Data Manager

Herndon Solutions Group; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Herndon Solutions Group seeks a Data Manager to organize, govern, acquire, standardize, and deliver data used in mission-focused analysis. You will manage PAI/CAI, client data, and internal datasets, ensuring accuracy, traceability, accessibility, and readiness for use across teams of analysts, engineers, and vendors.

You will translate mission needs into practical data requirements, coordinate data acquisition and licensing, improve data quality, and enable analytics/AI workflows with

Qualifications

• Active Top Secret clearance with eligibility for SCI access.
• Associate’s degree in CS/IS/Data Science/GIS/Engineering/Intelligence studies or related field.
• Experience managing data, data operations, data acquisition, data governance, or analytics-enablement activities in complex environments.
• Experience coordinating across analysts, engineers, stakeholders, procurement or contracting personnel, and external vendors.
• Experience defining data-quality, metadata, lineage, standardization, cataloging, access, retention, or lifecycle-management practices.
• Experience with heterogeneous structured and unstructured datasets and preparation for analysis or AI/ML use.
• Experience monitoring data ingestion or delivery workflows and coordinating issue resolution.
• Working knowledge of Python and SQL and familiarity with Windows and Linux/UNIX environments.
• Ability to develop clear documentation, status reporting, and executive-ready communications for Government clients.
• Ability to work effectively in an Agile or iterative delivery environment and manage priorities, dependencies, risks, and backlogs.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day management of PAI, CAI, client-provided, and internally produced datasets across Government missions.
• Coordinate with analysts, data engineers, contracting personnel, client representatives, and vendors to translate needs into data requirements, acquisition actions, licensing, delivery schedules, and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain a current inventory of data sources, owners, licenses, access restrictions, refresh frequencies, lineage, quality status, and authorized uses.
• Assess candidate data sources and vendor offerings for mission relevance, coverage, quality, interoperability, licensing, and lifecycle cost.
• Monitor vendor agreements, subscriptions, and data-delivery commitments; identify renewal or performance risks and escalate issues.
• Establish repeatable data intake, validation, metadata, cataloging, version-control, retention, and disposition practices.
• Partner with data engineers to plan ingestion, transformation, indexing, and delivery pipelines; support troubleshooting of data flows.

Skills

Python

SQL

Data governance

Data acquisition

Agile methodologies

Stakeholder communication

Documentation

Education

Associate’s degree in CS/IS/Data Science/GIS/Engineering/Intelligence studies

Job description

Turn Complex Data Into Mission-Ready Intelligence

At HSG, data isn't valuable simply because it exists- it's valuable when the right people can access, trust, and use it to support the mission.

We're seeking a Data Manager who can bring structure to complex data environments and connect the dots between mission needs, analysts, engineers, acquisition teams, and data providers. In this role, you'll help ensure that Publicly Available Information (PAI), Commercially Available Information (CAI), client-provided data, and internally generated datasets are accurate, traceable, accessible, and ready for use.

This is a hands-on opportunity for someone who enjoys solving messy data challenges, improving how information moves across teams and systems, and translating operational requirements into practical data solutions. You'll work at the intersection of data management, analytics, technology, acquisition, and mission delivery - helping teams get the right data, in the right form, at the right time.

This position is contingent upon contract award and final client approval.

Candidates must possess an active Top Secret clearance with eligibility for SCI access.

General Description

The Data Manager will organize, govern, acquire, standardize, and deliver data used in mission-focused analysis, including Publicly Available Information (PAI) and Commercially Available Information (CAI). The role connects analysts, data engineers, contracting personnel, client stakeholders, and data vendors to ensure that data is accurate, traceable, accessible to authorized users, and available when needed.

This position is designed for a hands-on data professional who can translate mission and analytic needs into practical data requirements, coordinate data acquisition and licensing, improve data quality, and help the team use fit-for-purpose datasets and tools to achieve required results.

How You Will Fulfill Your Mission

• Lead day-to-day management of PAI, CAI, client-provided, and internally produced datasets supporting Government mission requirements.
• Coordinate with analysts, data engineers, technical leads, contracting personnel, client representatives, and vendors to translate operational needs into data requirements, acquisition actions, licensing terms, delivery schedules, and acceptance criteria.
• Maintain a current inventory of data sources, owners, licenses, access restrictions, refresh frequencies, lineage, quality status, and authorized uses.
• Assess candidate data sources and vendor offerings for mission relevance, coverage, quality, interoperability, licensing constraints, compliance considerations, and lifecycle cost.
• Monitor vendor agreements, subscriptions, and data-delivery commitments; identify renewal, compliance, continuity, or performance risks and elevate issues before they affect mission delivery.
• Establish and apply repeatable data intake, validation, standardization, metadata, cataloging, version-control, retention, and disposition practices.
• Partner with data engineers to plan and monitor ingestion, transformation, indexing, and delivery pipelines; support troubleshooting of failed, delayed, incomplete, or degraded data flows.
• Detect and coordinate correction of duplicate, inconsistent, incomplete, stale, or poorly documented records across multiple environments.
• Support responsible preparation and curation of text, geospatial, network, maritime, cargo, and other structured or unstructured data for analytics and AI/ML workflows.
• Facilitate backlog refinement, sprint planning, prioritization, status reviews, and issue resolution for data-management activities in an Agile delivery environment.
• Develop and communicate data-quality metrics, availability measures, risk indicators, decision briefs, and recommendations to HSG and client leadership.
• Document data-management decisions, procedures, business rules, assumptions, dependencies, and handoffs to support continuity, auditability, and reproducible analysis.
• Protect Government, vendor, and HSG information by following applicable access, handling, cybersecurity, licensing, and client-specific requirements.

Why We Value You

• You turn ambiguous mission needs into organized, actionable data plans.
• You communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and can bridge mission, engineering, acquisition, and vendor perspectives.
• You are attentive to detail, data quality, documentation, and follow-through without losing sight of operational outcomes.
• You work independently, collaborate effectively, and address blockers before they disrupt the team.
• You exercise sound judgment when handling sensitive information, commercially licensed data, and competing priorities.
• You improve processes pragmatically and help teams deliver useful results rather than pursuing complexity for its own sake.

Specific Knowledage/Certification Requirements

• Active Top Secret clearance with eligibility for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), and ability to maintain required clearance and client access.
• Associate’s in computer science, information systems, data science, geographic information systems, engineering, intelligence studies, or a related field;
• Demonstrated experience managing data, data operations, data acquisition, data governance, data engineering support, or analytics-enablement activities in a complex mission or enterprise environment.
• Experience coordinating across analysts, engineers, stakeholders, procurement or contracting personnel, and external vendors.
• Experience defining or applying data-quality, metadata, lineage, standardization, cataloging, access, retention, or lifecycle-management practices.
• Experience working with heterogeneous structured and unstructured datasets and supporting their preparation for analysis, reporting, or AI/ML use.
• Experience monitoring data ingestion or delivery workflows and coordinating resolution of pipeline, quality, access, or performance issues.
• Working knowledge of Python and SQL and familiarity with Windows and Linux/UNIX environments.
• Ability to develop clear documentation, status reporting, decision support, and executive-ready communications for a Government client.
• Ability to work effectively in an Agile or iterative delivery environment and manage priorities, dependencies, risks, and backlogs.

Working Conditions

• Work will be performed in an office, client-site, secure-facility, hybrid, or remote environment as permitted by the contract and client.
• The position may require access to Government facilities, systems, data, equipment, or information and may involve irregular hours based on mission needs.
• The employee maybe requiredto sit or stand for extended periods, communicate by phone or video, and operate standard computer and office equipment. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform essential functions.
• Travel may be required based on contract and client needs.