Data Engineer (TS/SCI)

Avance Consulting; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Avance Consulting is seeking a Senior Data Engineer / Technical Lead to support mission-critical cyber and network operations. You will design, build, and optimize data pipelines transforming high-volume data into actionable intelligence for national security programs.

You will also lead technical direction, mentor team members, and help shape the future of data engineering across the program, working in a highly collaborative environment that values excellence and accountability.

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance required.
• 14+ years in data or software engineering.
• Strong experience designing ETL pipelines and data ingestion frameworks.
• Hands-on with Kafka, NiFi, AWS (S3, SQS).
• Proficiency in Java and/or Python, with unit/integration testing.
• Solid understanding of JSON, XML, SQL schemas and data formats.
• Experience troubleshooting data pipelines and dataflow issues.

Responsibilities

• Design and scale data ingestion pipelines for large, complex data sets.
• Integrate new data sources and enhance data flows for performance and reliability.
• Lead data integrity, validation, monitoring, and troubleshooting efforts.
• Enable timely, accurate data for mission partners across distributed environments.
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to junior and mid-level engineers.
• Drive best practices across ETL development, data modeling, and system architecture.

Skills

TS/SCI clearance

14+ years experience

ETL pipelines

Kafka

NiFi

AWS

Java

Python

Unit testing

JSON/XML/SQL

Tools

GitLab

Maven

VSCode

IntelliJ

PyCharm

Job description

The company is seeking a Senior Data Engineer / Technical Lead to support mission-critical cyber and network operations within the Department of War and Intelligence Community. In this role, you will design, build, and optimize data pipelines that transform complex, high-volume data into actionable intelligence supporting national security efforts.

This is more than a hands-on engineering role—you will also lead technical direction, mentor team members, and help shape the future of data engineering across the program.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Design and scale data ingestion pipelines for large, complex structured and unstructured data sets
• Integrate new data sources and enhance existing data flows for performance and reliability
• Lead efforts around data integrity, validation, monitoring, and troubleshooting
• Support mission partners by enabling timely, accurate, and accessible data for analysis
• Decompose and solve complex system and dataflow challenges across distributed environments
• Collaborate with engineers, analysts, and stakeholders across mission teams
• Provide technical leadership, mentorship, and guidance to junior and mid-level engineers
• Drive best practices across ETL development, data modeling, and system architecture

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance (required)
• 14+ years of experience in data engineering, software engineering, or related technical fields. (Additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree)
• Strong experience designing and building ETL pipelines and data ingestion frameworks
• Hands‑on experience with Kafka, NiFi, and AWS (S3, SQS)
• Proficiency in Java and/or Python, with experience in unit and integration testing
• Solid understanding of data formats (JSON, XML, SQL schemas, compressed formats)
• Experience troubleshooting data pipelines, system performance, and dataflow issues

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting cyber or network operations environments
• Familiarity with Agile development environments
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or containerized deployments
• Exposure to Apache Airflow or Mage AI
• Strong documentation and communication skills
• Experience developing training materials or mentoring team members

Tech Environment

Languages: Java, Python, SQL

Cloud: AWS (S3, SQS, SNS)

Tools: GitLab, Maven, VSCode, IntelliJ, PyCharm

This role includes technical leadership responsibilities, including:

• Guiding data engineering strategy and architecture decisions
• Mentoring engineers and promoting best practices
• Driving innovation across data ingestion, processing, and analytics capabilities
• Suporting program growth and long-term technical vision

Why US?

At the company, we’re building a mission-driven, collaborative team supporting critical national security initiatives. We value technical excellence, accountability, and creating an environment where our people can thrive.

You won’t just be another engineer—you’ll be part of a team where:

• Your work directly impacts real-world missions
• Your ideas and expertise are valued
• You have opportunities to grow, lead, and innovate

We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Life and disability insurance
• 401(k) and financial planning support
• Paid time off and holidays
• Professional development and tuition assistance

Equal Opportunity Employer

The company is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.