Principal Data Scientist

Arizona Public Service generates clean, reliable and affordable energy for 2.7 million Arizonans. Our service territory stretches across the state, from the border town of Douglas to the vistas of the Grand Canyon, from the solar fields of Gila Bend to the ponderosa pines of Payson. As the state’s largest and longest-serving energy provider, our more than 6,000 dedicated employees power our vision of creating a sustainable energy future for Arizona.

Since our founding in 1886, APS has demonstrated a strong commitment to our customers in one of the country’s fastest growing states, earning a reputation for customer satisfaction, shareholder value, operational excellence and business integrity.

Our present and future success depends on the creative and dedicated people of our company who demonstrate the principles outlined in the APS Promise: Design for Tomorrow, Empower Each Other and Succeed Together.  

Summary

Provides leadership, guidance, and hands on development as required for analytic data architecture, conceptual data models, data transformation and consumption, reference data definition, data modeling form, fit, and function for data and data channels, and advanced analytic architectural considerations for data management areas (i.e. data integration, data security, data quality management) as they relate to data science solutions.
Represents business stakeholders for data and analytics requirements and solution design.
Focuses on data preparation for analytical consumption; multi source and structured and unstructured. Researches and recommends leading practices and industry trends in analytic data architecture and data modeling

Minimum Requirements

Bachelors’ degree in a relevant business or science, information technology or analytics, applied math, statistics, physics or related field and ten (10) years data management or data/IT architecture design role including / emphasizing direct business solutions design and development OR Masters degree and eight (8) related experience.
In lieu of degree, equivalent combination of education and directly related experience equaling 14 years is required.
Proficient in data/IT architecture leading practices, data modeling, data integration, CRUD modeling, SQL, workflows and related tools.

Proficient in one or more data modeling, and analytical tools. Proficient in solutions programming and/or development.
Programming skill in Python, C/C++, Java, or R.
Familiarity with RapidMiner, SAS, SPSS, RStudio, Anaconda, MatLab, Azure, Databricks, ELK, or other data mining platforms.
Working understanding of Data Lakes, Cloud architectures, transactional data systems and flows, and streaming data sources such as PI.

Knowledge of statistical analysis, machine learning, data mining, NLP, predictive analytics, text mining and modeling general concepts. Proficient in relational and non-relational data systems implementation.
Experience with scripting, APIs and data source development.
Experience with data transformations for analytic use including information flow, query execution and optimization, comparative analysis of data stores, logical operations, database and data channel setup / management, data infrastructure design and build.

Preferred Special Skills, Knowledge or Qualifications:
– Knowledge of applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and standards impacting business unit areas.
– Excellent customer service, organizational, and analytical skills.

– Demonstrated communication skills, both verbal and written. Must be able to work on multiple tasks simultaneously.

Nuclear requirement: Any PVNGS employee may be called upon to serve as a member of the Emergency Response
Organization (ERO) and will be expected to fulfill their obligation as an ERO member.
Any PVNGS employee may be called upon to support a refueling or short-notice outage.
This includes line roles and responsibilities as necessary to execute outage activities.
These are a condition of employment at PVNGS.

Major Accountabilities

1) Primary custodian of data analytics architecture, data transformation and consumption strategies for both data mining and data science models / algorithms.
Coordinates with Data Governance, IT Data Architecture and Cyber Security to ensure that analytic architectures fit within Business and IT strategies. Provides senior thought leadership and recommendations on data architecture leading practices.

2) Develop and integrate new data management technologies with clear articulation of data sources, data transformation channels, consuming systems, data and visualization models, and integration mechanism for key information objects (master data and transactional data) for high-performance algorithms, prototypes, predictive models, and proof of concepts.

3) Develop and maintain data models including subject area models, conceptual models, CRUD (Create-Read-Update-Delete) data life cycle models, and logical models from a business perspective.

4) Develop and maintain meta data, reference data, and business data dictionary, compliant with data standards, and policies, and emerging industry best standards for data management from a business perspective.

5) Collaborate with Data Scientists to ensure proper data is collected and prepared for analysis. Review and approve data, reporting and analytic functional and non-functional requirements on behalf of the business

6) Maintain functional solution design inventory.

7) Lead and/or support new software or solution evaluations in collaboration with data and analytics team, IT Architects and business unit stakeholders.

8) Integrate, code, and develop data channels including transformation, middleware, and or services to present both data and metadata in a form consumable by algorithms specified by Data Miners and Scientists.
Must design and develop with an understanding towards how the data algorithms and models will consume and utilize the data towards prescribed outcomes.

LAST REVISION DATE:
08/12/2019

Export Compliance / EEO Statement

This position may require access to and/or use of information subject to control under the Department of Energy’s Part 810 Regulations (10 CFR Part 810), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR Parts 730 through 774), or the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (22 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter M Part 120) (collectively, ‘U.S. Export Control Laws’). Therefore, some positions may require applicants to be a U.S. person, which is defined as a U.S. Citizen, a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (i.e. ‘Green Card Holder’), a Political Asylee, or a Refugee under the U.S. Export Control Laws. All applicants will be required to confirm their U.S. person or non-US person status. All information collected in this regard will only be used to ensure compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws, and will be used in full compliance with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of national origin and other factors. For positions at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Stations (PVNGS) all openings will require applicants to be a U.S. person.

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates (‘Pinnacle West’) maintain a continuing policy of nondiscrimination in employment. It is our policy to provide equal opportunity in all phases of the employment process and in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. This policy of nondiscrimination shall include, but not be limited to, recruiting, hiring, promoting, compensating, reassigning, demoting, transferring, laying off, recalling, terminating employment, and training for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, disability, age, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other classification or characteristic protected by law.

For more information on applicable equal employment regulations, please refer to EEO is the Law poster. Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of every person hired to work in the United States, refer to E-Verify poster. View the employee rights and responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Arizona Public Service is a smoke free workplace.

Flex Role:
This position is not required to be performed at a specific APS facility as long as adequate technology and a solid ergonomic set up are present. Pending agreement with leadership, employees hired into this role will be able to choose where they prefer to perform their work, but the ultimate decision is the company’s. Employees will have two options to choose from: 

• APS office based: The employee prefers to work most of the time from an APS facility.
• Home based: The employee prefers to work most of the time from his/her home.

*Employees in Flex roles are required to reside in Arizona (or NM for Four Corners-based employees). Role types are subject to change based on business need.