Senior Data Engineer - Federal

Who Are We?
Groundswell is a premier technology integrator resolutely committed to solving the most complex challenges facing federal agencies today. Our name, Groundswell, represents our commitment to be an unstoppable, seismic change in government. Ours is a small company culture with big company reach and results. Are you ready to be audacious, be bold and drive change at a rapid pace? Join us, where we'll make a greater impact together.

What You'll do:

This is a mid-level, customer-facing engineering role focused on designing, building, and deploying AI-driven and data-centric enterprise applications for federal clients. The role combines hands-on data engineering, cloud architecture, GenAI/LLM pipeline development, customer engagement, and technical leadership.

This is a hybrid role and requires being onsite in the Mclean office and/or client site 3 days/week.

Responsibilities Include:

• Design, develop, and maintain ETL/ELT pipelines to support data ingestion from multiple sources.

• Seamlessly onboard and integrate new data sources into existing pipelines.

• Build automated data validation frameworks to ensure accuracy and consistency.

• Optimize data pipelines for performance, scalability, and cost efficiency.

• Implement data quality monitoring, alerting systems, and lineage tracking.

• Architect solutions across AWS, Azure, and GCP to support federal client needs.

• Build pipelines to support Large Language Model (LLM) training and inference workflows.

• Design data preprocessing pipelines tailored for GenAI use cases.

• Implement data privacy controls, security best practices, and compliance frameworks (FedRAMP, etc.).

• Write complex SQL queries for data analysis, reporting, and performance tuning.

• Support proposal efforts with technical expertise in data engineering and AI/ML solutions.

• Lead development teams and mentor junior engineers.

• Test, troubleshoot, and optimize enterprise applications and data workflows.

• Deliver customer demos, deep-dives, and training on data and AI solutions.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or related technical field.

• 5+ years of data engineering or full-stack development experience.

• Strong experience with SQL and one or more programming languages (Python, Java, Scala).

• Demonstrated leadership in guiding engineering teams.

• Strong communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.

• Must be local to the DC Metro area and willing/able to be on site in our Mclean headquarters (or client site) 3 days / week.

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a federal government security clearance. US citizenship required for clearance purposes.

• ETL Development: Experience with frameworks such as Apache Airflow, AWS Glue, etc.

• Cloud Platforms: Hands-on experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP.

• Data Analysis & Validation: Implementing data quality frameworks and validation processes.

• Programming: Strong SQL plus proficiency in Python, Java, or Scala.

• Experience with LLM data requirements, vector databases, and/or AI model deployment.

• Familiarity with data visualization/BI tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker).

• Knowledge of streaming data technologies (Kafka, Kinesis).

• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).

• Active TS/SCI with CI Poly (or higher).

• Experience working with federal government programs (DoD preferred).

Skills:

Certification:

Why You'll Never Want to Leave:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans

• Flexible Spending Account

• 4% 401K Match (immediate vesting)

• Paid Time Off

• Tuition reimbursement, certification programs, and professional development

• Flexible work schedule

• On-site gym and childcare option

The salary range for this role takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. The disclosed range estimate has not been adjusted for any applicable geographic differential associated with the location at which the position may be filled. At Groundswell, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their role, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

NOTE:Groundswell does not accept unsolicited resumes through or from search firms or staffing agencies. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of Groundswell, and Groundswell will not be obligated to pay a placement fee.

Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, pregnancy, genetic information, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected category under applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Read a copy of the Company's Non-Discrimination Policy Statement.

Additional Resources:

• EO 13496 Notification of Employee Rights under NLRA

• Know your rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal

Disability Accessibility Accommodation: If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation as part of the employment selection process, please contact us athr@gswell.comor703-639-1777.