Strategic Overview
Data Engineer (FedD024) at Defense Unicorns is a data opportunity centered on the specialist responsibilities and outcomes described in the employer's listing.
The published role emphasizes work such as Designing data workflows, pipelines, and pathways to support ETL/ELT, while ensuring data-quality and exchange of sensitive information across AWS cloud and on-prem environments. Implementing systems engineering principles to ensure the reliability,….
The role is listed for United States with remote working arrangement, giving candidates the practical context needed to assess fit before applying. Relevant signals in the listing include Data Science & Analytics, Any.
Key information at a glance
About This Role
Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of…
Key Responsibilities & Objectives
- Designing data workflows, pipelines, and pathways to support ETL/ELT, while ensuring data-quality and exchange of sensitive information across AWS cloud and on-prem environments.
- Implementing systems engineering principles to ensure the reliability, scalability, and maintainability of data layer systems, including backup and recovery strategies
- Architecting, deploying, and operating data streaming technologies (Kafka, Redpanda, Kinesis, etc ) on Kubernetes with an emphasis on declarative definitions to reduce complexity in day-2 operations
- Working with a platform team to implement best practices for configuration management, security, and performance optimization within Kubernetes and AWS environments
Required Qualifications & Candidate Blueprint
- Demonstrated experience (minimum 5 years) in building and maintaining production data pipelines, databases, and data exchange services on Kubernetes Experience in designing, deploying, and operating Kafka / Redpanda data streaming solutions on Kubernetes
- Experience in creating data pipelines from scratch with the ability to process data in large volumes and manage data stores
- Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and container orchestration systems like Kubernetes
Salary & Benefits
Published compensation: USD 148,750 – 201,250 / yearly
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Health Savings Account
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- 401k Retirement Plan
- Company Stock Options
Salary Benchmark
This role’s published compensation is compared with current employer-disclosed salary ranges for the same role in the same currency.
Benchmark uses active employer job postings in our database and excludes this listing. It is not a third-party salary estimate, and currencies are not converted.
Full Job Description
The following is the complete job description supplied by the source. We sanitize unsafe markup and remove external links, but do not shorten or rewrite the employer's source content.
EMPLOYER IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. THIS POSITION WILL REQUIRE U.S. CITIZENSHIP.
Responsibilities:
- Designing data workflows, pipelines, and pathways to support ETL/ELT, while ensuring data-quality and exchange of sensitive information across AWS cloud and on-prem environments.
- Implementing systems engineering principles to ensure the reliability, scalability, and maintainability of data layer systems, including backup and recovery strategies
- Architecting, deploying, and operating data streaming technologies (Kafka, Redpanda, Kinesis, etc ) on Kubernetes with an emphasis on declarative definitions to reduce complexity in day-2 operations
- Working with a platform team to implement best practices for configuration management, security, and performance optimization within Kubernetes and AWS environments
- Working with a platform team to automate infrastructure provisioning, monitoring, and scaling using tools such as Terraform working with cybersecurity SMEs to incorporate best practices and techniques to defend our data layer against potential threats
- Ensuring that our data layer systems are compliant with industry and DoD regulations, standards, and best-practices
- Staying up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies related to Kubernetes, containerization, and data engineering
Travel Expectations/Requirements: 6-10 times per year
The listed responsibilities are not exhaustive and additional responsibilities may be assigned based on the evolving needs of the organization. We are seeking a dynamic individual who is able to adapt and take on new responsibilities as they arise.
*Preferred Experience and Qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience (minimum 5 years) in building and maintaining production data pipelines, databases, and data exchange services on Kubernetes Experience in designing, deploying, and operating Kafka / Redpanda data streaming solutions on Kubernetes
- Experience in creating data pipelines from scratch with the ability to process data in large volumes and manage data stores
- Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker and container orchestration systems like Kubernetes
- Knowledge of systems engineering principles to ensure the reliability, scalability, and maintainability of data layer systems Familiarity with API Security, Container Security, AWS Cloud Security Familiarity with cybersecurity principles and best practices for securing data layer systems
- Excellent problem-solving skills, with the ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas to both technical and non-technical team members
- The selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background check ("CBI") and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret-level DoD security clearance
- Experience with machine learning and generative AI models
Full compensation packages are based on candidate experience. Compensation ranges are established using national benchmarking data and apply across all geographic locations within the United States.
Remote - USA
$148,750—$201,250 USD
Who We Are
Defense Unicorns delivers mission value by streamlining software delivery so our customers can focus on the most important challenges. We share a vision of freedom and security for the advancement of progress and innovation. Our commitment to this vision, and to our mission-driven customers, means a commitment to speed, user experience and optionality, without compromising security. Our team is composed of innovators, software engineers, and veterans with decades of experience delivering technology programs across the federal market.
What We Do
We create and deliver secure solutions for continuous software integration and delivery. Defense Unicorns consolidates the best practices for security pipelines, testing, and deployment automation in order to meet the high security requirements valued by mission owners. Our solutions are agnostic by design and we believe that growing a robust ecosystem of secure, cloud-native software solutions can help enterprise customers inside and outside the federal market buy and integrate software more easily.
Who We Serve
Defense Unicorns’ customers are mission-focused leaders across public and private enterprises. We proudly support defense and civil agencies across the U.S. government and we work closely with the creators of leading-edge software solutions to deliver value to the mission-owner by improving the security and consumability of commercial software products.
What We Work On
- Kubernetes
- Cloud Environments (AWS/GCP and Azure)
- Infrastructure-as-code (like Terraform/Pulumi)
- Continuous Delivery and automation tooling
- GitOps
- Containers
- CNCF projects and open source products and packages
- Helm/Kustomize-Value Stream Mapping
- Building and improving security delivery
- Building Kubernetes and cloud native applications
Benefits Our Unicorns Enjoy
Health:
- Medical/Dental/Vision
- Premiums are 100% Company Paid
- Health Savings Account
- Life Insurance
- Disability Insurance
Financial:
- 401k Retirement Plan
- Company Stock Options
- Home Office Budget
Leave:
- We offer all full-time Unicorns Flexible Time Off (FTO) plus all Federal Holidays, one week for Thanksgiving, and two weeks for Christmas and New Year’s
- Paid Parental Leave
Learning:
- Reimbursement for approved trainings/subscriptions
- Conferences (travel, lodging, and fees)
Don’t have all the preferred experience or qualifications? Studies show that underrepresented groups like women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs if they don't meet every requirement listed.
At Defense Unicorns, we're committed to diversity. If you're enthusiastic about the role but don't match every criteria, we encourage you to apply. You could be the perfect fit for this or another role! Defense Unicorns is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, union status and/or beliefs, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
CCPA DISCLOSURE
Editor’s Market Perspective (Our Custom Analysis)
Why This Position Matters
This data opening is a useful opportunity for candidates whose experience matches Data Science & Analytics, Any. Its strongest career signal is the scope of the work itself — particularly Designing data workflows, pipelines, and pathways to support ETL/ELT, while ensuring data-quality and exchange of sensitive information across AWS cloud and on-prem environments. — rather than a generic title alone.
Resume & Application Strategy
For the application, mirror the employer's language where it truthfully matches your background: foreground Data Science & Analytics, Any, quantify outcomes from comparable work, and place the most relevant experience near the top of the resume. If the listing specifies tools, platforms, leadership scope, or domain experience, use those exact terms in context instead of presenting an unrelated keyword list.
We organize source-provided information into this independent job-seeker overview. Compensation is shown only when the source provides it; the official listing remains the authority for current requirements and application instructions.