SMX is hiring a Senior Data Engineer responsible for designing, building, and maintaining scalable data pipelines and infrastructure that power AI, analytics, and reporting across the enterprise. Working closely with architects, analysts, and AI engineers, the Senior Data Engineer transforms raw, fragmented data from many source systems into high-quality, governed, and accessible data products. This is a hands-on, senior individual-contributor role responsible for building data systems from the ground up, optimizing them for reliability and performance, and mentoring less-experienced engineers along the way.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities- Design, build, test, and maintain scalable data pipelines (ELT/ETL) that ingest, transform, and deliver data across cloud and on-prem systems.
- Build the infrastructure for reliable extraction, transformation, and loading of data from a wide variety of structured and unstructured sources.
- Implement data quality checks, validation, lineage tracking, and metadata management to ensure integrity and trust across storage and processing layers.
- Model and structure data to support API delivery, domain-driven data products, and downstream analytics and AI/ML consumption.
- Automate ingestion and transformation processes, and identify and implement improvements that increase scalability and reduce cost.
- Troubleshoot pipeline issues, tune for performance and cost, and ensure the reliability of production data systems.
- Partner with analysts, architects, and mission teams to understand requirements and deliver production-ready datasets.
- Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers, and contribute to engineering standards and best practices.
Required Skills & Experience - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field; equivalent experience considered.
- 6+ years of progressive experience in data engineering or backend software engineering, including senior technical ownership of data pipelines or platforms.
- Security clearance required (Secret or higher).
- Strong proficiency in SQL and Python (Java a plus).
- Hands-on experience building and operating ELT/ETL pipelines across cloud and/or on-prem environments.
- Experience with cloud data platforms and warehouses (e.g., AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform; Snowflake, Redshift, Databricks, or similar).
- Experience with distributed data processing and workflow orchestration (e.g., Spark, Airflow, or similar).
- Solid understanding of data modeling, schema design, and cloud-based storage patterns. Experience integrating structured and unstructured data from multiple source systems.
Desired Skills & Experience - Experience with data governance, access controls, metadata management, or sensitive-data protection.
- Experience implementing data quality frameworks, validation, and lineage.
- Exposure to DevOps/CI-CD patterns for data workflows.
- Experience preparing data for AI/ML pipelines or analytical consumption.
- Familiarity with API-based data delivery or integration platforms (e.g., MuleSoft).
- Experience with real-time streaming and event-driven architectures.
- Experience in a regulated or federal environment.
The SMX salary determination process takes into account a number of factors, including but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories, relevant prior work experience, specific skills, education and certifications. At SMX, one of our Core Values is to Invest in Our People so we offer a competitive mix of compensation, learning & development opportunities, and benefits. Some key components of our robust benefits include health insurance, paid leave, and retirement.
The proposed salary for this position is:
$110,000-$180,000 USD
At SMX , we are a team of technical and domain experts dedicated to enabling your mission. From priority national security initiatives for the DoD to highly assured and compliant solutions for healthcare, we understand that digital transformation is key to your future success.
We share your vision for the future and strive to accelerate your impact on the world. We bring both cutting edge technology and an expansive view of what's possible to every engagement. Our delivery model and unique approaches harness our deep technical and domain knowledge, providing forward-looking insights and practical solutions to power secure mission acceleration.
SMX is an Equal Opportunity employer including disabilities and veterans.
Selected applicant may be subject to a background investigation and/or education verification.
SMX does not sponsor a new applicant for employment authorization or immigration related support for this position (i.e. H1B, F-1 OPT, F-1 STEM OPT, F-1 CPT, J-1, TN, E-2, E-3, L-1 and O-1, or any EADs or other forms of work authorization that require immigration support from an employer).
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