Senior Data Engineer

Role Description

Praescient Analytics is seeking a highly skilled and visionary Data Engineer – Senior to provide technical leadership and big-picture oversight for the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) and Enterprise Information Technology (EIT) application development data pipelines. In this role, you will articulate the data architecture strategy, conceptualize and experiment with alternative data processing approaches, and validate data models against rigorous national security and scalability requirements. Working without supervision on highly complex projects, you will bridge the gap between legacy data stores and modern, cloud-native data streams within an advanced AWS GovCloud environment. You will collaborate with cross-functional software teams, lead data transformation efforts, and exercise wide latitude for independent judgment to ensure our nation's background investigation data is secure, accurate, and readily accessible.

Key Responsibilities

• Data Strategy & Leadership:
  • Conceptualize, experiment with, and articulate alternative technical approaches to data architecture.
  • Create data pipeline, ETL/ELT, schema, and interface specification documents, validating designs against strict federal requirements.
• Pipeline Integration:
  • Provide technical and big-picture oversight for the development of new or enhanced data source integrations, utilizing Python, Scala, or Java as core competencies.
• Cloud Transformation & Modernization:
  • Lead the modernization of legacy data structures and their transformation into cloud-native data lakes and data warehouses specifically optimized for AWS GovCloud.
• Data Orchestration & Ingestion:
  • Deeply engage with automated orchestration tools (e.g., Apache Airflow, AWS Step Functions) and secure data streaming (e.g., Kinesis, Kafka) to seamlessly ingest complex datasets built by internal and third-party systems.
• DevSecOps & Automation Leadership:
  • Drive CI/CD automation and DevSecOps practices within the data tier to increase pipeline delivery velocity while ensuring robust compliance, data integrity, and automated validation.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Partner with software engineers, data scientists, product managers, and customer application experts to design high-performance data solutions that enable critical mission analytics and reporting features.
• Agile Requirements Optimization:
  • Leverage Jira, Confluence, and Agile SAFe v6.0 processes to translate high-level client requirements into actionable data user stories, technical roadmaps, and features.

Qualifications

• Active U.S. Secret clearance is required. Must be a U.S. Citizen to meet federal contract mandates.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field with 10–12 years of relevant data engineering and integration experience OR Master’s degree in a related field with 8–10 years of relevant experience OR PhD in a related field with 5–7 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated, extensive hands-on proficiency implementing cloud-native data solutions within AWS/AWS GovCloud, specifically utilizing:
  • AWS Glue (for ETL processing, cataloging, and data preparation)
  • AWS Athena (for serverless query execution and data analysis)
  • AWS Lambda (for event-driven data processing and serverless compute)
  • Amazon S3 (for secure, scalable data lake storage)
• Deep knowledge and comprehensive experience working across any and all SQL database technologies (including but not limited to Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and cloud-native relational systems) for schema design, optimization, and complex querying.
• Expert proficiency with Git, data pipeline orchestration tools, popular CI/CD pipelines, Jira, and Confluence in an automated environment.
• Proven ability to work without supervision on highly complex data projects, exercising wide latitude for independent judgment. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to articulate complex data visions to both engineering teams and senior stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• An active Top Secret (TS) clearance.
• Prior experience providing data architecture oversight or technical leadership directly on Department of Defense (DoD), DCSA, or NBIS programs.
• Comprehensive understanding of federal data compliance frameworks, zero-trust data access policies, and data governance practices in secure cloud environments.

Benefits

• Very competitive salary based on qualifications and experience.
• Comprehensive, Company paid healthcare for you (We pay your premiums and deductibles).
• 401(k) with company match.
• Travel & performance incentives.
• 3 weeks paid time off (plus Federal Holidays).
• $5K annual training allowance.