Data Operations Engineer (Hybrid)

Phoenix Operations Group; Columbia (MD); Hybrid; USD 138,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision fully paid

401(k) with 10% company contribution

Four weeks paid time off

Eleven paid holidays per year

Birthday leave

Referral bonuses

GitHub project bonuses

Paid training and certifications

Job summary

Phoenix Operations Group in Columbia, MD is seeking a Data Operations Engineer to lead a technically focused team ensuring reliability and timely delivery of mission-critical data. The role translates mission requirements into documented, automated data workflows aligned with customer needs.

The role oversees data flow operations and platform stability across complex systems, with a focus on improving performance and moving operations toward a proactive, automated, and adaptive model.

Qualifications

• Active Secret-level U.S. Government security clearance and U.S. citizenship.
• Experience in technical operations, data management, or systems engineering.
• Experience managing high-volume data flows and cloud-native storage.
• Proficiency with SQL and scripting to automate tasks.
• Ability to work in a hybrid environment with Columbia, MD office days.

Responsibilities

• Lead a data-focused team ensuring reliability, availability, and timely data delivery.
• Translate mission requirements into automated data workflows.
• Oversee data flows, optimize pipelines, and monitor data health.
• Coordinate reusable scripts and flow strategies across the ecosystem.
• Implement automated quality gates and schema validation.
• Troubleshoot data flow issues across distributed environments.

Skills

Security clearance

Python/Java scripting

SQL

DataOps

ETL

Cloud

Communication

Hybrid work coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Master's degree in related field

High school diploma + 13 years experience

Tools

ETL tooling

Observability platforms

JSON/XML logs

Job description

Description

Location: Columbia, Maryland
Work arrangement: Hybrid, averaging 1-2 days per week in the Columbia office; flexibility is required as schedules change.
Clearance: Active Secret-level U.S. Government security clearance required; U.S. citizenship required.
Anticipated salary range: $137,510-$195,000. Confirm this range before posting.

Position Summary

The Data Operations Engineer leads a technically focused team responsible for the reliability, availability, and timely delivery of mission-critical data. Serving as the primary technical point of contact for stakeholders, this role translates mission requirements into documented, automated data workflows aligned with customer needs.

The role oversees data flow operations and platform stability across complex systems, with a focus on improving performance and moving operations toward a proactive, automated, and adaptive model.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead liaison between customers and technical teams; manage expectations, communicate technical roadmaps, and translate data needs into engineering tasks.
• Help manage daily DataOps operations, accelerating data availability and reducing the time from data identification to database availability.
• Oversee deployment and maintenance of data flows using standardized templates and core engineering libraries.
• Tune cluster performance and monitor pipelines to maintain data health and minimize discovery latency.
• Drive the evolution of the data platform toward proactive, automated operations.
• Coordinate technical exchanges so effective scripts, flow strategies, and practices can be reused across the ecosystem.
• Implement automated quality gates and schema validation to protect data integrity before production.
• Lead analysis and troubleshooting of complex data flow issues across distributed messaging, orchestration, and cloud environments.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Active Secret-level U.S. Government security clearance and U.S. citizenship.
• Relevant experience and education through one of these combinations:
  • 9 or more years in technical operations, systems engineering, or data management with a bachelor’s degree; or
  • 7 years of relevant experience with a master’s degree in a related field; or
  • High school diploma or equivalent and 13 years of relevant experience.
• Experience managing high-volume data flows and storage solutions, including distributed messaging queues, data orchestration engines, and cloud-native storage.
• Familiarity with enterprise observability platforms and log analysis tools for monitoring system health and reducing data discovery latency.
• Understanding of network data, metadata fill rates, and log formats such as JSON and XML.
• Fluency managing extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes for analytics.
• Experience using SQL to validate data in collaboration with technical teams and customers.
• Ability to use scripting languages such as Python or Java to automate repetitive work and improve operational efficiency.
• Strong communication skills, including explaining technical concepts to nontechnical stakeholders and translating mission requirements into technical specifications.
• Ability to obtain Security+ certification within 60 days of hire.
• Ability to work in a hybrid environment, averaging 1-2 days per week at the Columbia, Maryland office, with flexibility to adapt to schedule changes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current TS/SCI clearance.
• Experience in technical account management or another customer-facing engineering role.
• Experience with distributed data processing and cloud-native storage solutions.
• Experience supporting cyber or network security operations.
• Knowledge of automated Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) or data masking in production pipelines.

Benefits Offered

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with premiums fully paid by the company.
• Short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance, fully paid by the company.
• Automatic 10% company contribution to the 401(k); no matching contribution is required.
• Four weeks of paid time off annually.
• Eleven paid holidays per year.
• Paid birthday leave.
• Upfront and annually recurring referral bonuses.
• Bonuses for contributing to company GitHub projects.
• Paid training, certifications, and professional enrichment opportunities

About Phoenix Operations Group

Phoenix Operations Group delivers advanced engineering services that protect and strengthen our nation’s cyber resources. As a small company, we invest in innovation and employee development to solve challenging customer problems. Our capabilities span batch and streaming Big Data analytics, cloud infrastructure, multi-INT visualization, and enterprise architecture. We support All-Source, Financial, and CND operational missions and serve as Product Owners for our open-source research initiatives.

Learn more at www.phoenix-opsgroup.com.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Employment decisions at Phoenix Operations Group are based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We provide equal employment opportunities without discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.