Data Manager

Barone Consulting LLC; Springfield, Northern (VA, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Barone Consulting LLC seeks an experienced Data Manager to lead data operations for an AI/ML ISR program focused on geospatial data and satellite imagery. You will oversee data acquisition, preprocessing, storage, and end-to-end workflows, coordinating with Government stakeholders to translate priorities into executable tasks.

The role requires 15+ years of experience, strong leadership and project management, and deep expertise in data engineering, ETL, cloud environments, and geospatial

Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical discipline or equivalent.
• TS/SCI with CI Polygraph preferred; active TS with SCI eligibility may be considered.
• Experience leading data operations for large geospatial datasets.

Responsibilities

• Lead NGA overhead satellite data acquisition, curation, preprocessing, storage, and delivery.
• Serve as primary Government-facing interface for the data ops team.
• Supervise contractor data operations personnel and provide technical direction.
• Manage end-to-end data pipeline across multiple sensor modalities.
• Ensure data quality, schema adherence, and metadata completeness.
• Collaborate with image scientists and AI/ML engineers for CV/AI readiness.

Skills

People leadership

Project management

Data engineering

Geospatial data

ETL pipelines

SQL/NoSQL databases

Cloud architectures

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in a technical field

Tools

NGA CORE

MLOps

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Data Manager to lead data operations supporting a cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) program focused on Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensors and geospatial data.

The successful candidate will provide technical leadership, project management, and oversight of data operations supporting the acquisition, curation, preprocessing, management, and delivery of overhead satellite imagery and other geospatial data. You will oversee contractor personnel responsible for the preprocessing data pipeline and provide technical recommendations for integrating data acquisition, preprocessing, storage, and management capabilities into reliable end-to-end workflows.

The Data Manager will serve as a primary interface between Government stakeholders and the contractor data operations team, translating Government priorities, requirements, and technical direction into executable tasks and ensuring successful delivery. The role requires a combination of technical depth in data engineering and geospatial data, strong project and team leadership, and the ability to coordinate complex data operations across multiple sensor modalities and technology platforms.

The broader R&D program focuses on the development and application of AI/ML, particularly Computer Vision (CV), to ISR sensors, platforms, and geospatial data. Applications include object detection, tracking, classification, and pattern detection. The Data Manager will play a critical role in ensuring the availability, quality, consistency, and accessibility of the data required to develop, test, evaluate, and operationalize these capabilities.

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated people and team leadership experience, such as serving as a team lead, project lead, or technical lead, with strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• Extensive technical project management experience, including independently initiating, planning, managing, and driving complex technical projects to successful completion.
• Demonstrated experience conducting quantitative analysis, developing visualizations, and processing complex datasets to generate actionable, data-driven insights.
• Hands-on experience with data manipulation and Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes, including the development, operation, or management of complex data pipelines.
• Working knowledge of relational and non-relational database technologies, including SQL and NoSQL databases, with demonstrated experience managing databases and large-scale data holdings.
• Experience designing, operating, managing, or integrating cloud-based data architectures and data processing environments.
• Demonstrated experience working with large and complex geospatial datasets, imagery, and associated data formats and metadata.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts, data quality issues, project status, and recommendations effectively to technical and non-technical audiences, including Government stakeholders.
• 15+ years of relevant professional experience and a Bachelor's degree in a relevant technical discipline. Equivalent combinations of education, specialized training, certifications, publications, internships, and relevant professional experience may be considered.
• TS/SCI with CI Polygraph preferred. Candidates with an active TS clearance who are eligible for SCI access and a CI Polygraph may also be considered.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working within Agile and/or Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) development environments.
• Experience with NGA enterprise technology environments and systems, including NGA CORE and MLOps capabilities.
• GEOINT Professional Certification – Fundamentals (GPC-F) or comparable GEOINT credentials.
• Experience working with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) technologies applied to geospatial, imagery, or ISR data.
• Experience managing or preparing large-scale datasets for AI/ML model development, training, testing, validation, or performance evaluation.
• Familiarity with multiple ISR sensor modalities, including electro-optical (EO), full-motion video (FMV), hyperspectral/multispectral imagery (HMI), and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).

What You Will Do:

• Lead and oversee the data, databases, and pipelines supporting NGA overhead satellite data acquisition, curation, preprocessing, storage, and delivery, ensuring alignment with Government requirements and priorities.
• Serve as a primary Government-facing interface for the data operations team, translating technical direction and mission requirements into executable tasks and coordinating successful implementation.
• Lead and manage contractor data operations personnel, providing technical direction, prioritization, project management, and subject matter expertise for data creation, processing, and management initiatives.
• Manage the end-to-end data operations pipeline, including imagery acquisition and ingest, preprocessing and transformation, storage, and bi-directional data movement between platforms.
• Ensure imagery and associated data can be reliably transferred, stored, processed, manipulated, and made available to downstream applications and AI/ML workflows in accordance with mission and technical requirements.
• Conduct and oversee regular Quality Control (QC), data validation, and monitoring activities to ensure data complies with established standards, specifications, schemas, and mission requirements.
• Identify and resolve non-compliant datasets and data quality issues, including deficiencies involving schema adherence, metadata completeness, accuracy, consistency, and data integrity.
• Assess NGA Maven data holdings for compliance with applicable requirements and communicate status, findings, risks, and recommendations through written documentation, metrics, visualizations, and oral presentations.
• Apply data engineering best practices to optimize pipeline performance, reliability, scalability, and efficiency across multiple sensor modalities, including EO, FMV, HMI, and SAR.
• Coordinate the integration of data acquisition, preprocessing, database, cloud, and data management platforms to maintain reliable end-to-end data workflows.
• Ensure data dictionaries, Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs), schemas, software comments, and supporting technical documentation are maintained, accurate, and updated as systems and requirements evolve.
• Collaborate with image scientists, data scientists, AI/ML engineers, software engineers, and Government stakeholders to ensure data products are appropriately curated, characterized, and prepared for Computer Vision and AI/ML development and evaluation.
• Identify technical, operational, and data-quality risks within the data pipeline and develop recommendations and corrective actions to maintain continuity of data operations.

Other Information:

• Occasional travel outside the Washington, DC area may be required to support field events, demonstrations, tests, or exercises.
• Local travel may be required for meetings at Government facilities.
• Periodic surge support may be required in response to time-sensitive operational or crisis situations.
• Work will be performed at the CTR facility.
• The work schedule offers some flexibility; however, this is a highly collaborative team environment. Team members are generally expected to be available for collaboration during core hours of 0900–1500 ET, Monday through Friday.