Data Migration Specialist
Location: Oakville, Ontario - Hybrid (Open to remote for an exceptional candidate)
Employment Type: Contract to hire
Contract Duration: 1 year
Experience Level: Intermediate to Senior
Who is the Employer?
The Raise has partnered with our client, an innovative technology organization undergoing significant modernization and digital transformation initiatives. As part of their continued growth, they are seeking a highly skilled Data Migration Specialist to support the migration of critical business data from legacy systems into modern application and database platforms.
This is an exciting opportunity for a hands-on data professional who enjoys solving complex data challenges, working with modern database technologies, and leveraging emerging AI-assisted development tools to accelerate engineering productivity.
Who Are You?
You are a highly analytical and technically strong Data Migration Specialist who thrives on understanding complex data ecosystems and transforming legacy data into modern, scalable platforms.
You have extensive experience working with Oracle and PostgreSQL databases and are comfortable investigating source systems, analyzing database schemas, understanding business rules, and building reliable migration solutions. You can think like both a Database Administrator and a Software Developer, combining technical expertise with strong problem-solving skills.
You are also comfortable using modern AI-assisted engineering tools such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar technologies to improve productivity while applying sound engineering judgment to ensure accuracy, security, and reliability.
What You'll Be Doing
As a Data Migration Specialist, you will support the analysis, design, development, testing, and execution of data migration activities from legacy systems into modern target platforms.
Practically speaking, you will:
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Work closely with engineering, product, and database teams to understand source and destination data models.
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Analyze legacy and source data repositories to identify database structures, relationships, constraints, indexes, data quality issues, and migration dependencies.
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Design and implement data migration scripts, procedures, and tools to convert source data into required destination formats.
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Develop and maintain migration logic using SQL, PL/SQL, PostgreSQL functions and procedures, Java, and Python.
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Build repeatable and auditable migration processes, including extraction, transformation, loading (ETL), validation, rollback, reconciliation, and reporting.
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Perform data mapping between source and target systems while documenting transformation rules, assumptions, and business logic.
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Optimize migration performance for large datasets through indexing strategies, database tuning, transaction management, and batching techniques.
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Validate migrated data using reconciliation reports, automated validation checks, and exception handling processes.
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Troubleshoot migration issues including schema mismatches, data integrity problems, performance bottlenecks, encoding issues, and failed migration runs.
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Collaborate with software engineers to understand how source data is utilized by applications and how it should be represented within target systems.
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Create and maintain migration documentation, technical specifications, validation procedures, and operational runbooks.
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Follow secure coding practices, privacy requirements, audit controls, and data governance standards when handling sensitive or production data.
GenAI & Agentic Engineering Responsibilities
The successful candidate will be comfortable leveraging modern AI-assisted development tools as part of their daily workflow.
Responsibilities include:
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Using Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar tools to analyze SQL scripts, database structures, migration logic, and application code.
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Generating initial drafts of migration scripts, validation routines, SQL queries, and technical documentation.
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Accelerating source code exploration and identifying application dependencies associated with migrated data structures.
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Reviewing, validating, testing, and refining AI-generated outputs before production implementation.
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Applying strong engineering judgment to ensure security, correctness, maintainability, and compliance.
What You Will Bring
Education & Experience
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Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Data Engineering, or a related discipline.
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4-6 years of proven IT experience including delivering data migration projects involving enterprise-scale databases.
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Strong experience migrating data between Oracle and PostgreSQL environments.
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Experience supporting large-scale, business-critical, or production data migration initiatives.
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Experience with application modernization, legacy system replacement, or database modernization projects.
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Experience interpreting application source code to understand business rules, data usage patterns, and hidden dependencies.
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Experience using GenAI or agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or similar tools.
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Experience with Git, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and deployment processes
Technical Skills
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Strong expertise with:
- Oracle Database
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PostgreSQL
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SQL and PL/SQL
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Database schema analysis and design
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Stored procedures, functions, triggers, and database programming
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Data migration architecture and execution
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ETL and data transformation processes
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Data validation and reconciliation methodologies
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Performance tuning and query optimization
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Development experience using:
- Java
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Python
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Shell scripting and automation tools
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Experience working with:
- Git version control
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CI/CD pipelines
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Automated testing frameworks
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Deployment automation tools
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Familiarity with:
- Linux environments
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Containerized development environments
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Cloud and on-premises infrastructure
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Data governance and auditability requirements
Soft Skills
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Exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities.
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Strong communication and documentation skills.
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Ability to independently investigate and understand unfamiliar systems.
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Strong attention to detail and commitment to data quality.
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Ability to manage multiple priorities in fast-paced project environments.
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Collaborative mindset with strong stakeholder engagement skills.
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate is a hands-on Data Migration Engineer who can independently investigate a source system, understand how data is structured and utilized, and build reliable migration solutions into a target platform.
You possess deep expertise in Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL, Java, and Python while understanding both software development and database administration principles. You embrace modern AI-assisted development tools as productivity enhancers while maintaining accountability for the quality, security, and reliability of your work.
Key Competencies
Data Migration • Database Development • Oracle • PostgreSQL • SQL Development • PL/SQL • Java • Python • ETL Processes • Performance Optimization • Data Validation • Problem Solving • Documentation • Collaboration • AI-Assisted Development • Continuous Improvement
Looking for meaningful work? We can help
Raise is an established hiring firm with over 65 years of experience. We believe strongly in making the world a better place through work, which is why we’re a certified B Corporation and donate 10% of our profits to charity.
We strive to build teams that reflect the diversity of the communities we work in. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including people from traditionally underrepresented groups such as
women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, people identifying as LGBTQ2SI, veterans, and people with visible/nonvisible disabilities.
We have a dedicated webpage for accommodations where you can learn more about what we offer, and request accommodation: https://raise.jobs/accommodations/
In order to submit candidates for roles, our clients will sometimes require personal information to confirm the identity of applicants and their legal status to work. Raise will never ask you for personal or banking information unless you have been selected for a job. If you are ever unsure about the legitimacy of this or another job posting by Raise (or have any other questions), please contact us at +1 800-567-9675 or [email protected]
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