Senior Analytics Engineer

Harnham; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Harnham is recruiting for a senior analytics engineer to join a fast-growing defense technology company building autonomous systems and hardware/software platforms for U.S. and allied governments.

You will be embedded within a 30-person data organization, owning end-to-end data modeling and data product development from day one. The role emphasizes automating workflows, cross-domain data solutions, and direct impact on how billions of dollars in spend flow through the business.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of experience in data/analytics engineering.
• Experience building data products beyond dashboards.
• Strong SQL and Python proficiency with production systems.
• Familiarity with distributed architectures and telemetry data.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end data modeling and application building within an operational domain.
• Develop automated workflows and data products to improve monitoring and decisioning.
• Collaborate with domain stakeholders to translate problems into data solutions.
• Reason about data system architecture and tradeoffs at scale.
• Demonstrate ownership and deliver measurable business impact.
• Operate with autonomy on high-value, ambiguous problems.

Skills

Advanced SQL

Python

Data modeling

Distributed systems

Domain knowledge: telemetry

Tools

dbt

Job description

Join a fast-growing defense technology company building autonomous systems and advanced hardware/software platforms for U.S. and allied governments. The company designs and manufactures mission-critical systems across air, sea, and land, combining AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and software-defined systems to support national security and operational readiness.

This is a senior seat on a ~30-person data organization, joining a team of analytics and data engineers embedded directly within business domains. Work is project-based (6–8 week cycles) and rarely dashboard-focused; this team builds automated workflows and data-driven systems that materially change how the business runs, across domains like product telemetry, financial planning, supply chain, and software-defined manufacturing.

You'll have significant ownership from day one, direct exposure to how billions of dollars in spend and operations flow through the business, and a clear path to expand scope based on demonstrated impact.

What You'll Do

• Own end-to-end data modeling and application building within an assigned operational domain (e.g., product telemetry, financial planning, supply chain/procurement, or manufacturing systems)
• Build automated workflows and data products that improve monitoring, decisioning, and performance, not just reporting
• Partner directly with domain stakeholders to translate business and operational problems into data solutions
• Reason about data system architecture and tradeoffs, including distributed systems considerations
• Apply strong dimensional and entity data modeling practices to complex, real-world operational data
• Increase stakeholder trust and influence over time, moving from hands-on execution toward strategic input into operational decisions
• Operate with high autonomy against ambiguous, high-value problems where the primary constraint is engineering bandwidth, not demand

Preferred Technologies & Experience

• Advanced SQL and Python
• dbt (nice to have)
• Experience reasoning about distributed systems and data architecture tradeoffs
• Exposure to telemetry from machines or physical systems, manufacturing/hardware environments, or autonomous systems/robotics is highly valued

What They're Looking For

• 6+ years of experience in data/analytics engineering for Senior level; 8–10+ years for Staff level
• Majority of career spent in data roles, ideally at top-tier engineering environments
• Deep understanding of data systems and tradeoffs, with the ability to reason about architecture at scale
• Demonstrated ownership beyond ticket execution; resume should show clear articulation of business outcomes alongside technical execution
• Experience solving complex, physical-world data problems (vs. purely software/SaaS data problems)
• Curious, humble, high-agency, and comfortable operating in ambiguity
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills; low tolerance internally for title-driven (vs. impact-driven) mindsets
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or Green Card holder (no visa sponsorship available)

Why This Role

• Work on systems with direct, tangible impact on national security and operational readiness, not engagement or revenue metrics
• Join at a stage where the volume of unsolved, high-value problems far exceeds available engineering bandwidth; every strong hire unlocks outsized impact
• Strong internal mobility: the organization is intentionally developing senior analytics engineers into full-stack, product-minded engineers with enterprise data architecture ownership
• Work alongside a deep engineering culture spanning hardware, software, manufacturing, and AI