What is a BI Developer?
Every business collects data. Whether it’s merely tracking sales and inventory, gathering demographic information about customers, or observing industry trends, companies need to find ways to manage and access data so they can use it to change and improve. That’s where a business intelligence developer comes in.
What is a BI Developer? Business intelligence developers create software that helps businesses access data they’ve collected so they can use it to make informed strategic decisions. A business intelligence developer not only creates and manages requests for data but also presents that data to stakeholders within the company.
In today’s data-driven world, business intelligence developers must be skilled at troubleshooting and analyzing the individual needs of software users and stakeholders. It’s vital for a business intelligence developer to understand how people think, and how to make software easy to use. They also need excellent communication skills to train users on how to use software to find the information they need.
How to Hire a BI Developer
When hiring a business intelligence developer, first consider the following:
- Recruiting: Do you have the knowledge, tools, and resources to attract and screen candidates?
- Complexity: Do you need a senior professional, or will mid or junior-level skills and experience suffice?
- Duration: Is this a one-time project or an ongoing need?
- Management: Do you have the time and expertise to direct the work effectively?
- Urgency: How soon does the work need to be completed?
- Headcount: Do you have the budget and approval for an internal employee, or should you consider alternate options?
Answering these questions will help determine the best course of action for your current hiring need. Fortunately, great options exist for every scenario. These are our recommendations:
1. Use a professional recruiting firm
When working with 4 Corner Resources, the heavy lifting is done for you. We source, screen, recruit, and deliver only the most qualified candidate(s), saving you significant time and effort throughout the hiring process while you remain focused on your core business. This is the best route to take when:
- You need to fill the position quickly
- You intend to hire on a temporary, contract, or contract-to-hire basis and direct the work activity
- You are hiring a direct employee but aren’t able to recruit effectively or efficiently with your internal staff
2. Advertise on high-traffic job boards
Post your job on CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, or both. These popular job sites allow you to quickly post your open position to be seen by an audience of motivated, qualified candidates, with resumes delivered directly to your inbox. We recommend this option when:
- You are hiring a direct employee and have time to facilitate a thorough recruiting effort
- You have the internal resources and processes to review, screen, and reply to all applicants
- You have internal resources with the knowledge and experience to assess candidate qualifications
3. Hire an experienced freelancer
Connect with seasoned professionals on Upwork, Toptal, or Fiverr. The freelance, or gig, economy continues to grow, with more talent available every day. Not every position is ideal for the freelance marketplace, but a business intelligence developer is often a great fit. We recommend this option when:
- Your need is project-based
- You do not intend to direct the daily work activity
- You are hiring for expertise your internal team does not possess
- You do not require an employee to work onsite or follow a specific schedule
4. Leverage your website and social media accounts
Take advantage of free advertising by posting the opening on your site, especially if you have an applicant tracking system to help manage the process. If you have access to your organization’s social media accounts be sure to also post on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter. We recommend this option when:
- Your brand has strong name recognition
- Your website has an existing career section
- You have an active social media presence
5. Reward employees for referrals
Current employees are every organization’s greatest asset. Encourage your internal team to promote job openings to their network by offering cash and other incentives. We recommend this option when:
- Your internal staff is motivated to help
- You are prepared to provide thorough feedback for all internal referrals
- You have a process in place to quickly and broadly communicate job openings and requirements
If you aren’t sure which path is best, schedule a discovery call today with our seasoned recruiting professionals. The 4 Corner team is on standby to help you find the best option for your unique hiring need.
Sample job description #1
What you’ll do
- Understand customer business requirements, scenarios, use cases, and the data models that facilitate them
- Understand the technical specification documents as developed by the technical team and translate them into detailed technical specifications
- Accurately evaluate level of effort (LOE) to help manage activities to ensure the quality/timeliness of deliverables
- Understand the software system design; describe the specifications in technical terms, select the methods, toolsets or technologies that will be used. Plan the appropriate user interface. Identify and manage dependencies with other components. Document these selections in the detailed technical specifications document for the project
- Develop code functions and unitary tests in accordance with quality rules defined by the technical team
- Write operation guides that explain the deployment of the software components in conjunction with DevSecOps practices
- Analyze and correct reported bugs and/or execute software changes required for the Project in alignment with Ball’s development strategies
- Capitalize on existing project deliverables to ensure continuity/reusability
- Maintain a regular and predictable work schedule
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships within the department, the Strategic Business Units, Strategic Capabilities Units and the Company. Interact appropriately with others in order to maintain a positive and productive work environment
- Perform other duties as necessary
What you’ll need
- Bachelor’s in Information Technology or a related technical field plus 5 or more years related experience
- Each higher-level degree, i.e., Master’s Degree or Ph.D., may substitute for two years of experience. Related technical experience may be considered in lieu of education. Degree must be from a university, college, or school which is accredited by an agency recognized by the US Secretary of Education, US Department of Education
- Software Engineering Degree or similar experience
- Knowledge and experience with:
- Java, C# or other object-oriented programming language
- SQL, Oracle or other RDBMS
- SQL Server Data Tools, SSIS, DQS, IDQ
- XML Schemas and parsing
- API Development experience preferred
- Experience with System integration
- Experience with data transformation and migration
- Basic knowledge of web services, business logic and APIs
- Experience implementing/deploying enterprise level software solutions
- Experience with complex implementation projects
- Experience with implementing/deploying a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution (Oracle Agile, WindChill, TeamCenter, ENOVIA, etc.)
- Experience deploying or integrating with Dassault Systèmes software solutions and XPDM importer preferred
Sample job description #2
As the BI Developer you will be accountable for configuring pipelines to ingest data into our BI system and owning all technical aspects of the BI platform. You will help design and support solutions to interface with external APIs, automating internal processes and implementing technical aspects of data governance. An ideal candidate will have technical competence balanced by an empathetic understanding of business needs.
Job responsibilities
- Establish automated processes and scripts to support the BI platform
- Demonstrate data literacy, a deep understanding of the data, and an appreciation for the art of data visualization and storytelling
- Provide technical leadership on data architecture design best practices
- Build and maintain data pipelines within the BI platform
- Maintain and understand legacy PHP Reports and converting them to the BI platform when necessary
- Creating custom visualizations to enhance data storytelling to our customers
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, related field, or equivalent experience. Bachelor’s degree preferred
- At least 2 years of programming experience with Python and/or PHP
- At least 2 years of experience with SQL
- At least 2 years of experience interfacing with multiple APIs
- At least 2 years of experience creating reports and dashboards with a BI Platform (Domo, Tableau, Power BI)
Sample job description #3
The primary responsibility of this role is to work collaboratively with end-users to develop reporting systems that provide accessible information for decision-making. The BI Developer uses warehouse data to solve organizational problems through reports, analysis, and data visualization. The BI Developer will provide enterprise-wide data warehouse expertise with an emphasis on data design, access, usage, security, and quality of information assets. The BI Developer will work in support of all managers and users requiring data for decision support.
What you’ll be doing
- Data Modeling BI and Data Warehousing solutions
- Assists in implementing effective business analytics practices that drive improved decision-making, efficiency, and performance
- Communicate with non-technical business users to determine specific business requirements for reports and business intelligence solutions
- Communicates regularly with technical, applications, and operational staff to ensure database integrity, security, and optimized performance at the application and database level
- Works collaboratively with institutional staff and reporting officials to resolve data discrepancies and/or clarify reporting procedures
- Maintains an accurate and comprehensive inventory of data, data systems, and data storage
- Ability to use presentation, word processing, and database or spreadsheet software
- Demonstrated attention to detail in ensuring the accuracy and efficiency of the data warehouse and the individual work units
- Possess strong analytical and troubleshooting skills
- Possess strong oral and written communication skills, clearly and accurately. communicating complex and/or technical information to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Self-motivated; able to work within a project-based environment
- Ability to work in a team environment
What you bring
- B.A./B.S. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, a similar degree, or equivalent work experience
- Hands-on Software development expertise within an Information Technology division
- Knowledge of SQL and Cloud data warehousing concepts
- Demonstrated detailed knowledge of BI areas including ETL design, analytics, and reporting
- Experience in business intelligence and data warehousing environments such as data aggregation/manipulation through table joins/queries, database design, normalization, and de-normalization techniques
- Demonstrated experience in data extraction and manipulation, and ETL techniques required
Added bonus if you have
- Professional- BI Developer certification
Average salary and compensation
The average salary for a BI developer is $101,400 in the United States. Position salary will vary based on experience, education, company size, industry, and market.
| Location | Salary Low | Salary High |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, Arizona | $100,850 | $136,450 |
| Los Angeles, California | $113,750 | $153,950 |
| Denver, Colorado | $94,800 | $128,250 |
| Washington, DC | $115,500 | $156,250 |
| Miami, Florida | $94,400 | $127,700 |
| Orlando, Florida | $87,050 | $117,800 |
| Tampa, Florida | $87,900 | $118,950 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $92,200 | $124,750 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $106,000 | $143,450 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | $114,650 | $155,100 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota | $91,350 | $123,600 |
| New York City, New York | $120,650 | $163,250 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $98,250 | $132,950 |
| Dallas, Texas | $95,650 | $129,450 |
| Houston, Texas | $94,800 | $128,250 |
| Seattle, Washington | $110,300 | $149,250 |
| National Average | $86,200 | $116,600 |
Sample interview questions
- How would you define “business intelligence?”
- What interests you most about the BI field?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- What are some of the BI projects you have worked on?
- Which BI tools do you have experience with?
- What are some of the benefits of data denormalization?
- Are you familiar with Power BI Designer?
- When do you determine that a project is complete?
- What do you think the advantages of the Direct Query method are?
- What is included on a business intelligence dashboard display?
- Have you used Agile software development for BI projects?
- What is the difference between a risk and an issue?
- What does the term “benchmarking” mean, and why is it important?
- Which reporting tools do you prefer and why?
- What is the difference between Self-Service BI and Managed BI? In what situations would you use them?
- What data modeling software are you familiar with? Which do you prefer?
- What is sampling bias?
- How have you used Excel with Power BI?
- What do you think are the most important software development life cycle models?
- What would you do if you were unhappy with the end result of a project?