Senior Data Engineer (Top Secret Cleared)

Gridiron IT Solutions LLC invites a Senior Data Engineer to design, implement, and optimize data pipelines and governance for government-facing data initiatives. This hybrid role is based in Washington, DC within a Top Secret DHS EOD context, offering a competitive annual salary of $110,000 to $170,000. The position includes a comprehensive benefits package with 401(k) matching, health, dental, vision, life insurance, and more, plus a collaborative culture that emphasizes stakeholder partnership and cross-functional teamwork to build scalable data architectures.

Responsibilities

• Identify and implement internal process improvements, redesign infrastructure for scalability, optimize data delivery, and automate manual workflows.
• Build and architect data pipelines to support end-to-end solutions.
• Create and maintain artifacts such as schemas, data dictionaries, and ETL transforms.
• Integrate data pipelines with AWS services to derive meaningful insights.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to address data infrastructure needs and troubleshoot data-related issues.
• Design and implement robust dataflows to handle raw data and expected data.
• Provide Tier 3 support for deployed applications and dataflows.
• Define and communicate a product vision aligned with user needs and business objectives.
• Create and maintain product roadmaps that balance innovation and growth.
• Partner with a government product owner and a product team of 7-8 FTEs.
• Work with the data engineering team to design and launch new features.
• Coordinate and document data flows and capabilities.
• Provide occasional off-hours deployment support as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 4 years of related professional experience.
• Experience with distributed computing frameworks for large-scale data processing.
• Familiarity with AWS managed services or other cloud environments.
• Hands-on experience with PostgreSQL, S3, Redshift, MongoDB/DynamoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, and SQL.
• Proficient in Python with libraries such as pandas and PySark, NiFi, Airflow, and AWS Lambda or equivalents.
• Working knowledge of Docker, Kubernetes, JMS/SQS, SNS, and Kafka.
• Familiarity with Linux/Unix server environments.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies.
• Experience publishing and presenting design reports.
• Ability to coordinate with team members to meet milestones and deadlines.
• Working knowledge of Jira and Confluence.

Technologies

• Python
• pandas
• PySark
• NiFi
• Airflow
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• AWS Lambda
• Docker
• Kubernetes
• JMS/SQS
• SNS
• Kafka
• Linux/Unix
• Jira
• Confluence
• PostgreSQL
• S3
• Redshift
• MongoDB
• DynamoDB
• Redis
• Elasticsearch/OpenSearch
• SQL

Benefits

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Vision insurance

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• Familiarity with the Intelligence Community (IC) and the intel cycle.
• Experience with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
• Direct experience with DHS and IC data architectures and environments, IC-GovCloud experience preferred.
• Experience with cloud message APIs and push notifications.
• Interest in adopting the latest tools and technologies to solve national security problems.
• Knowledge of public keys and digital certificates.
• Experience in DevOps environments.
• Expertise with COTS, GOTS, and open source tools for data integration and visualization.
• Proficiency in object oriented programming, scripting, and databases.

Pay

Salary range: $110,000 - $170,000 per year. Compensation is determined by factors including location, experience, skills, education, certifications, seniority, and business needs. This range may be modified in the future.

Security and Work Location

Clearance: Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Work location: Hybrid remote in Washington, DC 20590.