Lead Data Engineer

• TS/SCI Clearance needed for consideration*

Zachary Piper Solutions is currently seeking a Lead Data Engineer / Mission Data Pipeline (SME) to support the Department of the Air Force Integrated Fires Command and Control (DIFC2) Program, specifically the Horizon program within the DIFC2 Program Management Office. This position is based in Reston, VA and is an onsite, full-time role supporting a highly visible, mission-critical effort. This role is focused on designing, implementing, and sustaining secure, automated, and operationally reliable data pipelines that enable DIFC2 mission capabilities across government and mission partner systems. As the data pipeline Subject Matter Expert, you will work directly with government, SSC, technical, and industry stakeholders to mature software solutions that improve data accessibility, mission integration, operational visibility, and cross-system interoperability in a dynamic, high-stakes environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze DIFC2 mission workflows and system architecture to identify mission-relevant data artifacts required to support operational capabilities.
• Serve as the primary technical liaison for defining and coordinating data exchange interfaces between DIFC2 and external mission systems.
• Collaborate with mission partners to define message schemas, data formats, transport mechanisms, and interface expectations.
• Document data interface specifications to support system integration, accreditation, and operational sustainment.
• Support the DIFC2 Risk Management Framework (RMF) process by defining and documenting technical details for machine-to-machine data interfaces.
• Design and implement automated data pipelines that ingest, transform, persist, and expose data artifacts for internal and external DIFC2 stakeholders.
• Utilize government-provided data platform infrastructure to build scalable ETL workflows.
• Leverage low-code/no-code ETL orchestration tools as well as custom software development to implement mission-aligned data pipelines.
• Implement data validation, normalization, and transformation logic to ensure accuracy, reliability, and usability of integrated datasets.
• Troubleshoot data pipeline failures and implement monitoring, logging, alerting, and recovery mechanisms to ensure operational continuity.
• Collaborate closely with platform engineers, security teams, and mission system stakeholders to ensure secure, compliant, and resilient data flows.

Requirements

• Education & Experience

• Bachelors degree with 9+ years of experience, or

• Masters degree with 7+ years of experience, or

• PhD/JD with 4+ years of experience

• Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related discipline

• Mission Experience

• 7+ years supporting software engineering, systems integration, platform implementation, or application development in DoD, IC, SAP/SCI, or other complex mission environments

• Technical Expertise

• Experience designing and implementing data pipelines, ETL workflows, or data integration architectures

• Experience working with structured and semi-structured data (JSON, CSV, XML, etc.)

• Proficiency with low-code/no-code orchestration tools such as:

• Apache NiFi

• Apache Airflow

• or similar ETL/data orchestration technologies

• Security Requirements

• Active Top Secret clearance

• Ability to obtain and maintain SCI and Special Program access

• Willingness to consent to a polygraph examination

Compensation to Include

• $160,000 - $200,000 commensurate with experience
• Full benefits package including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), PTO, and applicable leave benefits

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Keywords: Data Engineering, Mission Data Pipelines, DIFC2, Integrated Fires Command and Control, ETL, Data Integration, Apache NiFi, Apache Airflow, JSON, XML, CSV, RMF, DoD Software Engineering, SSC, Space Systems Command, Mission Systems Integration, Secure Data Pipelines, Government Data Platforms, Cross-System Interoperability, TS/SCI Cleared Jobs, Special Programs, Defense Software, Low-Code ETL, Data Architecture