Ardent - Data Engineer

Data Engineer is needed in Washington, United States.

Client: Ardent

Location: Washington, DC

Job Description

At Ardent, we hire people who want more than a job — they want to serve a mission that matters. Our teams support the federal government’s most critical national security and defense priorities, helping protect the nation, strengthen resilience, and advance the technologies and capabilities that keep America secure. For veterans, cleared professionals, and purpose-driven innovators, Ardent is a place to continue serving alongside a team that understands the importance of the mission and the people behind it.

This is a remote position. Ardent is seeking a Data Engineer to support the design, development, and maintenance of modern data engineering solutions that enable advanced analytics, reporting, and data-driven decision-making. The successful candidate will design and maintain scalable data pipelines, integrate data from various structured and unstructured sources, and optimize enterprise data platforms.

Responsibilities and Duties

Data Engineering & Pipeline Development

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Ingest, transform, and integrate data from diverse sources.
• Develop and optimize SQL and Python-based data processing solutions.
• Build and maintain reusable, scalable data workflows.

Data Platform Management

• Load, manage, and optimize data within modern data platforms.
• Support batch and streaming data ingestion frameworks.
• Implement and maintain Lakehouse architecture solutions.
• Monitor and optimize database and pipeline performance.

Data Quality & Governance

• Implement data quality controls.
• Maintain data lineage and metadata for governance.
• Apply enterprise data management standards.
• Support data governance initiatives.

Collaboration & Analytics Support

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand data requirements.
• Support analytical environments focused on data-driven initiatives.
• Troubleshoot and resolve data integration and performance issues.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related technical field or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of professional experience in data engineering or a related field.
• Experience designing, building, and maintaining scalable ETL/ELT pipelines.
• Strong proficiency in SQL and Python or equivalent technologies.
• Experience ingesting and transforming data from various formats, including flat files, JSON, XML, Excel, REST APIs, and graph databases.
• Experience with Databricks Unity Catalog, SQL Server Managed Instances, or similar data platforms.
• Experience with streaming and batch ingestion frameworks and Lakehouse architecture.
• Understanding of data quality, data lineage, and enterprise data management principles.
• Familiarity with data governance and management practices aligned with EDM standards.
• Experience supporting analytical environments for fraud detection or financial oversight is preferred.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Must be willing to undergo a U.S. Government background investigation.

Additional Information

Due to the nature of the work we support, all candidates selected for this position must be willing to undergo a U.S. Government background investigation.

Ardent is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate in employment on any protected basis.