Data Engineer Expert

• Location: Herndon, Virginia
• Type: Contract
• Job #3968

Title: Data Engineer Expert
Location: Herndon, VA

*Clearance: *Active TS/SCI w/ Polygraph needed to apply *

Company Overview:
Cornerstone Defense is the Employer of Choice within the Intelligence, Defense, and Space communities of the U.S. Government. Realizing early on that our most prized assets are our employees, we continually focus our attention on improving the overall work/life experience they have supporting the mission. Our Team is pushed every day to use their industry leading knowledge to provide end-to-end solutions to combat our nation's toughest and most secure problems. If you are looking for a place to not only be professionally challenged, but encouraged and supported by a company that cares, don't look any further than Cornerstone Defense.



Benefits Overview :
Cornerstone Defense offers a very comprehensive benefits package including, but not limited to: Medical, Dental and Vision Plans * Generous PTO Policy * 401(k) * HSA and FSA options * Life and Disability Insurance * Tuition Reimbursement and Training * Perks at Work Discount Program * Referral Program * Leads Generation Program * CollegeAmerica 529 * Fitness Reimbursement Program * Travel Assistance * Norton Lifelock Benefit Solutions * Life Planning Financial & Legal Services *


Seeking a highly motivated, self-directed professional for a Data Engineering role. In this role, you will design and maintain data pipelines, collaborate closely with development teams, and help deliver reliable data solutions that enable teams to transform data into actionable insights.
Required Qualifications:
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Active TS/SCI with Polygraph clearance.
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A Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or additional years of specialized experience in a scientific or technical discipline.
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Build and maintain reliable data pipelines that support ingestion, transformation, and delivery of large datasets
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Partner with software developers and engineering teams to integrate data solutions into existing systems and applications
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Develop and optimize SQL queries to support data retrieval, transformation, and analysis
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Work with relational databases such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, and MySQL to store, manage, and access data
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Develop scripts and automation using Python, Linux, and shell scripting to support data processing tasks
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Operate within AWS environments to support cloud-based data infrastructure and workflows
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Prepare and structure data outputs in usable formats for analysis and downstream systems, including JSON
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8+ years of experience developing or maintaining data pipelines in collaboration with development teams
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4+ years of hands-on experience with Python
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Experience working with AWS cloud services
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Familiarity with SPARC environments and relational databases including PostgreSQL, Oracle, or MySQL
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Demonstrated experience writing and maintaining SQL queries
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4+ years of experience working in Linux environments, including shell scripting


Experience preparing and managing structured and unstructured datasets, including JSON formats
Desired Qualifications:
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Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
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Experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Apache NiFi or Apache Airflow
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4+ years of development experience with Java or Scala
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Experience managing or supporting EMR or SPARC clusters
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Background in performance tuning and optimization of data pipelines or large data systems
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4+ years of experience working with Hive or Iceberg
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Familiarity with implementing cloud-based security practices
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Experience using ACM processes for code deployment