Senior Data Engineer (Secret Clearance) - Remote

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. The role involves articulating data architecture strategy, leading modernization efforts, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure secure and accessible background investigation data.

Responsibilities:

• 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
• Provide technical and big-picture oversight for the development of new or enhanced data source integrations, utilizing Python, Scala, or Java as core competencies
• Lead the modernization of legacy data structures and their transformation into cloud-native data lakes and data warehouses specifically optimized for AWS GovCloud
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Leverage Jira, Confluence, and Agile SAFe v6.0 processes to translate high-level client requirements into actionable data user stories, technical roadmaps, and features

Requirements:

• 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
• Deep, extensive integration proficiency in building robust backend data workflows utilizing Python, Scala, or Core Java, alongside expert handling of structured and unstructured formats (JSON, XML, CSV)
• Comprehensive experience implementing cloud-native data solutions within AWS/AWS GovCloud, specifically utilizing Glue, EMR, Athena, Redshift, S3, Lambda, and DynamoDB
• Extensive knowledge and advanced experience working with both Relational and NoSQL Databases (specifically Oracle, PostgreSQL, and DynamoDB) as well as cloud data warehousing solutions
• 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
• 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