Data Engineer Architect

We need a Lead Data Engineer to build the data architecture and foundations of the Program Protection process for the Air Force and Department of War. The core challenge is taking domain knowledge that currently lives in lengthy documents and disconnected tools and turning it into clean, structured, machine-readable data models that digital models and systems can reuse. This involves JSON Schema development, formal ontology design, validation tooling, and reference documentation, all built in close collaboration with domain experts who understand the subject matter deeply but are not data professionals.

What You'll Do

• Design and develop JSON Schema representations of the core data objects, attributes, validation rules, and relationships that underpin the Program Protection process.
• Build validation examples, test fixtures, and versioning guidance so the schema can grow iteratively as the domain model matures.
• Develop a formal ontology (OWL/RDF or equivalent) that standardizes terminology and captures relationships across data objects, making the model usable across organizations.
• Collaborate closely with domain SMEs to ensure the data model faithfully represents the real-world semantics, constraints, and dependencies they work with daily.
• Write and maintain technical documentation, including data-model guides, schema usage references, and integration patterns, for both practitioners and future developers.
• Identify and resolve data-quality issues such as duplication, inconsistency, ambiguous definitions, and gaps in the source material.
• Support workflow definition by specifying the data objects consumed and produced at each step, ensuring traceability between the workflows and the underlying schema.
• Ensure all deliverables are open, non-proprietary, and provided with full Government data rights, with no vendor lock-in or licensing constraints.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of professional experience in data engineering, data architecture, or knowledge engineering.
• Strong proficiency with JSON Schema, including experience designing schemas from scratch rather than only consuming existing ones.
• Hands-on experience building or working with formal ontologies (OWL, RDF, SKOS) or controlled vocabularies in a professional setting.
• Deep understanding of data-modeling fundamentals: normalization, entity-relationship design, attribute taxonomies, and schema evolution strategies.
• Proven ability to collaborate with domain experts who think in documents and processes rather than data structures, and to translate their knowledge into structured, maintainable models.
• Comfortable with Git, documentation-as-code workflows, and collaborative development practices.
• Active Secret clearance or ability to obtain one prior to start.

Nice to Have

• Experience in DoW acquisition, systems security engineering, or program protection environments.
• Familiarity with Program Protection concepts such as CPI, critical functions, security classification, or Anti-Tamper, even at a general level.
• Hands-on experience with knowledge-graph technologies, SPARQL, or graph databases.
• Background with NIST frameworks (800-171, 800-53) or other federal information-security standards.
• Prior experience building data models intended for multi-organization or cross-vendor use.
• Interest in expanding into ML/AI data pipelines, digital twins, or model-based systems engineering.