Lead AI Data Engineer (Hybrid)

THE GENEVA FOUNDATION; Bethesda (MD); Hybrid; USD 155,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

403b with employer match

Flexible leave options

Paid holidays

Paid time off

PSLF eligibility

Life & AD&D insurance

Job summary

The Geneva Foundation seeks a Lead AI Data Engineer to guide data-heavy research at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. You will oversee curation of large pipelines, define schemas, and drive scalable data products in a high-impact medical research environment.

You will collaborate with government, academic experts, and consumers, shaping cloud-based data infrastructure and governance while managing a multidisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science or Biomedical Engineering is required.
• 8+ years of experience with multimodal data analysis and data pipeline engineering is required.
• Proven experience with multivariate signal processing (e.g., time-series biosensor data).
• Hands-on experience with relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases.
• Hands-on experience with version control systems (Git) and collaborative coding environments.
• Solid problem-solving and analytical skills for complex technical challenges.
• Hands-on experience using Google Cloud Platform (GCP) including BigQuery, storage, and compute resources.
• Ability to translate high-level hypotheses into scalable engineering solutions and data products.
• Ability to work in fast-paced, multidisciplinary, multi-site teams.

Responsibilities

• Produce clean, well-documented, efficient code across the stack.
• Design, develop, and deploy scalable applications to support large-scale research.
• Lead workflows to acquire, ingest, and clean multimodal datasets (>1 million records).
• Architect and maintain scalable infrastructure to support ML models.
• Optimize performance and database usage.
• Stay updated with trends in data engineering, cloud and ML.
• Ensure data integrity across engineering workflows.
• Assist in SOPs, analytical frameworks, and technical documentation.
• Maintain communication with leadership and provide progress reports.
• Provide technical oversight to junior team members.
• Assist in regulatory support and Data Sharing Agreements.

Skills

Multimodal data analysis

Data pipeline engineering

GCP cloud

SQL/NoSQL

Git/version control

Leadership/PM

Data governance

Cross-functional teamwork

Data security

Cloud architecture

Education

PhD required

Tools

Git

Job description

About The Position

The Lead AI Data Engineer serves as a scientific, technical, and managerial lead for data-heavy research projects. The Lead AI Data Engineer will overlap with a multidisciplinary team of government and contract researchers, academic experts and consumers. The Lead AI Data Engineer will provide technical and management support, oversee project execution, and provide key guidance on data architecture and infrastructure. The team that the Lead AI Data Engineer oversees is responsible for the curation and maintenance of large data pipelines, developing ETL pipelines, defining schemas, identifying bottlenecks, and deriving variables /features directly used in machine learning / AI model development. The Lead AI Data Engineer serves as a versatile position who designs, builds, and maintains the entire data ecosystem. As project aims evolve, collaborators join, and team processes change, an ideal candidate is flexible and can adapt quickly. The ideal candidate will also be mindful of data privacy / security and will adhere to data governance and data management best practices. This is a full time hybrid remote position working at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD that will require working in office/on site at least 2 days per week. Background checks will be administered.

About The Program

Sleep Physiology Modeling Project: Sleep & Wearables Operational Readiness for Research & Defense (SWORD) Lab

Salary Range $155,000 - $193,000.

Qualifications

• PhD in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Biomedical Engineering) required
• 8+ years experience with multimodal data analysis and data pipeline engineering required
• Proven experience with multivariate signal processing (e.g., time-series biosensor data)
• Hands-on experience with relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases
• Hands-on experience with version control systems (eg, Git) and demonstrated ability to work in (and lead) a collaborative coding environment
• Solid problem-solving and analytical skills to address complex technical challenges
• Hands-on experience using Google Cloud Platform (GCP) cloud infrastructure (or equivalent), including setting up and managing cloud-native data warehouses (eg, BigQuery), storage, and compute resources
• Ability to translate high-level scientific hypotheses into scalable engineering solutions and data products
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary, multi-site (sometimes asynchronous) team environment

Preferred qualifications

• Strong knowledge of sleep science and hands-on experience with handling data from consumer wearable devices (eg, actigraphy, PPG, EEG); familiarity with machine learning workflows, including model development, model tuning, and deploying models at scale;
• Leadership and/or project management experience with the ability to oversee a team of people ingesting data

Management Responsibilities

Foster a collaborative coding and research environment, driving skill development for junior and mid-level data engineers and analysts across the data pipeline; Serve as the primary technical liaison to senior management, translating high-level research aims into actionable objectives; Communicate team progress, bottlenecks, and milestones.

Responsibilities

• Produce clean, well-documented, efficient code across the entire stack
• Design, develop, and deploy robust, scalable applications (both front-end interfaces and back-end data pipelines) to support large-scale research
• Lead the engineering workflows to acquire, ingest, and clean multimodal datasets, ensuring efficient storage, retrieval, and processing of massive datasets (+1million records)
• Architect and maintain scalable infrastructure to support advanced machine learning models using physiological features and sleep microarchitectures
• Optimize application performance and scalability through performance tuning, code refactoring, and database optimization techniques
• Stay updated with emerging industry trends, academic literature, and technologies in data engineering, cloud architecture, and machine learning to continuously improve the lab’s technical capabilities
• Ensure data integrity throughout engineering workflows.
• Assist in the preparation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), analytical frameworks, and technical documentation
• Maintain open communication with leadership, advise on technical processes, and curate progress reports
• Provide technical support and oversight to team members with less experience
• Assist in regulatory support, Data Sharing Agreements, and other project documentation

As a leader in military medical research, at Geneva, our professionals develop critical solutions – and build rewarding careers.

Transforming Military Medicine to Save Lives Worldwide

Geneva is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that advances military medicine through research, development, and education as we pursue our purpose to ensure optimal health for service members and the communities they serve.

Geneva Foundation is an equal opportunity employer.

• Our benefits package includes financial rewards that are a significant part of the employee's total rewards compensation package.
• Geneva's highly competitive benefits include medical, dental, and vision healthcare, Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings account, with employer contribution.
• Coverage is provided for employees and family members including domestic partners.
• Short-and long-term disability, Employee Assistance Program, Life & ADD insurance, 403b retirement plan with generous employer match, flexible leave options, 11 paid holidays per year, and up to 4 weeks of paid time off in a rolling year.
• Employees may qualify for PSLF as Geneva is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
• Full time positions come with all benefits.
• Part time and intermittent positions may vary.