Space Protection Mission Data Engineer

SAIC; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

SAIC in Chantilly, VA seeks a Space Protection Mission Data Engineer to enable scalable data solutions for space I&W ground systems. The role coordinates data layer requirements, integrates DoW and IC data sources, and ensures reliable datasets and interfaces for mission applications.

Requires active TS/SCI with polygraph; 9+ years (BS), 7+ (MS), or 4+ (PhD) in CS/engineering; experience with space software, data pipelines, and cloud tooling (DataBricks, AWS, Azure, GCP).

Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph.
• Bachelor’s degree with 9+ years experience; Master’s with 7+ years; or PhD with 4+ years in computer science/engineering or related field.
• Experience developing, testing, or fielding space software systems, including space or ground components.
• Experience engineering, managing, and evaluating data layer solutions.
• Familiarity with trade-offs between data management architectures and technologies.

Responsibilities

• Provide data management and integration support for a ground system delivering space I&W capabilities.
• Glean system data layer needs from mission teams and deliver well-documented, reliable datasets and interfaces.
• Manage generation and performance measures of the data layer with Government and stakeholders.
• Lead integration of DoW and IC external data sources.
• Evaluate data architectures and improve data pipelines and data quality.
• Represent the SPO during PI planning, pre-planning, sprint close-out, and demos.

Skills

ETL/ELT

SQL

NoSQL

restful APIs

DataBricks

AWS

Azure

GCP

Agile development

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor’s with 9+ years experience

Master’s with 7+ years experience

PhD with 4+ years experience

Tools

DataBricks

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

SAIC is seeking a Space Protection Mission Data Engineer to support the deployment of new space protection and Indications and Warning (I&W) capabilities into space operations. The position will act as a subject-matter expert and SPO representative, coordinating data layer requirements, integration, and performance to enable reliable, scalable data solutions for an I&W ground system.

This onsite role is based in Chantilly, VA and includes responsibilities spanning data management support, system integration planning, and technical evaluation of data architectures and pipelines.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide data management and integration support to the government’s system data layer solution owner for development of a ground system that delivers space I&W capabilities.
• Coordinate with mission application development teams to gather system data layer needs and dependencies, and support delivery of well-documented, reliable datasets and interfaces.
• Manage generation and maintenance of system data layer requirements and performance measures in coordination with the Government, third-party developers, and other stakeholders.
• Lead identification, coordination, and system integration of Department of War (DoW) and IC external data sources.
• Evaluate data architectures and assess technical progress for the system’s data layer, providing recommendations to improve data pipelines, data quality, and related technical data concerns.
• Represent the SPO during software Program Increment (PI) planning, pre-planning, Sprint close-out, and demonstration events to keep development aligned with SPO data layer priorities.

Required Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance with polygraph.
• Education and experience: Bachelor’s with 9+ years experience; or Master’s with 7+ years experience; or PhD with 4+ years experience in computer science, computer engineering, data engineering, related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience developing, testing, or fielding space software systems, including space or ground components.
• Experience engineering, managing, and evaluating data layer solutions.
• Familiarity with trade-offs between data management architectures and technologies.

Technologies and Tools

• ETL/ELT, SQL, NoSQL, and restful APIs
• DataBricks, AWS, Azure, GCP
• Agile development methodologies and CI/CD

Desired Experience

• Scalable ETL/ELT data pipelines from multiple structured and unstructured data sources.
• Experience authoring interface control documents or application programming interfaces.
• Familiarity with Data-as-a-Service approaches using restful APIs.
• Familiarity with SQL and NoSQL database architectures.
• Familiarity with attribute level tagging and data visibility controls for multi-level security data architectures.
• Familiarity with cloud architecture, application, and integration (DataBricks, AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Familiarity with Agile practices including participation in scrums, development of solution epics/features, and continuous integration/continuous deployment.

Travel and Work Model

• Travel: Yes, 10% of the time.
• Potential for remote work: ORA_ON_SITE.

Compensation

• Target salary range: $160,001 - $200,000 per year

Clearance

• Minimum clearance required: TS.SCI_wPoly
• Clearance level must be able to obtain: None