Senior Data Engineer – Databricks, Security & Governance

Peraton; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Peraton seeks a Database Engineer SME with cloud data platform expertise to design, secure, and migrate a federal data integration solution. You will steward database design, enforce security controls, and lead production migration within a hybrid AWS cloud environment for ESA-related data.

You will collaborate across teams to harmonize schemas, define metadata standards, and build governance artifacts while ensuring compliance with federal security requirements and data handling practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher with extensive professional experience or equivalent.
• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain Public Trust clearance.
• Extensive database engineering experience with cloud data platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Databricks, Delta Lake or equivalent.
• Proficiency in Python or Scala for ETL and automation.
• Knowledge of FIPS 140, NIST SP 800-171/800-172 and CUI standards.
• Experience implementing RBAC and data security controls in federal clouds.
• Experience leading database migrations and production cutover tasks.
• Experience with version-controlled code repositories and peer reviews.
• Experience documenting post-deployment validation and monitoring.

Responsibilities

• Lead design of harmonized data schema for federal species data in a cloud lakehouse.
• Produce field-level mapping documents; describe transformations and data lineage.
• Define metadata standards across ingested datasets for compliance.
• Design and implement automated data quality validation in ETL pipelines.
• Build a Metadata and Authoritative Source Registry with data stewardship contacts.
• Implement FIPS 140 encryption and NIST 800-171/800-172 controls and RBAC.
• Ensure Federal CUI registry compliance in the data platform.
• Lead performance monitoring and optimization of the cloud data platform.
• Contribute to Data Model Harmonization Report and governance definitions.
• Lead production migration runbook components and cutover tasks.
• Document migration outcomes and post-deployment validation in reports.
• Lead Final Operational Playbooks database documentation.

Skills

Databricks

Delta Lake

Python

Scala

RBAC

Data security

Data governance

Data modeling

Metadata management

ETL pipelines

Production migrations

Software version control

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Associates degree

High school diploma/equivalent

Tools

Databricks

Delta Lake

AWS GovCloud

Scripting languages

Job description

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelors degree and 12 years professional experience or a Masters degree and 10 years professional experience or an Associates degree and 14 years professional experience; or a high school diploma/equivalent and 16 years' professional experience.
• U.S. Citizenship required; must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance
• Extensive years of database engineering experience with expertise in cloud data platforms
• Hands-on experience with Databricks, Delta Lake, or equivalent cloud data lakehouse platforms
• Proficiency in Python or Scala for ETL pipeline implementation, data quality framework development, and database automation scripts
• Knowledge of FIPS 140, NIST SP 800-171/800-172, and federal CUI data governance standards
• Experience designing and implementing RBAC and data security controls in federal cloud environments
• Experience leading database migrations and production cutover activities on federal programs
• Experience with version-controlled code repositories and peer review enforcement
• Experience documenting post-deployment monitoring results and production validation outcomes
• Strong data modeling, schema design, and metadata management skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with AWS GovCloud or equivalent FedRAMP-authorized cloud environments
• AWS Certified Database Specialty or AWS Certified Data Engineer certification
• Experience with Apache Spark for large-scale distributed data processing within Databricks environments
• Familiarity with federal environmental or geospatial data systems
• Databricks Certified Data Engineer or equivalent certification
• Experience with ETL pipeline data quality framework design
• Active Public Trust Clearance

Peraton's Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have identified a critical gap in the federal government's ability to conduct comprehensive Endangered Species Act (ESA) research. While FWS operates an authoritative web-based platform for managing data for terrestrial and freshwater species, it does not currently include NMFS marine and anadromous species data forcing agencies to rely on separate, manual processes. This program closes that gap by integrating marine and anadromous species data into the existing FWS platform, creating a single, unified experience for all ESA-listed species.

Peraton is seeking a Database Engineer SME with expertise in cloud data platforms and federal data governance to lead the database design, security implementation, and production migration for a federal data integration program. You will serve as the database authority for the project, ensuring all data is handled in compliance with federal security and governance standards within a hybrid AWS cloud environment.

Work Location: Remote

Roles and Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of the harmonized data schema for federal species data within a cloud data lakehouse, reconciling structural and semantic differences across multiple source systems
• Produce the field-level source-to-target mapping document, documenting transformation logic, data type conversions, null handling, and data lineage
• Define and enforce metadata standards across all ingested datasets, ensuring consistency, traceability, and regulatory compliance
• Design and implement automated data quality validation frameworks within ETL pipelines
• Design and build the Metadata and Authoritative Source Registry, cataloging all data sources, ingestion pathways, update frequencies, and data stewardship contacts
• Implement FIPS 140-compliant encryption and enforce NIST SP 800-171/800-172 database security controls and role-based access controls
• Ensure Federal CUI Registry and data governance standards are applied…
• Lead database performance monitoring and optimization within the cloud data platform
• Contribute to the Data Model Harmonization Report, providing database-layer schema design decisions, field-level mapping documentation, and metadata standard definitions for government review
• Lead the development of the production migration runbook database components and execute database migration tasks during production cutover
• Contribute to the Production Deployment Report, documenting database migration outcomes, post-deployment data validation results, and production monitoring findings
• Lead the Final Operational Playbooks database documentation