Senior Data Engineer

Dark Wolf Solutions is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to support the Unified Platform Cyber Operations & Security Center (COSC) in San Antonio, TX. The Senior Data Engineer will lead the development, monitoring, and optimization of mission-critical data pipelines, databases, and analytics services that enable real-time operational visibility, threat detection, and platform resilience. This role requires deep technical expertise in cloud data architectures, high-performance database operations, data ingestion pipelines, and data transformation workflows supporting classified and hybrid environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable, resilient data pipelines across cloud-native and on-premises environments.
• Administer and optimize mission data services and databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, NoSQL stores) to support operational telemetry, analytics, and SIEM ingestion.
• Develop data integration workflows for real-time and batch telemetry from platform services, Kubernetes environments, and cloud-native applications.
• Implement ETL/ELT processes to ingest, transform, and enrich operational data in support of COSC mission objectives.
• Ensure database performance, reliability, and security across multi-tenant and classified environments.
• Collaborate with SREs, SIEM Engineers, and Security Analysts to ensure full data visibility and integrity across the COSC operational environment.
• Monitor and troubleshoot data services, pipelines, and ingestion systems to ensure continuity and quality of data flows.
• Apply data governance, encryption, and compliance policies to mission data in accordance with RMF, STIGs, and NIST standards.
• Lead root cause analysis (RCA) efforts related to data pipeline failures or performance degradation.
• Mentor junior engineers and assist in developing internal documentation and standard operating procedures for data management.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Minimum of 6–8 years of experience in data engineering, platform operations, or cloud data management.
• Hands-on experience with relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL), NoSQL systems, and/or distributed data platforms.
• Expertise with data pipeline tools and orchestration frameworks such as Apache NiFi, Airflow, Kafka, or equivalent.
• Proficiency in database performance tuning, query optimization, and high-availability database architectures.
• Strong programming skills in Python, SQL, or related languages for data processing and automation.
• Experience supporting data operations in cloud environments such as AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, or hybrid architectures.
• Familiarity with security requirements for handling classified or sensitive data including encryption, access controls, and auditing.
• US Citizenship required with an active Secret clearance and eligibility for Top Secret/SCI.

Desired Qualifications

• Certifications such as AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty, Google Professional Data Engineer, or equivalent.
• Experience with Elastic Stack, data visualization tools, or SIEM integration.
• Familiarity with big data platforms and technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark) is a plus.
• Exposure to DevSecOps practices and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles.
• Experience with COOP/DR data replication strategies in mission environments.

The estimated salary range is $140,000.00 - $175,000.00, commensurate on experience, technical expertise, certifications, and clearance level.

Primary work location is San Antonio, TX. Hybrid model with a mix of remote and on-site support; on-site presence required for classified system activities.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer Minorities/Women/Veterans/Disabled and other protected categories.
 
 In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.