Database Engineer

Database Engineer

Founded in 2007, Initiate Government Solutions (IGS) is a Woman-Owned Small Business and a fully remote IT services provider supporting federal partners nationwide. We deliver innovative Enterprise IT and Health Services solutions with a strong focus on data analytics, health informatics, cloud migration, AI, and the modernization of federal information systems.

Our vision is to be a health IT trendsetter, continuing to solve the nation's most challenging healthcare IT issues by conceiving, designing, and building solid, creative, and innovative open-source solutions.

Our mission is to innovate, design, and deliver tailored solutions that balance technical advancement with cost-awareness while providing exceptional service.

IGS is currently recruiting a remote Database Engineer to support our work with federal customer.

This is a remote access assignment. The Candidate will work remotely daily and will remotely access IGS and customer systems and therein use approved IGS or customer provided communications systems. Travel is not required; however, the candidate may be required to attend onsite client meetings as requested.

In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams—including product managers, engineers, security specialists, and business analysts—to deliver high-quality API products in alignment with federal standards and objectives. You will contribute to the program's mission of improving veteran experiences by enabling digital innovation, ensuring compliance, and promoting best practices in API development and platform management.

Responsibilities and Duties (Included but not limited to):

• Database Architecture & Design: Design scalable, secure, and highly available cloud database solutions with emphasis on relational data modeling and schema design for large-scale migration initiatives. Evaluate and implement appropriate database technologies based on application requirements, including distributed SQL databases in hybrid cloud environments.
• Cloud Database Provisioning: Execute structured data migration pipelines across multi-environment workflows (dev-test, pre-production, production). Migrate on-premises relational database sources to cloud-based target platforms, ensuring data integrity, minimal downtime, and performance parity. Manage data staging through cloud object storage and coordinate pipeline progression through each environment.
• Performance Monitoring & Optimization: Monitor database performance using cloud-native and third-party tools. Identify and resolve bottlenecks in high-volume environments, including large-scale datasets with sub-second latency requirements. Implement indexing, partitioning, and query optimization strategies to meet performance SLAs.
• Security & Compliance: Implement access controls, encryption, and auditing. Ensure compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., HIPAA, HL7). Regularly review and update security policies.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery: Validate migrated data across pipeline stages to ensure accuracy, completeness, and structural integrity relative to source systems. Develop and execute test data strategies, including synthetic data generation that mirrors production structures without real PII/PHI.
• Automation & Scripting: Develop and maintain ETL notebooks and workflows for initial and incremental data loads. Automate data transformation, format conversion (e.g., raw to Delta Parquet), and pipeline orchestration. Develop scripts for synthetic data generation, routine maintenance, and monitoring using Python and infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform.
• ETL Pipeline Development: Build and maintain data pipelines using Databricks notebooks and Apache Spark for large-scale data processing. Manage data flow from source systems through cloud object storage staging into target database environments across dev-test, pre-production, and production tiers.
• Synthetic Data Generation: Generate structured test datasets that replicate production data schemas without containing real PII or PHI. Load synthetic data into containerized local database instances for initial pipeline validation prior to integration testing.
• Cost Optimization: Monitor and optimize database resource usage to control cloud costs. Recommend right-sizing and cost-saving measures.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Public Administration, or a related field (Master's preferred).
• Hands-on experience with relational databases including SQL Server and distributed SQL platforms such as CockroachDB; familiarity with Amazon RDS or equivalent cloud-managed database services.
• Strong ability to query, design, and architect databases for performance and scalability.
• Experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure) and cloud-native database services.
• Familiarity with distributed SQL or NewSQL database platforms; experience with columnar and open table formats such as Parquet and Delta Parquet.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation, Bash, Python).
• Proficiency in Python for data engineering tasks including pipeline development, data transformation, and test data generation.
• Experience with big data processing frameworks, particularly Apache Spark, for large-scale data transformation and pipeline execution.
• Experience developing and maintaining ETL workflows using Databricks or a comparable notebook-based data platform.
• Strong understanding of security, compliance, and data governance standards.
• Excellent communication skills and attention to detail.
• Analytical mind and problem-solving aptitude
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance
• Ability to work in the United States without sponsorship and US Citizenship because of clearance requirement
• Strong organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications and Core Competencies:

• Active VA Public Trust
• Prior experience with VA data systems or federal health data infrastructure.
• Experience with hybrid cloud architectures spanning multiple providers (e.g., Azure and AWS within a single data pipeline).
• Databricks certification (e.g., Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark) or equivalent data platform certification.
• Prior, successful experience working in a remote environment

Successful IGS employees embody the following Core Values:

• Integrity, Honesty, and Ethics: We conduct our business with the highest level of ethics. Doing things like being accountable for mistakes, accepting helpful criticism, and following through on commitments to ourselves, each other, and our customers.
• Empathy, Emotional Intelligence : How we interact with others including peers, colleagues, stakeholders, and customers' matters. We take collective responsibility to create an environment where colleagues and customers feel valued, included, and respected. We work within a diverse, integrated, and collaborative team to drive towards accomplishing the larger mission. We conscientiously and meticulously learn about our customers' and end-users' business drivers and challenges to ensure solutions meet not only technical needs but also support their mission.
• Strong Work Ethic (Reliability, Dedication, Productivity): We are driven by a strong, self-motivated, and results-driven work ethic. We are reliable, accountable, proactive, and tenacious and will do what it takes to get the job done.
• Life-Long Learner (Curious, Perspective, Goal Oriented): We challenge ourselves to continually learn and improve ourselves. We strive to be an expert in our field, continuously honing our craft, and finding solutions where others see problems.

Compensation: There are a host of factors that can influence final salary, including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications.

Benefits: Initiate Government Solutions offers competitive compensation and a robust benefits package, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision care, matching 401K and profit sharing, paid time off, training time for personal development, flexible spending accounts, employer-paid life insurance, employer-paid short and long term disability coverage, an education assistance program with potential merit increases for obtaining a work-related certification, employee recognition, and referral programs, spot bonuses, and other benefits that help provide financial protection for the employee and their family.

Initiate Government Solutions participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program.