Senior Data Engineer

Leidos Inc; Gaithersburg (MD); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos seeks an experienced Senior Data Engineer to lead a hybrid analytical query platform for large-scale operational data. You will architect data lakehouse solutions using S3, Iceberg, and distributed engines while ensuring governance and security.

The role requires deep SQL/Python skills and DoD-grade security awareness. The candidate will design scalable pipelines, integrate Aurora/PostgreSQL data, and mentor engineers within a fast-paced Agile environment.

Qualifications

• US citizenship is required per contract.
• 12+ years of relevant software, data engineering, or data architecture experience.
• Expert-level experience designing and implementing large-scale data architectures, lakehouses, or analytical data platforms.
• Strong hands-on experience with SQL and Python.
• Experience with PostgreSQL and/or Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.
• Experience with Amazon S3 and object-storage-based data architectures.
• Hands-on experience with modern lakehouse technologies such as Apache Iceberg, Databricks/Delta Lake, Snowflake, Redshift, or equivalent.
• Experience with Trino/Presto or equivalent.
• Experience building batch and/or streaming data pipelines using Kafka, Spark, Flink, Airflow, Dagster, dbt, or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, partitioning, indexing, cataloging, schema evolution, and query optimization.
• Experience with Docker/containerized services and modern cloud-native architectures.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and Git-based CI/CD.
• Strong understanding of data security, access controls, governance, and protecting sensitive data.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and implementation of a hybrid analytical query platform supporting large-scale operational and analytical data.
• Design and implement modern data lakehouse architectures using object storage, relational databases, and distributed analytical technologies.
• Develop scalable batch and streaming data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, enrichment, and delivery of data.
• Design data models, partitioning strategies, indexing approaches, catalogs, and query architectures optimized for large datasets.
• Integrate PostgreSQL/Aurora transactional data with analytical and object-storage platforms.
• Design and optimize distributed query capabilities using technologies such as Trino/Presto or equivalent.
• Develop solutions using Amazon S3, Apache Iceberg, Redshift, and other modern cloud data services.
• Support data governance, metadata management, lineage, access controls, and security requirements.
• Design and deploy containerized data services within cloud-native environments.
• Provide technical leadership, architecture guidance, design reviews, and mentoring engineers to implementing the data platform.
• Troubleshoot complex data, database, query-performance, infrastructure, and integration issues.

Skills

SQL

Python

PostgreSQL

Aurora PostgreSQL

Amazon S3

Iceberg

Trino/Presto

Data modeling

Query optimization

Docker

Kubernetes

IaC

Git CI/CD

Data governance

Tools

Amazon S3

Databricks

Snowflake

OpenMetadata

Job description

Description

Join Leidos and help shape the future of geospatial intelligence! We are seeking an experienced and innovative Senior Systems Engineer to support the Maru Program with our Intelligence Community customer. If you're passionate about solving complex technical challenges, thrive in a fast-paced Agile environment, and enjoy collaborating with high-performing teams to deliver mission-critical capabilities, this is your opportunity to make a direct impact on national security.

What You'll Do

The Senior Data Engineer will lead the design and implementation of a scalable, cloud-native data architecture supporting large-scale operational and analytical workloads. This role will provide technical leadership for the development of hybrid analytical query capability, integrating relational databases, object storage, lakehouse technologies, and distributed query engines.

The ideal candidate has deep hands-on experience designing modern data platforms and can make architecture decisions around data storage, ingestion, modeling, partitioning, cataloging, governance, and query performance.

Please note Gaithersburg, MD is the program's primary work location.

Clearance Level Required:

Active Top Secret/SCI with the ability to successfully pass a Polygraph examination.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the architecture and implementation of a hybrid analytical query platform supporting large-scale operational and analytical data.
• Design and implement modern data lakehouse architectures using object storage, relational databases, and distributed analytical technologies.
• Develop scalable batch and streaming data pipelines for ingestion, transformation, enrichment, and delivery of data.
• Design data models, partitioning strategies, indexing approaches, catalogs, and query architectures optimized for large datasets.
• Integrate PostgreSQL/Aurora transactional data with analytical and object-storage platforms.
• Design and optimize distributed query capabilities using technologies such as Trino/Presto or equivalent.
• Develop solutions using Amazon S3, Apache Iceberg, Redshift, and other modern cloud data services.
• Support data governance, metadata management, lineage, access controls, and security requirements.
• Design and deploy containerized data services within cloud-native environments.
• Provide technical leadership, architecture guidance, design reviews, and mentoring engineers to implementing the data platform.
• Troubleshoot complex data, database, query-performance, infrastructure, and integration issues.

Required Qualifications:

• US citizenship is required per contract.

• 12+ years of relevant software, data engineering, or data architecture experience, with demonstrated progression into senior technical or architecture responsibilities.
• Expert-level experience designing and implementing large-scale data architectures, lakehouses, or analytical data platforms.
• Strong hands-on experience with SQL and Python.
• Strong experience with PostgreSQL and/or Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.
• Experience with Amazon S3 and object-storage-based data architectures.
• Hands-on experience with modern lakehouse technologies such as Apache Iceberg, Databricks/Delta Lake, Snowflake, Redshift, or equivalent.
• Experience designing hybrid architecture spanning relational, columnar, object-storage, and distributed analytical systems.
• Experience with distributed query engines such as Trino/Presto or equivalent technologies.
• Experience building batch and/or streaming data pipelines using technologies such as Apache Kafka, Spark, Flink, Airflow, Dagster, dbt, or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, partitioning, indexing, cataloging, schema evolution, and query optimization.
• Experience with Docker/containerized services and modern cloud-native architectures.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and Git-based CI/CD.
• Strong understanding of data security, access controls, governance, and protecting sensitive data.

PreferredQualifications:

• Experience with AWS-managed data services, particularly S3, Aurora PostgreSQL, Redshift, ECS/Fargate, Lambda, and related services.
• Experience with Kubernetes and container orchestration.
• Experience with data catalogs and metadata platforms such as OpenMetadata, AWS Glue Data Catalog, or equivalent.
• Experience working with geospatial, telemetry, operational, or other high-volume datasets.
• Experience designing platforms supporting both interactive queries and large-scale analytical workloads.
• Experience supporting production data platforms in classified, DoD, Intelligence Community, or other high-security environments.
• Experience providing technical directions to multidisciplinary engineering teams.

Key Technologies

Critical:

SQL, Python, PostgreSQL/Aurora PostgreSQL, Amazon S3, Apache Iceberg/lakehouse architecture, distributed analytical querying, Trino/Presto, data modeling, query optimization

Strongly Desired:

Redshift, Kafka, Spark, Airflow/Dagster/dbt, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, Infrastructure as Code, Git-based CI/CD

Nice to Have:

OpenMetadata/Glue Data Catalog, Flink, Databricks/Delta Lake, Snowflake, geospatial data experience

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at [e-mail].

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.