Data Solution Architect

Steampunk, Inc.; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Steampunk, Inc. is seeking a seasoned Data Solution Architect to work with our team and clients to develop enterprise-grade data platforms, services, pipelines, data models, visualizations, and more.

The role combines deep technical leadership with outstanding communication and customer service. You will design greenfield data stacks, migrate legacy environments, assess data sources and workflows, and build lakehouse solutions using Databricks on AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Qualifications

• Public trust with the U.S. Government is preferred.
• 12+ years in data engineering or 8+ years with a Master's.
• Experience with lakehouse platforms and data pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Design greenfield data stacks in cloud and on‑prem environments.
• Lead migration of legacy data environments for performance/reliability.
• Assess data sources, models, schemas, and workflows for scalable architectures.
• Develop modernization strategies for ETL, pipelines, BI tools and reporting.
• Architect enterprise databases, data warehouses and lakehouses (Databricks).
• Support Agile SDLC with architectural guidance for cross-functional teams.

Skills

SQL

Python

Databricks

Apache Spark

Data pipelines

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Delta Lake

MLflow

Apache Spark

Job description

We are looking for a seasoned Data Solution Architect to work with our team and our clients to develop enterprise grade data platforms, services, pipelines, data models, visualizations, and more! The Data Solution Architect needs to be a technologist with excellent communication and customer service skills and a passion for data and problem solving. This role spans the spectrum of data capabilities, from data vision and strategy all the way through data science.

Contributions

Responsibilities Include

• Design greenfield data solution stacks in cloud and on-premises environments using modern data services, technologies, products, and industry best practices.
• Lead and architect the migration of legacy data environments to ensure performance and reliability.
• Assess data sources, data models, schemas, and data workflows to define scalable and maintainable enterprise data architectures.
• Assess existing ETL jobs, data pipelines, workflows, BI tools, and reporting solutions to develop scalable modernization strategies and enterprise data solutions.
• Address technical inquiries concerning customization, integration, enterprise architecture, and the general functionality of data products.
• Design enterprise database, data warehouse, and lakehouse solutions using Databricks across AWS, Azure, or GCP environments.
• Support an Agile software development lifecycle through architectural guidance and collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• You will contribute to the growth of our Data Exploitation Practice!

Qualifications

• Ability to hold a position of public trust with the U.S. Government.
• Experience supporting military data programs or holding a previous or active U.S. Government security clearance is preferred.
• 12+ years of experience with a Bachelor's degree or 8+ years of experience with a Master's degree.
• 8-12 years of industry experience in data engineering with a passion for solving complex problems.
• 8-12 years of direct experience in Data Engineering with demonstrated experience in the following:
  • Designing and building data pipelines and data products on modern lakehouse platforms (e.g., Databricks, Apache Spark), including Delta Lake, distributed processing, and performance optimization.
  • Supporting or integrating GenAI/ML workflows (e.g., feature engineering, vector storage, RAW pipelines, or model lifecycle using tools such as MLflow).
  • Operating in enterprise or regulated cloud environments, including working within platform constraints, security controls, and data governance frameworks.
  • Building batch and streaming data pipelines using distributed processing frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark Structured Streaming) within a lakehouse architecture.
  • Implementing search and retrieval patterns for analytics or AI use cases (e.g., indexing, semantic search, vector-based retrieval).
  • Advanced proficiency in SQL and Python for data engineering, including query authoring, optimization, relational databases, and distributed data processing frameworks (e.g., Apache Spark).
• Strong ability to lead technical discussions with technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating business needs into actionable data solutions, communicating tradeoffs, driving alignment, and guiding decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate solution feasibility, identify risks and constraints, and make pragmatic recommendations in complex or ambiguous environments.
• Experience constructing complex queries to analyze results using databases or data processing development environments.
• Experience architecting enterprise database, data warehouse, and lakehouse solutions.
• Experience aggregating results and compiling information for reporting from multiple datasets.
• Experience working in an Agile environment.
• Experience providing technical leadership to cross-functional teams of developers and data scientists building web-based interfaces, dashboards, reports, analytics, and machine learning solutions.

About Steampunk

Steampunk relies on several factors to determine salary, including but not limited to geographic location, contractual requirements, education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $140,000 to $180,000. The estimate displayed represents a typical annual salary range for this position. Annual salary is just one aspect of Steampunk’s total compensation package for employees. Learn more about additional Steampunk benefits here.

Identity Statement

As part of the application process, you are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud.

Steampunk is a Change Agent in the Federal contracting industry, bringing new thinking to clients in the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health and DoD sectors. Through our Human-Centered delivery methodology, we are fundamentally changing the expectations our Federal clients have for true shared accountability in solving their toughest mission challenges. As an employee owned company, we focus on investing in our employees to enable them to do the greatest work of their careers – and rewarding them for outstanding contributions to our growth. If you want to learn more about our story, visit http://www.steampunk.com.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Steampunk participates in the E-Verify program.