Data Engineer

Absolute Business Solutions Corp. (ABSc); Herndon (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO + federal holidays

401(k) with company match

Tuition assistance

Health and wellness allowance

Career development funds

Job summary

Absolute Business Solutions Corp (ABSC) is hiring a cleared Data Engineer to support NGA’s Data Modernization Services. You’ll build data pipelines and analytics solutions, turning large datasets into insights. On‑site in Herndon, VA with other U.S.

locations, you’ll work with Databricks, Spark, Java, and related tech to meet mission needs. You will ingest, transform, validate, and prepare data for machine learning and analytics, and collaborate with engineers and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI security clearance with willingness to obtain and maintain counterintelligence polygraph.
• Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of relevant experience in data engineering, software development, data science, analytics, or machine learning; additional relevant experience may substitute for a degree.
• Hands‑on experience with at least one of the following: Databricks, Apache Spark (PySpark or Scala), or Java‑based data processing.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and optimize data pipelines and data products for large‑scale data processing.
• Develop solutions using Databricks, Apache Spark, Java, or related technologies based on mission needs.
• Ingest, transform, validate, and prepare data for analytics, ML, and downstream applications.
• Develop, deploy, and maintain analytical or ML models where appropriate.
• Apply statistical and data science methods to identify patterns and provide actionable insights.
• Tune data processing and Spark workloads for performance and reliability.
• Work with distributed data systems, data lakes, and formats like Parquet and Delta Lake.
• Integrate data products with databases, APIs, analytics platforms, and AI/ML workflows.
• Explain findings to nontechnical stakeholders and collaborate with engineers on implementation.
• Troubleshoot data quality, pipeline, and model issues in secure environments, including air‑gapped systems when required.
• Contribute to production‑quality code, documentation, and collaborative development practices.

Skills

TS/SCI clearance

Bachelor's degree

Databricks

Apache Spark

Java

SQL

Python/Java/Scala/R

Data pipelines

Data quality

Stakeholder communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Databricks

Apache Spark

Java-based data processing

Job description

Absolute Business Solutions Corp (ABSC) is a community of innovators, engineers, analysts, and business professionals working with customers to tackle complex challenges. For more than 20 years, we have supported critical DoD, Intelligence Community, and Federal Civilian missions, as well as global commercial clients. Our work spans intelligence, technology, defense, AI/ML, and data science.

We are hiring a cleared Data Engineer to support NGA’s Data Modernization Services (DMS) mission and related customer efforts. You’ll build data pipelines and products, develop or optimize analytical and machine learning solutions, and help customers turn large, complex datasets into useful insights.

We’re interested in candidates with hands‑on experience in Databricks, Apache Spark, or Java-based data application development. The right candidate may come from a data engineering, software development, data science, or machine learning background and can work effectively with both technical teams and mission stakeholders.

Location: On‑site in Herndon, VA; Springfield, VA; St. Louis, MO; or Aurora, CO

What You’ll Do

• Build, maintain, and optimize data pipelines and data products for large-scale data processing.
• Develop solutions using Databricks, Apache Spark, Java, or related technologies, based on the mission and team needs.
• Ingest, transform, validate, and prepare data for analytics, machine learning, and downstream applications.
• Develop, deploy, and maintain analytical or machine learning models where appropriate to the work.
• Apply statistical and data science methods to identify patterns, answer customer questions, and produce actionable insights.
• Tune data processing and Spark workloads for performance, reliability, and efficient storage.
• Work with distributed data systems, data lakes, and formats such as Parquet and Delta Lake.
• Integrate data products with databases, APIs, analytics platforms, and AI/ML workflows.
• Explain findings and recommendations to nontechnical stakeholders and collaborate with engineering teams on implementation.
• Troubleshoot data quality, pipeline, and model issues in secure environments, including air‑gapped systems when required.
• Contribute to production-quality code, documentation, and collaborative development practices.

Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI security clearance with willingness to obtain and maintain counterintelligence polygraph.
• Bachelor’s degree and at least 2 years of relevant experience in data engineering, software development, data science, analytics, or machine learning; additional relevant experience may substitute for a degree.
• Hands‑on experience with at least one of the following:
  • Databricks
  • Apache Spark, including PySpark or Scala
  • Java-based data processing or enterprise application development
• Experience working with data using SQL and at least one programming or analytical language, such as Python, Java, Scala, or R.
• Experience building, supporting, or maintaining data pipelines, analytical solutions, or production software.
• Understanding of data quality, validation, and troubleshooting.
• Ability to work effectively with engineers, analysts, customers, and other stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• 5 or more years of relevant experience, particularly in data engineering or large‑scale data processing.
• Experience with Delta Lake, Parquet, Structured Streaming, or lakehouse architectures.
• Experience with distributed data systems or big data platforms such as Flink, MapReduce, EMR, Dataproc, Cloudera, or Hortonworks.
• Experience with containers and orchestration tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience with object storage, including S3‑compatible systems.
• Experience developing, deploying, or maintaining machine learning models and AI/ML data pipelines.
• Familiarity with orchestration tools such as Airflow, dbt, or NiFi.
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Azure.
• Experience with CI/CD, Git, Jenkins, REST APIs, or infrastructure as code.
• Knowledge of statistics, probability, NLP, image processing, or A/B testing.
• Familiarity with LLMs and GPT models.
• Prior experience supporting NGA, DoD, or Intelligence Community programs.
• Experience presenting data‑driven findings to customer or business stakeholders.
• Familiarity with JIRA, Confluence, or similar collaboration tools.

Compensation

The approximate salary range is $120,000 - $225,000, depending on work location, responsibilities, education, experience, skills, and internal equity. Other factors may include applicable market data, bargaining agreements, and law.

Who We Are

ABSC combines the agility of a small business with proven processes refined over more than two decades. We support public‑sector clients in Intelligence, Defense, Health, and Safety, helping advance innovation, agility, and security across their missions.

Some of our benefits include:

• Generous paid time off plus 11 federal holidays
• Fully vested 401(k) with company match
• Tuition assistance
• Annual health and wellness allowance
• Annual career development funds for education, training and AI subscriptions
• Eight hours of paid volunteer time each year
• Internal and external referral bonuses
• Living Our Values awards

ABSC is a proud Virginia Values Veterans (V3) member and is committed to hiring veterans. Veterans are encouraged to include their service in their application.

ABSC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.