Analyst (or similar platform)
• Mulesoft Certified integration architect Level 1,
• Microsoft Certified Azure Integration and Security.
• Posit Administration
• Proficient in RESTful APIs
• AWS, CDMP, MDM, DBA, SQL, SAP, TOGAF, API, CISSP, VCP (any relevant certification)

AWS

• Experience provisioning, operating, and managing AWS environments
• Experience developing code in at least one high-level programming language
• Understanding of modern development and operations processes and methodologies
• Ability to automate the deployment and configuration of infrastructure using AWS services and tools
• Experience with continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) methodologies and tools

Microsoft Azure

• Fundamental understanding of Microsoft Azure and AWS and the data services provided
• Experience with Azure services related to computing, networking, storage, and security
• Knowledge of general IT security principles and best practices
• Understanding of cloud integration patterns and Azure integration services such as Logic Apps, Service Bus, and API Management

Preferred Qualifications

• Subject Matter Expertise: possess a strong understanding of data architecture/ engineering/operations/ reporting within Life Sciences/ Pharma industry across Commercial, Manufacturing and Medical domains.
• Other complex and highly regulated industry experience will also be considered for e.g. healthcare, government or financial services.
• Data Analysis and Automation Skills: Proficient in identifying, standardizing, and automating critical reporting metrics and modelling tools
• Analytical Thinking: Demonstrated ability to lead ad hoc analyses, identify performance gaps, and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Technical Proficiency: Strong coding skills in SQL, R, and/or Python, coupled with expertise in machine learning techniques, statistical analysis, and data visualization.
• Agile Champion: Adherence to DevOps principles and a proven track record with CI/CD pipelines for continuous delivery.

Other Critical Skills Required

• Cross-Cultural Experience: Work experience across multiple cultures and regions, facilitating effective collaboration in diverse environments.
• Innovation and Creativity: Ability to think innovatively and propose creative solutions to complex technical challenges.

Working Environment

• Permanent position.
• Hybrid: candidates must be located within commutable distance from the Markham, ON office.
• Astellas is a global company. Successful candidates will be expected to work across different time zones and according to regions or specific locations based upon demand.
• At Astellas we recognize the importance of work/life balance, and we are proud to offer a hybrid working solution allowing time to connect with colleagues at the office with the flexibility to also work from home. We believe this will optimize the most productive work environment for all employees to succeed and deliver. Hybrid work from certain locations may be permitted in accordance with Astellas’ Responsible Flexibility Guidelines.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off options, including Vacation, Sick time, plus national holidays including Heritage Days, and Summer and Winter Breaks
• 401(k) match and annual company contribution
• Company paid life insurance
• Annual Corporate Bonus and Quarterly Sales Incentive for eligible positions
• Long Term Incentive Plan for eligible positions
• Referral bonus program

Category FoundationX

Astellas is committed to equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment.

EOE including Disability/Protected Veterans