Location: Herndon/Chantilly, VA
Clearance Required: TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph (FSP)
Position Type: Full-Time, On-Site
Salary Range: $180,000 – $220,000
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Data Engineer to support the design, development, and optimization of mission-critical data engineering solutions for a federal program. This position requires extensive experience in the full data lifecycle, including data movement, ingestion, transformation, and modeling in both on-prem and cloud-based environments. The ideal candidate will bring a strong command of ETL pipelines, data formatting tools, and modern data engineering frameworks to support advanced analytics and mission-driven insights.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Develop scalable tools, services, and code to execute complex data engineering tasks involving structured and unstructured data.
- Design, implement, and maintain robust ETL pipelines using technologies such as Spark, Apache NiFi, Apache Iceberg, and Trino.
- Ingest and transform data for enterprise-level storage and exploration, ensuring format standardization and compliance with mission objectives.
- Collaborate with data scientists and mission partners to understand source data and define transformations supporting operational outcomes.
- Clean, preprocess, and condition data to support downstream analytics, ensuring data quality, integrity, and lineage (pedigree/provenance).
- Build services for one-time and recurring data extractions and conversions across local and enterprise repositories.
- Support cloud-based processing using AWS EMR and Kubernetes, and contribute to OpenSearch integrations.
- Produce comprehensive documentation including ETL mappings, code usage guidelines, and system access protocols.
- Coordinate with engineering teams and data stewards to integrate and operationalize new data processing platforms.
- Participate in Agile development processes and data governance working groups to enhance enterprise data standards and practices.
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications:
- 10+ years of professional experience in data engineering, including:
- Full data lifecycle engineering (collection, transformation, storage, distribution)
- Development and maintenance of ETL pipelines and data transformation workflows
- Cloud and on-premise data solutions
- Proficiency in Python, SQL, Spark, and modern data engineering languages
- Experience with COTS/open-source data tools such as ElasticSearch and Apache NiFi
- Proven track record of delivering within Agile software development lifecycles
- Ability to work full-time on-site in Herndon/Chantilly, VA.
- Active TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph (FSP) is required at the time of application.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) to optimize data processing and transformation.
- Familiarity with emerging data pipeline architectures and advanced cloud-native tools.
- Exposure to data stewardship and enterprise data governance principles.
Eligibility:
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship, now or in the future.
- Active TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph (FSP) clearance is required for this role.
Benefits
Salary:
Salary for this position is determined based on factors such as location, qualifications, experience, and contract-specific budget considerations.
Proposed Salary Range: $180,000 – $220,000
Benefits:
Our client offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package, including:
- 100% Company-Paid Health Insurance: Full coverage for medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and their dependents (United Healthcare and Guardian).
- Protection Plans: Employer-paid life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance.
- 401(k) Retirement Contribution: 15% of base salary contributed by the company, fully vested from day one.
- Paid Time Off: 200 hours of PTO annually (accrued), in addition to 11 federal holidays.
- Bonuses: Recruitment and business development bonus opportunities based on performance and company growth.
