Lead Data Engineer

Overview In this role you will design, build, and operate secure data platforms to support mission-critical national security, health, and transportation initiatives. You will work within MITRE’s Data Science and Engineering group to translate sponsor needs into scalable data solutions, driving reliable pipelines and data governance. You’ll tackle tough data challenges, mentor peers, and contribute to applied research and publications. This position offers impact across cross-functional teams and a path to leadership on high-stakes projects. ResponsibilitiesDesign, build, and operate secure, scalable data platforms and pipelines in cloud-based and self-hosted environmentsDevelop batch and streaming data-processing solutions for structured, semi-structured, and unstructured dataCreate data models, schemas, interfaces, and storage architectures supporting analytical needsEvaluate data quality, lineage, governance, access controls, and secure data handling practicesTranslate sponsor and stakeholder needs into technical requirements and practical engineering solutionsLead technical workstreams or complex projects with multiple contributors and risksMentor engineers and transfer technical knowledge across teamsEstablish software engineering practices such as automated testing, version control, modular design, observability, and CI/CD Key requirementsBachelor’s degree in relevant field with 8 years of relevant experienceAdvanced, hands-on proficiency with distributed data processing, cloud-based platforms, data lakehouse architectures, ETL orchestration, data modeling, and data governanceMust be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance; U.S. CitizenOn-site requirement: minimum 3 days per weekstrong collaborationclear communication with technical and non-technical audiencesmentoring and knowledge transferDistributed data processing: Spark, Hadoop, Ray, DaskData storage and lakehouse: RDBMS, Amazon S3, Iceberg, Delta LakeCloud data platforms: Databricks, Palantir Foundry, Microsoft Fabric, Amazon EMR