Senior Data Engineer – Microsoft Azure Data Platform
Company: SMX Services & Consulting, Inc.
Client: U.S. Small Business Administration – Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG)
Employment Type: Full-Time (Direct Hire)
Labor Category: Senior Database Engineer
Start Date: Anticipated September 15, 2026 (Pending Contract Award)
Location: Remote (U.S.) with occasional travel to Washington, D.C.
Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Required
Security: Public Trust
Compensation
- $54.96–$56.75/hour
- $114,318–$118,046 annually (based on 2,080 hours)
- Final compensation depends on experience, qualifications, certifications, and SMX approval.
Position Overview
SMX is seeking a Senior Data Engineer to design, build, and support a secure, scalable Microsoft Azure data platform for the SBA Office of Inspector General. The platform supports audits, fraud detection, criminal investigations, advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI initiatives.
The selected candidate will work with Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Data Lake Storage, SQL databases, and enterprise data pipelines while collaborating with Data Scientists and cloud engineering teams.
Important: This position supports a pending federal proposal. Candidates selected must become direct SMX employees before proposal submission. Employment on the project is contingent upon contract award.
Key Responsibilities
- Design and maintain Azure-based data architecture.
- Develop and support ETL/ELT pipelines.
- Build scalable data models and optimize SQL/T-SQL queries.
- Manage Azure Synapse, Azure Machine Learning, and Azure Data Lake.
- Implement monitoring, logging, validation, and pipeline quality controls.
- Maintain source control, CI/CD, and technical documentation.
- Support machine learning, analytics, dashboards, and fraud detection initiatives.
- Recommend architectural improvements to improve performance and reduce Azure costs.
Required Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Data Science, Mathematics, or related field; or
- 5+ years of equivalent professional experience.
Required Experience
- 5+ years:
- SQL & T-SQL
- ETL/ELT development
- Cloud-based data engineering
- 3+ years:
- Azure Synapse Analytics
- Azure Machine Learning
- Python & Pandas
- Modern Azure data platforms
Preferred Qualifications
- Microsoft DP-203 certification
- PySpark
- Polars
- CI/CD and Infrastructure as Code
- REST APIs
- Secure AI/LLM integrations
- Experience supporting regulated or federal environments
Required Technical Skills
- Microsoft Azure
- Azure Synapse Analytics
- Azure Machine Learning
- Azure Data Lake Storage
- Python
- Pandas
- SQL / T-SQL
- Microsoft SQL Server
- ETL / ELT
- Data Modeling
- REST APIs
- Source Control & CI/CD
- Logging & Monitoring
- Parquet
- Technical Documentation
Work Schedule
- Full-time
- Monday–Friday
- Work performed between 6:00 AM–6:00 PM Eastern Time
- Occasional travel to Washington, D.C., as required
- Overtime only with Government approval
Requirements
Candidates must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen
- Be eligible for a Public Trust background investigation
- Obtain Government credentials and system access
- Comply with all SBA security and data protection requirements
Resume Requirements
Resumes should clearly include:
- Employment dates (month/year)
- Azure project experience
- Years of SQL, T-SQL, ETL/ELT, Azure Synapse, Azure ML, Python, and Pandas experience
- Production data pipeline accomplishments
- Relevant certifications
- Quantifiable achievements (performance improvements, cost savings, automation, etc.)
SMX Services & Consulting, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer.