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 and Enterprise Information Technology application development data pipelines. In this role, you will articulate the data architecture strategy and collaborate with cross-functional software teams to ensure secure and accessible background investigation data.

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

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
• Demonstrated, extensive hands-on proficiency implementing cloud-native data solutions within AWS/AWS GovCloud, specifically utilizing AWS Glue, AWS Athena, AWS Lambda, and Amazon S3
• Deep knowledge and comprehensive experience working across any and all SQL database technologies 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
• 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