Data Lead (Defense)

Air Space Intelligence; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Air Space Intelligence is seeking a candidate to own the reality layer for defense products, improving data flows and translating findings into actionable pipelines for critical decision-making.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong data engineering skills, proficiency in debugging, and the ability to communicate technical details clearly. Active security clearance is required for this role, and experience with modern data tools is essential.

Qualifications

• Strong fluency with modern data engineering tooling.
• Demonstrated ability to debug data effectively.
• Strong technical communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the reality layer powering ASI's defense products.
• Operate and improve data flows from mission systems.
• Translate data findings into actionable pipelines.

Skills

Fluent with modern data engineering tooling

Ability to debug data

Technical communication skills

Distributed messaging and processing

API design and integration

Knowledge of modern network protocols

Familiarity with defense operational data

Operating in classified network environments

Deploying data infrastructure on Kubernetes

Problem solving in ambiguous environments

Tools

Kafka

Flink

Spark

Airflow

JSON

Protobuf

Job description

About Air Space Intelligence

ASI's mission-critical technology powers decision-making across aviation, defense, energy, and other critical infrastructure domains. Backed by top-tier investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, and Renegade Partners, ASI delivers operational decision superiority—compressing days of analysis into seconds of action. ASI is leading the way and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.

What You Will Do

You will own the reality layer that powers ASI's defense products. You will operate, improve, and expand the data flows that move operational data from mission systems into usable, trusted datasets for decision-making. This role is equal parts data engineering, data forensics, and technical communication. You will dig into real-world data, determine what it actually means, and translate findings into clear, actionable pipelines ready to drive mission-critical decisions for end users.

What We Value

• Strong fluency with modern data engineering tooling and patterns: streaming and batch pipelines, schema evolution, data contracts, and lineage.
• Demonstrated ability to debug data: profiling, anomaly detection, reconciling sources, and separating signal from noise while cross-validating.
• Strong technical communication skills: you can explain what the data is doing, what it means, what is broken, why it matters, and what engineering should change.
• Comfort with distributed messaging and processing (Kafka, Flink, Spark, or equivalents) and modern orchestration (Airflow, Dagster, Temporal, or similar).
• Strong grasp of API design and integration patterns (REST, gRPC, GraphQL) and experience working across a range of data formats and wire-level protocols (JSON, XML, Protobuf, and binary protocols like JREAP-C or CMF-B).
• Working knowledge of modern network protocols, firewalls, system level connections, cross-system authentication, and an enthusiasm to get data flowing.
• Familiarity with defense operational data and mission systems, with an appreciation for delayed reporting, inconsistent identifiers, changing semantics, and obscure edge cases.
• Comfort operating in classified network environments (e.g., SIPR, JWICS) and working within accreditation boundaries (IL5/IL6, ATO processes).
• Experience deploying data infrastructure on Kubernetes and across hybrid cloud and on-prem environments.
• A bias for action and distinct aptitude for problem solving in ambiguous environments.
• Active SECRET or TOP SECRET U.S. Security Clearance.

How We Hire

We look at the interview process not as a screening or test, but rather as an opportunity to simulate what it would look like working together. We build the interview process around you.