Data Engineer (FedD024) - Defense Unicorns Remote Job

The Briefed; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 149,000 - 201,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision coverage

401k with company match

Company stock options

Home office budget

Paid holidays

Job summary

Defense Unicorns seeks a seasoned data engineering specialist to design and operate robust data pipelines in Kubernetes, across AWS and on-prem environments. The role emphasizes reliability, security, and scalable streaming solutions, with DoD compliance requirements.

The candidate will work with a platform team to implement best practices in configuration, security, and performance, while leveraging Terraform for infra automation and pursuing cutting-edge data engineering trends.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building production data pipelines, databases, and data exchange services on Kubernetes.
• Experience with Kafka/Redpanda data streaming on Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes).

Responsibilities

• Designing data workflows, pipelines, and pathways to support ETL/ELT across AWS and on-prem; ensure data-quality and secure data exchange.
• Implementing systems engineering for reliability, scalability, and maintainability of data layer systems; include backup/recovery strategies.
• Architecting, deploying, and operating data streaming tech (Kafka, Redpanda, Kinesis) on Kubernetes with declarative definitions.
• Collaborating with platform team to implement security, performance, and configuration management in Kubernetes/AWS.
• Automating infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and scaling using Terraform, while aligning with cybersecurity best practices.
• Ensuring data layer systems comply with DoD/regulatory standards and industry best-practices.
• Staying current with Kubernetes, containerization, and data engineering trends.

Skills

Kubernetes

AWS Cloud

Data pipelines

Security

CI/CD

Tools

Terraform

Job description

EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE U.S. CITIZENSHIP.

Responsibilities:

• Designing data workflows, pipelines, and pathways to support ETL/ELT, while ensuring data-quality and exchange of sensitive information across AWS cloud and on-prem environments.
• Implementing systems engineering principles to ensure the reliability, scalability, and maintainability of data layer systems, including backup and recovery strategies
• Architecting, deploying, and operating data streaming technologies (Kafka, Redpanda, Kinesis, etc ) on Kubernetes with an emphasis on declarative definitions to reduce complexity in day-2 operations
• Working with a platform team to implement best practices for configuration management, security, and performance optimization within Kubernetes and AWS environments
• Working with a platform team to automate infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and scaling using tools such as Terraform working with cybersecurity SMEs to incorporate best practices and techniques to defend our data layer against potential threats
• Ensuring that our data layer systems are compliant with industry and DoD regulations, standards, and best-practices
• Staying up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies related to Kubernetes, containerization, and data engineering

Travel Expectations/Requirements: 6-10 times per year

The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.

*Preferred Experience and Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience (minimum 5 years) in building and maintaining production data pipelines, databases, and data exchange services on Kubernetes Experience in designing, deploying, and operating Kafka / Redpanda data streaming solutions on Kubernetes
• Experience in creating data pipelines from scratch with the ability to process data in large volumes and manage data stores
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and container orchestration systems like Kubernetes
• Knowledge of systems engineering principles to ensure the reliability, scalability, and maintainability of data layer systems Familiarity with API Security, Container Security, AWS Cloud Security Familiarity with cybersecurity principles and best practices for securing data layer systems
• Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas to both technical and non-technical team members
• The selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background check (\"CBI\") and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret-level DoD security clearance
• Experience with machine learning and generative AI models

Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.

Remote - USA

$148,750—$201,250 USD

Who We Are

Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.

What We Do

We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.

Who We Serve

Defense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.

What We Work On

• Kubernetes
• Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
• Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
• Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
• GitOps
• Containers
• CNCF projects and open source products and packages
• Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
• Building and improving security delivery
• Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications

Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy

Health:

• Medical/Dental/Vision
• Premiums are 100% Company Paid
• Health Savings Account
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance

Financial:

• 401k Retirement Plan
• Company Stock Options
• Home Office Budget

Leave:

• We offer all full-time Unicorns Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s
• Paid Parental Leave

Learning:

• Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
• Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)

Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.

At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.