10101 - Executive Director, Data Engineering and Management

Executive Director, Data Engineering and Management

The Fund for Public Health in New York City (FPHNYC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the health and well-being of all New Yorkers.  To this end, in partnership with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), FPHNYC incubates innovative public health initiatives implemented by DOHMH to advance community health throughout the city. It facilitates partnerships, often new and unconventional, between the government and the private sector to develop, test, and launch new initiatives. These collaborations speed the execution of demonstration projects, effect expansion of successful pilot programs, and support rapid implementation to meet the public health needs of individuals, families, and communities across New York City.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is the country's oldest and largest health department. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers in service of a vision of a city where all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.

As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises - from New York City's yellow fever outbreak in 1822 to the COVID-19 pandemic - we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs and services. We serve as the population health strategist and policy and planning authority for the City of New York while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.

Our Agency's five strategic priorities, building off a recently completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:

1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, focusing on building a "response-ready" organization with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and more vital surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems.
2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related diseases, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods.
3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness, including reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness.
4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women's health.
5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change.

Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With a commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity, and access, the NYC Health Department continues working with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene launched its new Center for Population Health Data Science in October 2023 to enhance the agency’s data and analytics capacity. The Center is catalyzing internal work to modernize the agency’s data infrastructure, strengthen data management, governance, and analytic capabilities, and develop lasting data partnerships to better link public health, healthcare, and social service data.  

POSITION OVERVIEW

This position will be within the Center for Population Health Data Science and reporting Chief Population Health and Data Officer. 

The Executive Director of Data Engineering and Technology will spearhead and oversee the newly formed data technology team at NYC DOHMH. This role is critical in implementing our data modernization and data systems transformation. This role will lead a team of data engineers, data scientists, epidemiologists, and statisticians and combine enterprise data management, data engineering, and data science to enable comprehensive insight into community health, real-time health monitoring, and the impact of health interventions by leveraging public health, health care, social service, census, and other related data from internal and external sources. This position will be based at the Health Department’s office in Long Island City, NY, and may involve hybrid work.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Architect and oversee the development of high-performance data infrastructure that supports large-scale data collection, processing, and analysis.
• Led technical teams in designing and implementing backend systems that ensure robust data availability and integrity for analytical use.
• Collaborate with strategic management counterparts to align technology solutions with data acquisition strategies and governance frameworks.
• Drive innovation in data processing and analytics by adopting AI/ML and other cutting-edge technologies and methodologies.
• Ensure the creation of scalable and secure data environments and products that comply with legal and ethical standards for data use in public health.
• Strengthen and streamline GIS resources and services as a centralized data service for the agency.
• Led the development of a unified data visualization platform and products, collaborating with the data product management team and SMEs to rapidly disseminate up-to-date public health data for internal and external stakeholders.
• Manage technology vendor relationships to ensure that the department has access to necessary tools and services.
• Develop technical roadmaps for data infrastructure and oversee the deployment of new systems and upgrades.
• Advocate for technical needs and perspectives in executive leadership discussions, ensuring data technologies align with organizational goals.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in Computer Science, Data Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Minimum of 10 years experience in data engineering, data science, or a related technical field, with significant leadership responsibilities.
• Proven ability to lead the development of data technologies and manage secure, scalable data infrastructure in a public health or similar regulatory environment.
• Strong proficiency with modern data architectures, databases (SQL, NoSQL), programming languages (Python, Scala, Java), and ETL frameworks.
• Demonstrated leadership in deploying enterprise-wide tech solutions that facilitate significant improvements in data capability.

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to lead technical teams in high-pressure environments.
• Strong communication skills, conveying complex technical ideas to non-technical stakeholders.
• Knowledge of public health data requirements and the specific challenges of data use in this sector is advantageous.

This role is ideal for a technology leader who combines deep technical expertise with a strategic vision and focuses on implementation to deliver large-scale outcomes.

SALARY 

• Salary range is $160,000 to $180,000.

WORK SCHEDULE

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Monday to Friday

Hybrid

BENEFITS AT A GLANCE

FPHNYC offers a comprehensive benefits package

• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) policy
• Medical, dental, and life insurance with low or no employee contribution
• A retirement savings plan with generous employer contribution
• Flexible spending medical and commuter benefits plan
• Meaningful work at an organization striving to advance health equity and social justice

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

You must live in New York City Tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) in order to be considered for a position at FPHNYC.

TO APPLY

To apply, upload Resume, including how your experience relates to this position. Applicants who best match the position needs will be contacted.

The Fund for Public Health in New York City is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages a diverse pool of candidates to apply.