Forward Deployed Data Engineer (Manassas, VA / Senior) [Secret]

The role

You will build a data management and artificial intelligence platform for maritime domain awareness. You will work on-site with customers writing code, integrating systems, and solving problems in the field.

What you will do

• Implement real-time data pipelines with MQTT and Redpanda for stream processing.
• Implement offline data pipelines using Dagster for batch processing.
• Parse and process binary message formats from various data sources.
• Build data warehouses using Postgres, Apache Iceberg, Parquet, and S3.
• Design data models that allow for high-performance queries.
• Validate and normalize data sources.
• Improve local development and CI/CD using modern tooling and GitHub Actions.

Required qualifications

• Current or active U.S. Secret clearance.
• Expertise in time-series data processing and analysis (windowing, resampling, interpolation, etc.)
• Proficiency in Python and Rust for data engineering workflows.
• Experience with binary message parsing.
• Experience with row-based & columnar-based data formats.
• Experience with OLTP & OLAP databases.
• Knowledge of distributed systems, streaming architectures, and batch processing patterns.
• Hands-on experience with a batch orchestrator such as Dagster/Airflow.
• Hands-on experience with a streaming platform such as Redpanda/Kafka.
• Hands-on experience with binary message formats such as Protobuf.

Nice to have

• Experience with IoT devices and sensors.
• Digital signal processing experience.
• Geospatial analysis and GIS experience.
• Familiar with working in monorepos.

Benefits

• Unlimited PTO
• Dedicated sick time
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 11 Paid Holidays
• Professional development
• 401(k) with company match
• Onsite / Remote / Flexible work arrangements or hybrid options (position dependent)
• Relocation assistance (position dependent)
• Referral bonuses
• Performance bonuses
• Life insurance and disability coverage
• Technology home office setup stipend

Before you apply

• Requires a current or active U.S. Secret clearance.

About the company

Spear AI is a growing defense contracting company dedicated to delivering cutting-edge solutions that support national security. They build sonobuoy sensors and work with the U.S. Navy to collect and process SONAR data.