Metadata Management Specialist Role

Peregrine Advisors LLC; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

OPEN Data Jobs is seeking a Metadata Management Specialist to help make data assets understandable and findable within federal programs. You will maintain the descriptive, technical, and operational context that tells people what a data asset is, who owns it, how it is structured, where it came from, how it has changed, and whether it is appropriate for a given use.

You will build glossaries, dictionaries, taxonomies, catalogs, and lineage mappings, and establish quality rules and stewardship

Qualifications

• Experience with data catalogs, glossaries, dictionaries, lineage, or metadata repositories.
• Knowledge of metadata standards, taxonomies, ontologies, controlled vocabularies, and data modeling concepts.
• Ability to work with structured data and query tools to validate metadata against technical reality.
• Experience defining metadata quality measures, stewardship workflows, and maintenance practices.
• Clear written communication for documenting definitions, provenance, ownership, and intended use.

Responsibilities

• Build business glossaries, data dictionaries, taxonomies, and controlled vocabularies.
• Catalog metadata records that describe datasets, APIs, and data services.
• Document lineage and mappings tracing data from source to use.
• Define metadata quality rules, stewardship workflows, and automation processes.
• Collaborate with data engineers, governance teams, and data managers to ensure metadata serves people and systems.

Skills

Data catalogs

Business glossaries

Data dictionaries

Lineage

Metadata repositories

Job description

The work

Metadata Management Specialists make data understandable and findable. They maintain the descriptive, technical, and operational context that tells people what a data asset is, who owns it, how it is structured, where it came from, how it has changed, and whether it is appropriate for a particular use.

Description

Metadata Management Specialists make data understandable and findable. They maintain the descriptive, technical, and operational context that tells people what a data asset is, who owns it, how it is structured, where it came from, how it has changed, and whether it is appropriate for a particular use. They build the information layer that connects catalogs, glossaries, data dictionaries, lineage, taxonomies, and standards. The role is distinct from Data Inventory Manager, who establishes the register of assets and its completeness, and from Data Governance Specialist, who sets the operating rules. Metadata specialists make the asset descriptions accurate, interoperable, and usable.

What You'll Build

• Business glossaries, data dictionaries, taxonomies, and controlled vocabularies.
• Catalog metadata records that describe datasets, application programming interfaces, and data services.
• Lineage documentation and technical mappings that trace data from source through use.
• Metadata quality rules, stewardship workflows, and automation that keep descriptions current.
• Metadata patterns for AI datasets, retrieval sources, models, and evaluations when applicable.

Who You Are

You know that data without context is difficult to find, interpret, reuse, or govern. You can ask the questions that make an asset understandable and create structures that allow others to answer them consistently.

You combine detail orientation with collaboration. You can work with domain experts, data engineers, data managers, and governance teams to translate working knowledge into metadata that serves people, systems, and oversight.

What You Bring

• Experience with data catalogs, business glossaries, data dictionaries, lineage, or metadata repositories.
• Knowledge of metadata standards, taxonomies, ontologies, controlled vocabularies, and data modeling concepts.
• Ability to work with structured data and query tools to validate metadata against technical reality.
• Experience defining metadata quality measures, stewardship workflows, and maintenance practices.
• Clear written communication for documenting definitions, provenance, ownership, and intended use.

About OPEN Data Jobs

OPEN Data Jobs connects AI, data, and software professionals with critical roles, primarily in the federal sector. Registering with ODJ can put your profile in view for multiple positions across several clients.

Requirements

Openings may require experience with a specific catalog platform or a federal metadata standard. Data Catalog Vocabulary United States (DCAT-US) is the federal data catalog metadata standard for describing datasets, application programming interfaces, and data services, and it provides a relevant federal context for some roles.

Some organizations may prioritize lineage automation, semantic modeling, data exchange standards, or artificial intelligence documentation. The specialist’s role is to make context reliable and discoverable, while inventory leaders remain responsible for enterprise coverage and governance leaders remain responsible for the rules.

Benefits

Compensation, benefits, work location, and employment terms are set for each specific opening and will be stated with that opening