Data Engineer/Metadata Engineer - TS/SCI Required

Partner Forces LLC; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Partner Forces LLC in Arlington, VA is seeking a hands-on Data Engineer / Metadata Engineer to support a mission-focused federal cybersecurity client. You will design, build, and optimize data pipelines and metadata tooling, ensuring data is organized, discoverable, and trusted across systems.

You’ll collaborate with stakeholders, implement governance, and work across Azure, AWS, or GCP environments to power analytics, reporting, and AI/ML capabilities.

Qualifications

• 3–7 years of data engineering or metadata engineering experience.
• Hands-on with ETL/ELT processes and data pipelines.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with data modeling.
• Experience in cloud environments (Azure, AWS, or GCP).

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and optimize scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT processes.
• Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple sources.
• Build and support data models, databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and lakehouse environments.
• Develop automation and monitoring to improve data pipeline reliability and quality.
• Build and maintain metadata repositories and data catalogs for discoverability.
• Support automated metadata collection, classification, and enrichment.
• Establish and maintain data lineage to show data origin and usage.
• Define and implement data governance practices, including ownership and quality controls.
• Identify opportunities to improve data quality, consistency, accessibility, and trust.
• Support cloud-based data environments and platform integrations (Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Develop automation-first approaches to data management and platform operations.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business needs into technical solutions.
• Support data powering analytics, reporting, AI/ML, and mission capabilities.

Skills

Data engineering

Communication

Problem solving

Collaboration

Tools

SQL

ETL tooling

Data warehouses

Azure

AWS

GCP

Job description

About this position

About Partner Forces

Partner Forces is a management consulting firm helping homeland security organizations solve some of their most pressing and complex challenges. We partner with government agencies and industry to strengthen national security and critical infrastructure through expertise in strategy, program management, stakeholder engagement, technology implementation, preparedness, and business transformation.

At Partner Forces, we're more than consultants—we're trusted advisors. We work alongside our clients to solve meaningful problems, deliver actionable solutions, and make a lasting impact. As a growing firm, every employee has the opportunity to contribute not only to our clients' success, but also to the future of Partner Forces. We believe great consultants are developed through collaboration, mentorship, continuous learning, and meaningful opportunities to lead.

Our culture is grounded in six core values: Integrity, Excellence, Positivity, Candor, Determination, and Teamwork. These values shape how we work with our clients, support one another, and grow together. We believe that when our people thrive, our clients do too, which is why we invest in our employees' well‑being, professional development, and long‑term success.

Partner Forces is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact us at [e-mail] .

What we are looking for:

Partner Forces is looking for a hands‑on Data Engineer / Metadata Engineer to support a mission‑focused federal cybersecurity client. We’re looking for someone who enjoys getting underneath the data and making it work better. You’ll help build and improve the pipelines, platforms, and processes that move data across systems while also helping ensure that data is organized, understandable, discoverable, and trusted. This is a great fit for someone who brings strong technical data engineering experience and is equally comfortable thinking about the bigger picture of how data is governed, cataloged, and used across an organization. At Partner Forces, we value curious problem solvers who are comfortable jumping into complex environments, asking good questions, collaborating with technical and nontechnical stakeholders, and finding practical ways to make things better.

What you'll do:

• Design, build, and optimize scalable data pipelines and ETL/ELT processes
• Integrate structured and unstructured data from multiple internal and external sources
• Build and support data models, databases, data warehouses, data lakes, and lakehouse environments
• Develop automation and monitoring to improve the reliability, performance, and quality of data pipelines
• Build and maintain metadata repositories and data catalogs that make data easier to find, understand, and use
• Support automated metadata collection, classification, and enrichment
• Establish and maintain data lineage to help users understand where data comes from, how it changes, and where it is used
• Help define and implement data governance practices, including data ownership, stewardship, quality controls, and standards
• Identify opportunities to improve data quality, consistency, accessibility, and trust
• Support cloud‑based data environments and integrations across platforms such as Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Develop automation‑first approaches to data management and platform operations
• Partner with stakeholders to understand business and mission needs and translate them into practical technical solutions
• Support data that powers analytics, reporting, AI/ML, and other mission capabilities

Qualifications

• Must be a US Citizen.
• An active Top Secret security clearance
• Approximately 3 to 7 years of experience in data engineering, metadata engineering, data platforms, or a closely related technical field
• Hands‑on experience designing or building ETL/ELT processes and data pipelines
• Strong experience with SQL and relational or nonrelational databases
• Experience with data warehousing, large‑scale data processing, or modern data platform environments
• Experience with data modeling and integrating data from multiple sources
• Understanding of metadata management, data lineage, data catalogs, and data governance
• Experience working in at least one major cloud environment such as Azure, AWS, or GCP
• Ability to troubleshoot complex data problems and develop practical solutions
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with both technical teams and mission stakeholders

Next Steps:

If your application looks like a match, someone from our People Operations team will reach out to schedule a phone screening. During this conversation, we will determine if the current or future position aligns with your experience and skills. If things go well, from there you'll meet with members from the project team, including the hiring manager and teammates, and possibly be asked to submit a writing assessment to showcase your practical knowledge. If we find you are a match, you’ll get a call offering you the role. While we wish we could hire every great candidate who comes our way, the reality is that we can't. If you are not selected, we will be sure to connect with you and let you know so you can move on with your search. We will also keep your resume for future needs.

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