diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 024de9f2f..559ae1367 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ WORKDIR /app
 COPY . /app
 
 RUN apk add --no-cache --virtual build-dependencies python make git g++ && \
+    apk add --no-cache curl jq && \
     npm install && \
     chown -R node:node . && \
     npm cache clean --force && \
diff --git a/documentation/DataLoader.md b/documentation/DataLoader.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..acee04e7a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/documentation/DataLoader.md
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+# CouchDB Data Loader
+
+(`scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh`)
+
+This script is used to setup CouchDB database and is executed as a Kubernetes batch Job every time new version of the
+universal image is deployed to the cluster (also when cluster is initially created).
+
+It does following:
+
+- Converts the preferences in universal into `snapset` Prefs Safes and GPII Keys,
+- Optionally deletes existing database,
+- Creates a CouchDB database if none exits,
+- Updates the database with respect to its `design/views` document, as required,
+- Loads the latest snapsets created into the database.
+
+## Environment Variables
+
+- `COUCHDB_URL`: URL of the CouchDB database. (required)
+- `CLEAR_INDEX`: If set to `true`, the database at $COUCHDB_URL will be deleted and recreated. (optional)
+- `STATIC_DATA_DIR`: The directory where the static data to be loaded into CouchDB resides. (optional)
+- `BUILD_DATA_DIR`: The directory where the data built from the conversion step resides. (optional)
+
+The use of environment variables for data directories is useful if you want to mount the database data using a Docker
+volume and point the data loader at it.
+
+Note that since [the docker doesn't support the environment variable type of
+array](https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/20169), two separate environment variables are used for inputting data
+directories instead of one array that holds these directories.
+
+## Running
+
+Example using containers:
+
+```bash
+$ docker run -d -p 5984:5984 --name couchdb couchdb
+$ docker run --rm --link couchdb -e COUCHDB_URL=http://couchdb:5984/gpii \
+    -e CLEAR_INDEX=true vagrant-universal scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
+$ docker run -d -p 8081:8081 --name preferences --link couchdb \
+    -e NODE_ENV=gpii.config.preferencesServer.standalone.production \
+    -e PREFERENCESSERVER_LISTEN_PORT=8081 -e DATASOURCE_HOSTNAME=http://couchdb \
+    -e DATASOURCE_PORT=5984 vagrant-universal
+```
+
+Below are two versions of loading couchdb data from a different location (e.g.
+/home/vagrant/sync/universal/testData/dbData for static data directory and /home/vagrant/sync/universal/build/dbData for
+build data directory).  The first version has the optional `CLEAR_INDEX` set to true to erase and reset the database
+prior to other database changes:
+
+```bash
+$ docker run --name dataloader --link couchdb \
+    -v /home/vagrant/sync/universal/testData/dbData:/static_data -e STATIC_DATA_DIR=/static_data \
+    -v /home/vagrant/sync/universal/build/dbData:/build_data -e BUILD_DATA_DIR=/build_data \
+    -e COUCHDB_URL=http://couchdb:5984/gpii \
+    -e CLEAR_INDEX=true vagrant-universal scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
+```
+
+The second version does not set `CLEAR_INDEX` such that any existing database is left intact prior to subsequent changes
+to it (e.g., deleting the snapsets):
+
+```bash
+$ docker run --name dataloader --link couchdb \
+    -v /home/vagrant/sync/universal/testData/dbData:/static_data -e STATIC_DATA_DIR=/static_data \
+    -v /home/vagrant/sync/universal/build/dbData:/build_data -e BUILD_DATA_DIR=/build_data \
+    -e COUCHDB_URL=http://couchdb:5984/gpii \
+    vagrant-universal scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
+```
diff --git a/documentation/README.md b/documentation/README.md
index 2de699630..c3952effe 100644
--- a/documentation/README.md
+++ b/documentation/README.md
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   * [Preferences Server](PreferencesServer.md)
 * [Data Model for Preferences and OAuth Data](DataModel.md)
   * [Pouch Manager](PouchManager.md)
+  * [Data Loader](DataLoader.md)
 * [MatchMakerFramework](MatchMakerFramework.md)
   * [Flat Match Maker](FlatMatchMaker.md)
   * [Apptology](Apptology.md)
diff --git a/scripts/convertPrefs.js b/scripts/convertPrefs.js
index d3429cabc..3c6a44075 100644
--- a/scripts/convertPrefs.js
+++ b/scripts/convertPrefs.js
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ rimraf(targetDir, function () {
         filenames.forEach(function (filename) {
             if (filename.endsWith(".json5")) {
                 var gpiiKey = filename.substr(0, filename.length - 6);
-                var preferences = fs.readFileSync(inputDir + filename, "utf-8");
+                var preferences = fs.readFileSync(inputDir + "/" + filename, "utf-8");
                 var currentTime = new Date().toISOString();
                 var prefsSafeId = "prefsSafe-" + gpiiKey;
 
@@ -80,11 +80,11 @@ rimraf(targetDir, function () {
         });
 
         // Write the target files
-        var prefsSafesFile = targetDir + "prefsSafes.json";
+        var prefsSafesFile = targetDir + "/prefsSafes.json";
         console.log("prefsSafesFile: " + prefsSafesFile);
         fs.writeFileSync(prefsSafesFile, JSON.stringify(prefsSafes, null, 4));
 
-        var gpiiKeysFile = targetDir + "gpiiKeys.json";
+        var gpiiKeysFile = targetDir + "/gpiiKeys.json";
         fs.writeFileSync(gpiiKeysFile, JSON.stringify(gpiiKeys, null, 4));
 
         console.log("Finished converting preferences data in the source directory " + inputDir + " to the target directory " + targetDir);
diff --git a/scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh b/scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
index e35da74de..f27730d07 100755
--- a/scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
+++ b/scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
 #!/bin/sh
+APP_DIR=${APP_DIR:-"/app"}
 
-UNIVERSAL_DIR=${UNIVERSAL_DIR:-/home/node/universal}
-STATIC_DATA_DIR=${STATIC_DATA_DIR:-/home/node/universal/testData/dbData}
-BUILD_DATA_DIR=${BUILD_DATA_DIR:-/home/node/universal/build/dbData/snapset}
+STATIC_DATA_DIR=${STATIC_DATA_DIR:-"${APP_DIR}/testData/dbData"}
+PREFERENCES_DATA_DIR=${PREFERENCES_DATA_DIR:-"${APP_DIR}/testData/preferences"}
+BUILD_DATA_DIR=${BUILD_DATA_DIR:-'/tmp/build/dbData'}
+
+DATALOADER_JS="${APP_DIR}/scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.js"
+CONVERT_JS="${APP_DIR}/scripts/convertPrefs.js"
 
 log() {
   echo "$(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - $1"
@@ -11,60 +15,71 @@ log() {
 warm_indices(){
   log "Warming indices..."
 
-  for view in $(curl -s $COUCHDB_URL/_design/views/ | jq -r '.views | keys[]'); do
-    curl -fsS $COUCHDB_URL/_design/views/_view/$view >/dev/null
+  for view in $(curl -s "${COUCHDB_URL}/_design/views/" | jq -r '.views | keys[]'); do
+    curl -fsS "${COUCHDB_URL}/_design/views/_view/${view}" >/dev/null
   done
 
   log "Finished warming indices..."
 }
 
 # Verify variables
-if [ -z "$COUCHDB_URL" ]; then
+if [ -z "${COUCHDB_URL}" ]; then
   echo "COUCHDB_URL environment variable must be defined"
   exit 1
 fi
 
-if [ ! -d "$STATIC_DATA_DIR" -o ! "$(ls -A $STATIC_DATA_DIR/*.json)" ]; then
-  echo "STATIC_DATA_DIR ($STATIC_DATA_DIR) does not exist or does not contain data, using universal's 'testData/dbData' as the default"
-  STATIC_DATA_DIR=./testData/dbData
-fi
+COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED=$(echo "${COUCHDB_URL}" | sed -e 's,\(://\)[^/]*\(@\),\1<SENSITIVE>\2,g')
 
-if [ ! -d "$BUILD_DATA_DIR" -o ! "$(ls -A $BUILD_DATA_DIR/*.json)" ]; then
-  echo "BUILD_DATA_DIR ($BUILD_DATA_DIR) does not exist or does not contain data, using universal's 'build/dbData/snapset' as the default"
-  BUILD_DATA_DIR=./build/dbData/snapset
-fi
+log 'Starting'
+log "CouchDB: ${COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED}"
+log "Clear index: ${CLEAR_INDEX}"
+log "Static: ${STATIC_DATA_DIR}"
+log "Build: ${BUILD_DATA_DIR}"
+log "Working directory: $(pwd)"
 
-COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED=`echo "$COUCHDB_URL" | sed -e 's,\(://\)[^/]*\(@\),\1<SENSITIVE>\2,g'`
+# Check we can connect to CouchDB
+COUCHDB_URL_ROOT=$(echo "${COUCHDB_URL}" | sed 's/[^\/]*$//g')
+RET_CODE=$(curl --write-out '%{http_code}' --silent --output /dev/null "${COUCHDB_URL_ROOT}/_up")
+if [ "$RET_CODE" != '200' ]; then
+  log "[ERROR] Failed to connect to CouchDB: ${COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED}"
+  exit 1
+fi
 
-cd "$UNIVERSAL_DIR"
-log "Starting"
-log "CouchDB: $COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED"
-log "Clear index: $CLEAR_INDEX"
-log "Static: $STATIC_DATA_DIR"
-log "Build: $BUILD_DATA_DIR"
-log "Working directory: `pwd`"
+# Create build dir if it does not exist
+if [ ! -d "${BUILD_DATA_DIR}" ]; then
+  mkdir -p "${BUILD_DATA_DIR}"
+fi
 
-node scripts/convertPrefs.js testData/preferences/ build/dbData/snapset/ snapset
+# Convert preferences json5 to GPII keys and preferences safes
+if [ -d "${PREFERENCES_DATA_DIR}" ]; then
+  node "${CONVERT_JS}" "${PREFERENCES_DATA_DIR}" "${BUILD_DATA_DIR}" snapset
+  if [ "$?" != '0' ]; then
+    log "[ERROR] ${CONVERT_JS} failed (exit code: $?)"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+else
+  log "PREFERENCES_DATA_DIR ($PREFERENCES_DATA_DIR) does not exist, nothing to convert"
+fi
 
 # Initialize (possibly clear) data base
-if [ ! -z "$CLEAR_INDEX" ]; then
-  log "Deleting database at $COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED"
-  if ! curl -fsS -X DELETE "$COUCHDB_URL"; then
+if [ "${CLEAR_INDEX}" == 'true' ]; then
+  log "Deleting database at ${COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED}"
+  if ! curl -fsS -X DELETE "${COUCHDB_URL}"; then
     log "Error deleting database"
   fi
 fi
 
-log "Creating database at $COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED"
-if ! curl -fsS -X PUT "$COUCHDB_URL"; then
-  log "Database already exists at $COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED"
+log "Creating database at ${COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED}"
+if ! curl -fsS -X PUT "${COUCHDB_URL}"; then
+  log "Database already exists at ${COUCHDB_URL_SANITIZED}"
 fi
 
 # Submit data
-node scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.js $COUCHDB_URL $STATIC_DATA_DIR $BUILD_DATA_DIR
+node "${DATALOADER_JS}" "${COUCHDB_URL}" "${STATIC_DATA_DIR}" "${BUILD_DATA_DIR}"
 err=$?
-if [ $err != 0 ]; then
-  log "deleteAndLoadSnapsets.js failed with $err, exiting"
-  exit $err
+if [ "${err}" != '0' ]; then
+  log "${DATALOADER_JS} failed with ${err}, exiting"
+  exit "${err}"
 fi
 
 # Warm Data
diff --git a/scripts/vagrantCloudBasedContainers.sh b/scripts/vagrantCloudBasedContainers.sh
index 8c2dc75b3..85c0f2b52 100755
--- a/scripts/vagrantCloudBasedContainers.sh
+++ b/scripts/vagrantCloudBasedContainers.sh
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ COUCHDB_HEALTHCHECK_TIMEOUT=30
 if [ "$NO_REBUILD" == "true" ] ; then
     CLEAR_INDEX=
 else
-    CLEAR_INDEX=1
+    CLEAR_INDEX='true'
 fi
 
 UNIVERSAL_DIR="/home/vagrant/sync/universal"
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ BUILD_DATA_DIR="$UNIVERSAL_DIR/build/dbData/snapset"
 
 COUCHDB_URL="http://localhost:${COUCHDB_PORT}/gpii"
 DATASOURCE_HOSTNAME="http://couchdb"
+DATALOADER_CMD='/app/scripts/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh'
 
 GPII_PREFERENCES_CONFIG="gpii.config.preferencesServer.standalone.production"
 GPII_PREFERENCES_PORT=9081
@@ -81,9 +82,7 @@ docker run -d -p $COUCHDB_PORT:$COUCHDB_PORT --name couchdb $COUCHDB_IMAGE
 # Wait for CouchDB
 wget -O /dev/null --retry-connrefused --waitretry=$COUCHDB_HEALTHCHECK_DELAY --read-timeout=20 --timeout=1 --tries=$COUCHDB_HEALTHCHECK_TIMEOUT http://localhost:$COUCHDB_PORT
 
-# Load the CouchDB data
-export UNIVERSAL_DIR COUCHDB_URL STATIC_DATA_DIR BUILD_DATA_DIR CLEAR_INDEX
-$SCRIPT_DIR/deleteAndLoadSnapsets.sh
+docker run --rm --link couchdb -v $STATIC_DATA_DIR:/static_data -e STATIC_DATA_DIR=/static_data -v $BUILD_DATA_DIR:/build_data -e BUILD_DATA_DIR=/build_data -e COUCHDB_URL=$DATALOADER_COUCHDB_URL -e CLEAR_INDEX=$CLEAR_INDEX $UNIVERSAL_IMAGE $DATALOADER_CMD
 
 # Wait for the CouchDB views become accessible. Accessing the view URL forced the view index to build which take time.
 # The URL returns 500 when the index is not ready, so use "--retry-on-http-error" option to continue retries at 500 response code.