Data Engineer

J5 Consulting; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-paid health coverage

6% 401(k) match

PTO

Tuition reimbursement

Bonuses

Professional development

Job summary

J5 Consulting, a Maryland-based company, is seeking a data engineering professional to join its team in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The role focuses on building scalable data pipelines, ETL/ELT workflows, and ensuring data security and governance across cloud environments.

You will collaborate with stakeholders in agile teams, own end-to-end data solutions using Spark, PySpark, Python, SQL, and orchestration tools, and contribute to modernization efforts.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with Agile/Scrum development methodologies in a fast-paced, collaborative team environment.
• Demonstrated experience in high-performing, cross-functional teams with multiple concurrent projects.
• Experience gathering requirements from stakeholders and translating them into technical solutions with minimal oversight.
• Strong ownership mentality with focus on code quality, testing, and documentation.
• Ability to context-switch between projects and systems as priorities demand.
• Data Engineering and building production data pipelines/ETL/ELT at scale.
• Experience with Apache Spark and PySpark for distributed data processing.
• Advanced Python data manipulation using Pandas/NumPy and data engineering best practices.
• Understanding of data security, privacy, governance, and compliance principles.
• Experience with workflow orchestration tools like Step Functions and Airflow.
• Containerization with Docker/Podman and deploying data apps in cloud environments.
• Experience with AWS services (S3, Lambda, Step Functions).
• Production experience with PostgreSQL/MySQL including performance tuning and schema design.
• SQL and query optimization for analytics workloads.
• Version control (Git) and CI/CD practices for data pipelines.
• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders to define data requirements and feasible solutions.

Responsibilities

• Architect and build a secure data ecosystem aligned with the Sponsor's data strategy.
• Develop scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT workflows at scale.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather requirements and translate into technical solutions.

Skills

Agile/Scrum

Cross-functional teams

Requirements gathering

Code quality testing docs

Data engineering

ETL/ELT pipelines

Apache Spark

PySpark

Python data manipulation

Data security governance

Workflow orchestration

Docker/Podman

AWS (S3/Lambda/Step Functions)

PostgreSQL/MySQL

SQL optimization

Git/CI-CD

Stakeholder collaboration

Troubleshooting data quality

Tools

Apache Iceberg

Apache Ranger

Trino

Unity Catalog OSS

Apache Superset

Bash scripting

Terraform/CloudFormation

OpenLineage

Java

DynamoDB

Job description

J5 Consulting is a Maryland based company established in 2006 to provide computing and consulting services for government and commercial entities. Our services improve Information System networking performance and compliance and protect electronic assets from loss and compromise. We welcome your application to receive consideration for the following position.

Introduction

The Sponsor’s office is architecting and creating a coherent secure data ecosystem that is compatible and synchronized with the overall Sponsor’s data strategy and broader mission capabilities. These solutions and capabilities include a platform to conduct enterprise search, digital forensics, and data analytics. The Sponsor fuses modern, data-centric tradecraft and capabilities with other components in pursuit of extracting maximum value from existing data.

Required Skills and Demonstrated Experience

• Demonstrated experience with Agile/Scrum development methodologies in a fast-paced, collaborative team environment
• Demonstrated experience working effectively in high-performing, cross-functional teams with multiple concurrent projects
• Demonstrated experience working directly with stakeholders to gather requirements, understand needs, and translate them into technical solutions with minimal oversight
• Demonstrated experience in self-directed work with a strong ownership mentality and commitment to code quality, testing, and documentation
• Demonstrated experience context-switching between projects and systems as priorities demand
• Data Engineering
• Demonstrated experience building production data pipelines and ETL/ELT workflows at scale
• Demonstrated experience with Apache Spark and PySpark for distributed data processing
• Demonstrated experience with advanced Python programming skills including data manipulation libraries (Pandas, NumPy) and data engineering best practices
• Demonstrated experience understanding data security, privacy, governance, and compliance principles
• Demonstrated experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Step Functions and Airflow
• Demonstrated experience with containerization such as Docker or Podman, and deploying data applications in cloud environments
• Demonstrated experience with AWS services (in particular S3, Lambda, and Step Functions)
• Demonstrated experience with PostgreSQL and MySQL in production environments, including performance tuning and schema design
• Demonstrated experience with SQL and query optimization for complex analytical workloads
• Demonstrated experience with version control (Git) and CI/CD practices for data pipelines
• Demonstrated experience working with stakeholders to understand data requirements, assess feasibility, and design appropriate solutions with minimal oversight
• Demonstrated experience with strong problem-solving and debugging skills for data quality issues, pipeline failures, and performance bottlenecks

Highly Desired Skills and Demonstrated Experience

• Data Engineering
• Demonstrated experience with data lakehouse architectures using Apache Iceberg
• Demonstrated experience configuring, deploying, and integrating data platform components: Apache Ranger (access control and data governance); Trino (distributed SQL query engine); Data catalogs (Unity Catalog OSS, Apache Polaris, etc.); Apache Superset (data visualization and dashboarding)
• Demonstrated experience with Bash scripting for automation and data processing tasks
• Demonstrated experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform or CloudFormation) for data infrastructure
• Demonstrated experience with tracking data lineage and associated tooling such as OpenLineage
• Demonstrated experience with Java
• Demonstrated experience with data quality frameworks, testing methodologies, and validation strategies
• Demonstrated experience or background with large-scale data migrations or platform modernization efforts
• Demonstrated experience integrating AI/ML services and models (translation, OCR, speech-to-text, NLP, language detection, topic modeling), LLMs, and RAG (retrieval-augmented generation) pipelines
• Demonstrated experience with geospatial data processing (H3, PostGIS, or similar)
• Demonstrated experience contributing to data engineering documentation, best practices, or design patterns
• Demonstrated experience with NoSQL databases (DynamoDB, etc.)
• Demonstrated experience with excellent written and verbal communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences

US Citizenship

• This position requires US Citizenship. Verification of US Citizenship to meet federal government security requirements will be confirmed

Security Clearance

• The successful candidate must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Security Clearance with a Full Scope Polygraph
• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment

Travel

• This position is expected to be onsite. The position will be located within the Washington Metropolitan Area (WMA). Local travel/POV will be on an as needed basis, within the local place of performance

Join J5 Consulting and Grow Your Cybersecurity Career

At J5, we’re a team of innovators protecting organizations from evolving cyber threats. With 18+ years of success in government and commercial sectors, we offer meaningful opportunities to grow your career.

Enjoy comprehensive benefits, including:

• 100% employer-paid health coverage
• a 6% 401(k) match
• PTO
• tuition reimbursement
• bonuses
• professional development, and more