Senior Data Engineer

Based in Baltimore, MD with a hybrid work option, Space Telescope Science Institute seeks a Senior Data Engineer to manage backend data pipelines and MPP database systems for the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST). The role supports high performance data access for scientific research and comes with residency and ITAR requirements. The salary range is USD 125,000 to 150,000 per year. Candidates should have eight or more years of experience and hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related discipline.

Responsibilities

• Oversee performance and operations for PostgreSQL and MPP platforms
• Design, develop, deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot complex Airflow pipelines to process, transform, and load large-scale datasets
• Build, maintain, and continuously improve data systems supporting scientific research, including relational databases and cloud-based Lakehouse environments
• Ensure data accuracy, accessibility, observability, and reliability through proactive monitoring, alerting, and incident response
• Collaborate with scientists, data engineers, and cross-functional teams to translate requirements into robust, scalable platform solutions

Requirements

• Advanced expertise in PostgreSQL and Greenplum MPP
• Strong proficiency with Apache Airflow
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services
• Strong Python programming skills and proficiency in SQL and SQL performance tuning
• Experience designing, building, and optimizing data pipelines at scale

Technologies

• PostgreSQL
• Greenplum
• Apache Airflow
• AWS
• Python
• SQL
• Trino
• Apache Iceberg
• Lakehouse

Benefits

• Employer retirement contribution — STScI contributes 10% of salary from day one
• 12 days sick leave
• Up to 24 days of vacation
• 10 paid holidays
• Flexible work schedule with a healthy work life balance
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, prescription plans, and more

You’ll have the opportunity to grow into

• Specialized technologies such as Trino for distributed querying
• Apache Iceberg for lakehouse management
• Greenplum or other MPP systems and large-scale performance tuning
• Handling high-volume scientific data with modern data infrastructure