Data Integration Engineer (DC Residency or Relocation Required)

Purpose: Metropolitan Strategies & Solutions (MSS) is seeking an experienced, hands-on Data Integration Engineer to design, develop, implement, and maintain enterprise data integrations that support modern technology platforms, business applications, and customer engagement solutions. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical expertise in data engineering, systems integration, cloud-based data platforms, and the development of scalable data pipelines to transform complex data into reliable, accessible, and actionable datasets.

Position Overview: The Data Integration Engineer will collaborate with software engineers, data architects, technical leads, project managers, and business stakeholders to ensure that data solutions are secure, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with organizational requirements. This is a hands-on technical engineering position requiring the ability to independently design, build, troubleshoot, and support production-level data integrations. It is not solely a data analytics, reporting, or project management role.

Key Responsibilities

Data Integration & Source Connectivity

• Design, develop, and maintain data integrations across enterprise systems, cloud platforms, databases, and business applications.
• Analyze source systems, data structures, schemas, formats, and connectivity requirements to develop effective integration solutions.
• Implement reliable data ingestion processes using REST APIs, batch feeds, database extracts, file transfers, and event-driven architectures.
• Develop and maintain processes supporting incremental data updates, historical data backfills, schema changes, error handling, and automated reprocessing.
• Collaborate with technical teams and system owners to establish integration specifications, data requirements, and interface standards.

Data Engineering & Transformation

• Develop and optimize data transformation pipelines using SQL, Python, and other appropriate engineering tools.
• Design and implement data models, source-to-target mappings, validation procedures, and data transformation workflows.
• Build scalable extract, transform, load (ETL) and extract, load, transform (ELT) processes that support enterprise data requirements.
• Establish and maintain data quality standards, validation controls, and reconciliation processes.
• Ensure data pipelines are thoroughly documented, tested, reusable, and maintainable.
• Collaborate with data architects and engineering teams to ensure consistency in data structures, technical specifications, and integration standards.

Enterprise Applications & Data Enablement

• Develop and maintain reliable data interfaces supporting enterprise applications, analytics platforms, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and business intelligence solutions.
• Deliver governed and validated datasets that support reporting, customer engagement, segmentation, and operational decision-making.
• Support inbound and outbound data integrations involving enterprise platforms and third-party applications.
• Ensure appropriate data freshness, accuracy, access controls, and synchronization across integrated systems.
• Implement secure data handling practices to protect confidential, sensitive, and personally identifiable information.
• Support data governance, privacy, and applicable regulatory compliance requirements.

System Operations, Monitoring & Technical Support

• Implement monitoring, automated alerting, logging, and validation processes to maintain reliable data operations.
• Investigate and resolve data quality issues, integration failures, performance bottlenecks, and processing errors.
• Develop operational documentation, troubleshooting procedures, and technical runbooks.
• Participate in technical design reviews, integration testing, quality assurance, production deployments, and operational handoffs.
• Collaborate with engineering, infrastructure, and application teams to support continuous improvement and system reliability.
• Apply software engineering best practices, including version control, automated testing, continuous integration, and deployment processes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in data engineering, data integration, backend software engineering, or a closely related technical discipline.
• Advanced proficiency in SQL and Python, including data transformation, automation, validation, performance optimization, and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience designing, developing, and supporting production-level ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Strong experience integrating data across relational databases, flat files, APIs, cloud platforms, and other enterprise data sources.
• Solid understanding of data modeling, incremental processing, schema evolution, data contracts, and data quality management.
• Practical experience with cloud-based data platforms and modern data engineering architectures.
• Experience using source control systems, CI/CD pipelines, and automated software testing practices.
• Working knowledge of REST APIs, JSON, authentication protocols, monitoring tools, and secure data transmission practices.
• Ability to independently manage technical integrations from requirements gathering and solution design through implementation, deployment, and production support.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, problem-solving, and technical documentation skills.
• Effective communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work across multidisciplinary technology teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands-on experience with Databricks, Apache Spark, Delta Lake, or similar distributed data processing technologies.
• Experience working with cloud object storage and enterprise data lake or lakehouse architectures.
• Familiarity with dbt or comparable data transformation frameworks.
• Experience with Apache Kafka or similar event-streaming and messaging technologies.
• Familiarity with Apache Airflow or other workflow orchestration tools.
• Experience integrating customer relationship management (CRM), customer data platforms (CDPs), marketing technology (MarTech), or other enterprise business applications.
• Experience supporting customer analytics, data segmentation, loyalty programs, or customer engagement initiatives.
• Experience with large-scale enterprise data modernization, digital transformation, or systems integration projects.
• Experience supporting technology initiatives for government agencies, public-sector organizations, or large enterprises.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted software development tools, automation frameworks, and responsible applications of artificial intelligence for data pipeline development, testing, documentation, and troubleshooting.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range depending on experience: $100,000-$120,000
• Annual bonus eligible.
• Annual profit-sharing.
• Three percent 401(k) employer contribution.
• Six weeks of paid time off (fifteen vacation days, twelve holidays, and three sick days).
• Twelve weeks of paid family leave.
• Employer-provided healthcare and life insurance.
• Opportunity to work on challenging and impactful projects across diverse industries.
• A collaborative and supportive work environment with a focus on learning and growth.

Requirements

• Three days a week on-site at a minimum.
• Two days remote, depending on project demands.
• US Citizen or authorized to work in the US.
• District of Columbia Residency Requirement: Must reside in or relocate to the District of Columbia prior to employment start date.
• Background check.

The interview process will consist of an initial screening, a behavioral interview, a technical interview, and a final in-person interview.

About MSS: We are a veteran-owned analytics and stakeholder engagement firm that provides consulting services to ensure a more prosperous, resilient, and equitable future for our communities. Since our founding in 2010, MSS has stood at the forefront of mission-driven transformation. We are a team of designers, data engineers, veterans, technologists, data scientists, and researchers who are passionate about making a positive impact in our community. This diversity is our strength. It allows us to analyze challenges from every angle and build holistic, resilient solutions. By blending the strategic discipline of military planning with the agility of entrepreneurship and the empathy of human-centered design, we translate complex data into clear, actionable intelligence. We aren't just consultants; we are dedicated partners committed to advancing your mission.