Data Engineer - CDAO Central

Agile Defense; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Life Insurance

Paid Time Off

Holiday Pay

Short-term Disability

Long-term Disability

Retirement benefits

Learning and Development opportunities

Job summary

Agile Defense, Inc. is seeking a Data Engineer for the CDAO Central program. The role focuses on designing scalable data pipelines and AI-enabled data solutions to support DoD missions.

You will work with PMs, developers, and platform engineers to turn raw data into actionable insights in secure environments. The ideal candidate has 3+ years in data or software engineering, strong Python/SQL skills, and experience with Palantir Foundry and distributed data frameworks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/IS/Data Engineering or related field; master's preferred.
• 3+ years of experience in data engineering or software engineering.
• Experience designing and managing complex data pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and deploy scalable data pipelines and AI-enabled data solutions.
• Develop pre-processing workflows and feature engineering strategies.
• Collaborate with product managers, developers, and stakeholders to transform raw data into insights and decision-support tools.
• Support reproducibility, testing, and continuous delivery in agile environments.

Skills

Palantir MSS Workshop

Palantir Slate

Python

SQL

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related field

Tools

Palantir Foundry

Spark

Databricks

PySpark

Job description

About Agile Defense

At Agile Defense we know that action defines the outcome and new challenges require new solutions. That’s why we always look to the future and embrace change with an unmovable spirit and the courage to build for what comes next.

Our vision is to bring adaptive innovation to support our nation’s most important missions through the seamless integration of advanced technologies, elite minds, and unparalleled agility—leveraging a foundation of speed, flexibility, and ingenuity to strengthen and protect our nation’s vital interests.

Requisition #: 1756

Job Title: Data Engineer - CDAO Central

Location: On-Site, Washington, D.C.

Clearance Level: Top Secret / SCI, Must Have Clearance to Start

Job Description

Agile Defense is seeking a Data Scientist / Engineer to support the design, development, and operational deployment of scalable, AI-enabled data solutions within the Department of Defense’s CDAO ADA IR program. This role is part of a multidisciplinary team integrating advanced analytics, machine learning, and engineering practices into mission-critical environments at Combatant Commands.

You will help shape and deploy data pipelines, pre-processing workflows, feature engineering strategies, and machine learning services within secure, containerized environments. The ideal candidate brings a hybrid of statistical modeling fluency and hands-on software engineering expertise. You will collaborate closely with product managers, full-stack developers, platform engineers, and mission stakeholders to transform raw data into meaningful insights and decision-support tools.

This role requires strong technical communication skills, a collaborative mindset, and experience working in agile environments that value reproducibility, testing, and continuous delivery. Familiarity with cloud-based data platforms such as Databricks, Palantir, or AWS-native data services is highly preferred.

Education and Background

Typically has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field (masters degree preferred)., and 3+ years of experience in data engineering or software engineering, with demonstrated experience in designing and managing complex data pipelines., or equivalent relevant work experience; e.g., each year of work experience may be substituted for each year of education required.

Years of Experience

3+ years

Required Skills

• Experience with data visualization and storytelling using tools such as Palantir’s MSS Workshop and Slate applications

Preferred Skills

• 4+ years of experience in applied data science, Palantir Foundry development, or data pipeline development.
• Proficient in Python, SQL, and distributed data frameworks (e.g., Spark, Databricks, PySpark).
• Experience developing ML models from training to deployment using industry-standard tools and libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, TensorFlow, XGBoost).
• Familiarity with MLOps, API development, and secure cloud-based environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, Palantir Foundry).
• Strong understanding of data validation, model testing, and performance evaluation techniques.
• Excellent technical communication skills, with the ability to explain complex concepts to non-technical audiences.

Working Conditions

Must be able to work onsite at a SCIF

$140,000 - $165,000 a year

In addition, Agile Defense invests in its employees beyond just compensation. Agile’s benefits offerings include, dependent upon position, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Paid Time Off, Holiday Pay, short-term and long-term Disability, Retirement and Learning and Development opportunities as well as other optional benefit elections.

Our Core Values

• Happy - Be Infectious. Happiness multiplies and creates a positive and connected environment where motivation and satisfaction have an outsized effect on everything we do.
• Helpful - Be Supportive. Being helpful is the foundation of teamwork, resulting in a supportive atmosphere where collaboration flourishes, and collective success is celebrated.
• Honest - Be Trustworthy. Honesty serves as our compass, ensuring transparent communication, ethical conduct, essential to who we are and the complex domains we support.
• Humble - Be Grounded. Success is not achieved alone, humility ensures a culture of mutual respect, encouraging open communication, and a willingness to learn from one another and take on any task.
• Hungry - Be Eager. Our hunger for excellence drives an insatiable appetite for innovation and continuous improvement, propelling us forward in the face of new and unprecedented challenges.
• Hustle - Be Driven. Hustle is reflected in our relentless work ethic, where we are each committed to going above and beyond to advance the mission and achieve success.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities