Data Platform Engineer IV

Description
About the Opportunity

The Data Platform Engineer IV will join the Product and Services team as a senior, hands-on engineer, implementing cloud-based data platforms that include data ingestion and processing pipelines, storage, integrations, APIs, and automation in a remote work environment. Working closely with the Senior Architect, this role translates solution designs into scalable, production-ready capabilities, writing production code and taking work from design through deployment. The ideal candidate brings hands-on expertise in cloud data platforms, pipeline development, and automation, along with the ability to turn architectural designs into reliable, well-engineered solutions.

Success in this role means delivering production-grade platform capabilities that faithfully realize the architect's designs, run reliably with minimal intervention, and earn the trust of architects, data teams, and stakeholders.

Requirements
What You Will Do in This Role

The Data Platform Engineer IV Implements and maintains cloud-native AWS data platforms for scientific and environmental workloads, building pipelines, storage, integrations, APIs, automation, governance, and monitoring from the Senior Architect's designs while writing clean, tested code and providing feedback on feasibility and trade-offs.

Responsibilities include:

Implement cloud-based data platform components based on solution designs and architectural

Implement cloud-based data platform components from solution designs and direction provided by the Senior Architect

Build and maintain data ingestion and processing pipelines

Implement and manage data storage layers

Develop integrations with internal systems, external data sources, and third-party services

Build APIs and services that expose data and platform capabilities to downstream consumers

Automate deployment, orchestration, testing, and operations using infrastructure as code and CI/CD practices

Implement data governance, metadata management, and lifecycle controls so federal and scientific data is trusted, discoverable, and well managed

Build cloud-native data platforms on AWS that support scientific and environmental data workloads

Add monitoring, logging, and alerting so pipelines are observable and reliable

Give the Senior Architect feedback on feasibility and tradeoffs during implementation

Write clean, tested, well-documented code and participate in code reviews

Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

What You Will Bring

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
8+ years of professional software or data engineering experience, including building production data platforms
Strong proficiency in Python and SQL
Hands-on experience implementing solutions in a major cloud environment (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
Experience building data ingestion and processing pipelines with workflow or orchestration tools
Experience with cloud data storage technologies (object storage, data lakes, warehouses, databases)
Experience implementing data governance, cataloging, and lifecycle management practices
Experience delivering solutions in federal or other regulated environments, including security and compliance requirements (e.g., NIST, FedRAMP)
Experience building APIs and system integrations
Experience with infrastructure as code and CI/CD tooling
Solid software engineering fundamentals: testing, version control (Git), code review, and documentation
Ability to interpret architectural designs and implement them as scalable, production-ready solutions
Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate with architects and cross-functional teams

Preferred Qualifications

Cloud certification (e.g., AWS Solutions Architect, Data Engineer, or DevOps Engineer)
Experience with distributed processing frameworks (e.g., Spark, Dask, Flink) and streaming technologies (e.g., Kafka, Kinesis)
Experience with containerization (Docker)
Familiarity with modern data formats and table formats (e.g., Parquet, Avro, Iceberg, Delta Lake)
Experience with scientific or geospatial data formats (e.g., NetCDF, HDF5, Zarr, GeoTIFF)
Experience supporting Earth observation, weather, or environmental data platforms
AWS certification (e.g., Solutions Architect, Data Engineer)
Experience with data governance, metadata management, and data catalog tools
Experience with monitoring and observability tools (e.g., CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog)
Background in cloud security, IAM, and cost optimization (FinOps)
Experience working in scientific, regulated, or government environments

Work authorization/security clearance requirements

Ability to obtain a security clearance.

Work Environment

This work is normally completed in a remote environment.

Physical Demands

Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
Must be able to access and navigate each department at the organization's and client facilities.

Travel Required

No

Proficiency Requirement

The employee is expected to demonstrate proficiency in all essential job functions, tools, and processes related to this position within the first 90 days of employment. This includes acquiring a thorough understanding of job-specific responsibilities, systems, and workflows as outlined during onboarding and training. Failure to meet this requirement may result in additional training, reassessment, or other actions as deemed necessary by management.