Data Engineer III - SME

Mission-driven work in Norfolk, VA (onsite) with a team focused on scalable data engineering, trusted databases, and reliable reporting. National Capitol Contracting LLC is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to design and run high-impact data pipelines, serve as the primary PostgreSQL DBA, and support enterprise analytics platforms, including Qlik Sense and other reporting tools. An active Secret clearance is required at the time of application.

What You’ll Do

• Design, build, and maintain scalable data pipelines and automated ETL/ELT workflows.
• Integrate and transform data from multiple structured and unstructured sources, ensuring reliable delivery for reporting and analytics.
• Serve as the primary PostgreSQL DBA, handling installation, configuration, maintenance, security, backup and recovery, monitoring, and performance optimization.
• Develop and optimize PostgreSQL assets including databases, SQL queries, stored procedures, views, indexes, and related database objects.
• Lead performance tuning and troubleshooting through indexing strategies, query optimization, capacity planning, and end-to-end database health checks.
• Build and maintain Python-based ingestion, transformation, automation, validation, and reporting solutions.
• Create and maintain enterprise data models and schemas to support operational reporting, analytics, and business intelligence.
• Develop, administer, and support Qlik Sense applications, dashboards, data models, and reporting solutions.
• Manage Qlik Sense data connections, reload schedules, security rules, and application performance.
• Support and enhance Power BI, Tableau, Qlik Sense, and other enterprise reporting environments as needed.
• Monitor and validate data quality, investigate inconsistencies across systems, and resolve data-related issues.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, analysts, and technical teams to gather requirements and translate them into actionable technical specifications.
• Implement data governance standards, security controls, backup strategies, and best practices for enterprise data management.
• Troubleshoot issues spanning data pipelines, databases, Qlik Sense environments, and reporting failures.
• Support production deployments, enhancements, upgrades, and ongoing maintenance.
• Lead technical initiatives and provide mentorship to junior engineers and analysts.
• Document database architectures, data flows, ETL processes, system configurations, and reporting procedures.
• Ensure compliance with organizational, contractual, and security requirements related to enterprise data environments.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Active Secret clearance or higher at the time of application.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Mathematics, or related technical field.
• Minimum of 9 years of experience in data engineering, database administration, business intelligence, or enterprise analytics environments.
• Hands-on PostgreSQL DBA experience including administration, backup and recovery, performance tuning, security management, and system optimization.
• Advanced SQL development experience (complex queries, stored procedures, views, indexing strategies, query optimization, and data transformation logic).
• Strong Python development skills for data engineering, automation, scripting, ETL processing, and data validation.
• Experience developing and maintaining ETL/ELT pipelines and automated data workflows.
• Hands-on experience with Qlik Sense dashboards, applications, and reporting solutions.
• Experience with Qlik Sense data modeling, scripting, reload management, and security administration.
• Experience integrating data from multiple enterprise systems and data sources.
• Experience with relational database design, data modeling, and enterprise reporting architectures.
• Strong understanding of data governance, data validation, database security, and quality assurance best practices.
• Ability to troubleshoot and resolve production issues across databases, data pipelines, reporting, and analytics platforms.
• Ability to gather business requirements and translate them into scalable technical solutions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical efforts, manage priorities, and mentor junior team members.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for interacting with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with cloud-based data platforms and modern analytics architectures.
• Experience with Agile methodologies and DevOps/DataOps practices.
• Knowledge of enterprise data security, access management, and compliance processes.

Compensation

$175,000 - $185,000 per year. The compensation range is provided as a good-faith estimate of what the company intends to offer and may vary based on responsibilities, education, experience, skills, internal equity, budget, market data, and applicable laws.

Technologies

• PostgreSQL
• SQL
• Python
• Qlik Sense
• Power BI
• Tableau