Onsite Data Engineer

SMX is seeking a Data Engineer to provide strategic and technical leadership for enterprise data architecture and analytics modernization efforts within the FBI’s Human Resources Reports Program. This individual will design, optimize, and oversee data solutions that enable advanced analytics, business intelligence, and reporting capabilities across multiple secure environments. The ideal candidate will have deep experience with data warehousing, cloud‑native architectures, and BI ecosystems such as MicroStrategy, ThoughtSpot, or Power BI.

This is a full‑time position requiring on‑site work five days a week at a client’s office in Washington, D.C. An active Top Secret clearance is mandatory.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of enterprise data architectures supporting analytical, operational, and reporting workloads.
• Develop and maintain data models, metadata standards, and integration strategies to ensure scalability, reliability, and data integrity across systems.
• Collaborate with data engineers, developers, and analysts to define data pipelines, warehouse structures, and schema management practices.
• Evaluate and recommend tools, technologies, and cloud services (AWS, Redshift, Glue, Athena, etc.) to support evolving mission and security requirements.
• Provide architectural oversight for ETL/ELT processes, data quality frameworks, and governance policies.
• Partner with program leadership and government stakeholders to translate business objectives into actionable data solutions.
• Support modernization of legacy data systems and migration toward cloud‑based, event‑driven architectures.
• Mentor technical staff and promote best practices for secure, efficient data engineering and analytics.
• Stay abreast of emerging trends in data architecture, AI/ML integration, and federal data management standards.

Required Skills

• 8+ years of experience in data architecture, data warehousing, or enterprise analytics systems.
• Expert‑level proficiency in SQL and data modeling.
• Hands‑on experience designing and implementing ETL/ELT frameworks (e.g., Apache Airflow, dbt, AWS Glue, Informatica).
• Demonstrated success architecting and optimizing large‑scale BI/reporting solutions (MicroStrategy, ThoughtSpot, Power BI, Tableau).
• Strong knowledge of AWS data ecosystem (Redshift, Athena, S3, Glue, Lambda) or similar cloud environments.
• Experience defining and enforcing data governance, quality, and security standards.
• Ability to design and document end‑to‑end data flows and integrations between transactional and analytical systems.
• Excellent communication, analytical, and problem‑solving skills.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.

Desired Skills/Experience

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• Experience leading federal data modernization or analytics programs.
• Familiarity with Python or other scripting languages for data processing and automation.
• Knowledge of data cataloging, metadata management, and data lineage tools.
• Exposure to AI/ML pipelines, predictive analytics, or natural language query tools such as ThoughtSpot Sage or AWS Bedrock.
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Data Analytics Specialty, or equivalent certification.
• Experience mentoring data engineers or architects in an Agile or SAFe environment.

This position requires five days a week on site at customer location in Washington DC.

Application deadline 2‑27‑2026

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 $79,600 USD – $133,800 USD.

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).