Data Engineer (Cleared) with Security Clearance

Description Data Engineer - Data Science Services Please note: This role is contingent upon a contract award. While it is not an immediate opening, we are actively conducting interviews and extending offers in anticipation of the award. Overview We are seeking a Data Engineer to support federal government trade, analytics, and mission transformation priorities by designing, developing, integrating, and maintaining data solutions that enable advanced analytics, business intelligence, reporting, and machine learning across complex data environments. This role will support the development of analytical solutions, databases, data pipelines, cloud platforms, and data architectures that help transform high-volume data into actionable insights for government stakeholders. The ideal candidate brings hands-on experience with data engineering, cloud-based data platforms, relational databases, data warehousing, data acquisition, data integration, and secure analytical solution development. This role requires a technical contributor who can analyze customer requirements, recommend efficient data solutions, support organization-wide data models, and work closely with data scientists, analysts, architects, developers, and project managers to deliver reliable, scalable, and mission-focused data capabilities. Location This role will primarily support work in the Washington, DC Metro area, with work expected at or near the client site in Ashburn, VA as required by the contract. Telework may be permitted only with prior government approval. Security Requirement Must be a U.S. Citizen with a recent DHS Public Trust, DoD Secret, or DoD Top Secret clearance, and must be able to obtain and maintain a CBP background investigation or other required government suitability determination. What You Will Do * Design, develop, and maintain analytical solutions, databases, data pipelines, and data processing workflows that support advanced analytics, reporting, visualization, and machine learning * Develop specifications for efficient database and data engineering solutions that meet stakeholder, analytical, operational, security, and performance requirements * Support evaluation and selection of data platforms, tools, and technical solutions that meet customer requirements and align with enterprise architecture standards * Perform functional and data requirements analysis and translate requirements into scalable data engineering designs and implementation plans * Ingest, transform, integrate, validate, and prepare structured and unstructured data from multiple internal and external sources * Design, build, and optimize relational databases, data warehouses, data marts, and other data storage or processing solutions * Develop and maintain strategies for data warehouse implementation, data acquisition, data access, data archiving, and recovery * Evaluate new data sources for quality, completeness, usability, integration feasibility, and adherence to organizational standards * Support development of organization-wide data models for integrated, shared software and database systems * Design and implement enterprise infrastructure and platforms required for cloud computing, including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS environments * Analyze system requirements and ensure data engineering solutions can be securely integrated with current applications and platforms * Support secure integration of data solutions with web servers, application servers, relational databases, analytical platforms, and cloud services * Collaborate with data scientists, data analysts, data architects, application developers, UX/UI designers, and project managers to deliver end-to-end analytical capabilities * Support operational testing, troubleshooting, root cause analysis, performance tuning, and issue resolution for data pipelines, databases, and analytical products * Create and maintain technical documentation for data pipelines, data models, transformations, data flows, workflows, integrations, and database structures * Participate in Agile development activities, including sprint planning, backlog refinement, task estimation, demonstrations, and issue resolution What This Role Requires * U.S. Citizenship required due to federal contract requirements * Recent DHS Public Trust, DoD Secret, or DoD Top Secret clearance required * Ability to obtain and maintain a CBP background investigation or other required government suitability determination * Six (6) years of relevant experience in data architecture, Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline in applied data science research or big data analytics * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline Preferred Qualifications * Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, Data Science, Analytics, or another related technical discipline * Experience supporting DHS, CBP, or other federal law enforcement, trade, revenue, regulatory, or mission operations environments * Experience supporting analytics, reporting, business intelligence, machine learning, or data science projects in a federal or regulated environment * Experience working with high-volume structured and unstructured data from disparate sources, including transactional, entity, network, operational, or case management data * Experience with cloud-based data engineering in AWS, Azure, or similar environments * Experience with AWS data services such as S3, Glue, Lambda, Redshift, RDS, EMR, Athena, or similar services * Experience with Databricks, Apache Spark, Hadoop, Snowflake, or similar distributed data processing and analytics platforms * Experience developing ETL/ELT pipelines, data ingestion frameworks, data transformation workflows, and data integration patterns * Experience with Python, SQL, Java, Scala, or similar languages used for data processing and integration * Experience with relational databases such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL, or similar platforms * Experience with data lake, lakehouse, data warehouse, and data mart architectures * Experience with APIs, JSON, XML, streaming data, Kafka, or other data exchange and integration methods * Experience with CI/CD tools and version control such as Git, Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps, or similar tools * Experience supporting DevSecOps practices, infrastructure as code, automated testing, and automated deployments * Experience working in Agile, Scrum, SAFe, or similar iterative delivery environments * Experience working in secure, compliant federal IT or data environments * Cloud, data engineering, Databricks, AWS, Azure, Agile, or related technical certifications * Ability to perform functional and data requirements analysis and implement data engineering projects * Ability to analyze customer requirements and provide solution recommendations * Demonstrated knowledge of information engineering methodologies, process improvement, and performance measurement * Ability to support development of organization-wide data models for use in designing and building integrated, shared software and database systems * Good working knowledge and hands-on experience with key software platform architectures, web servers, application servers, and relational databases * Ability to perform work involved in one or more phases of developing software used in products or services provided to the customer * Ability to design and implement enterprise infrastructure and platforms required for cloud computing * Ability to analyze system requirements and ensure systems will be securely integrated with current applications * Deep understanding of system development in cloud environments, including Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, or Infrastructure as a Service * Ability to design and build relational databases for data storage or processing * Ability to develop strategies for warehouse implementation, data acquisition, and archive recovery * Ability to evaluate new data sources for adherence to quality standards and ease of integration Professional Skills * Strong technical problem-solving skills with the ability to design practical, scalable, and secure data engineering solutions * Strong communication skills with the ability to explain data engineering concepts, technical tradeoffs, risks, and recommendations to technical and non-technical stakeholders * Detail-oriented with a focus on data quality, accuracy, reliability, performance, documentation, and maintainability * Ability to translate stakeholder requirements and analytical needs into data pipelines, database structures, integrations, and technical implementation plans * Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work in an Agile environment * Collaborative and proactive with the ability to work effectively with data scientists, analysts, architects, developers, project managers, security teams, and end users * Self-motivated with the ability to work under little or no supervision and provide consultation on complex projects * Mission-focused with a commitment to delivering reliable, secure, and high-quality data solutions that improve government decision-making and operational outcomes Working at ICF ICF is a global advisory and technology services provider, but we're not your typical consultants. We combine unmatched expertise with cutting-edge technology to help clients solve their most complex challenges, navigate change, and shape the future. We can only solve the world's toughest challenges by building a workplace that allows everyone to thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer . Together, our employees are empowered to share their expertise and collaborate with others to achieve personal and professional goals. For more information, please read our EEO policy. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Reasonable Accommodations are available, including, but not