Job Details

Title: Big Data Engineer
Location : Rockville, MD or McLean. VA
Target Start Date : SAP
Type: contract
Pay Rate : DOE

We are seeking an experienced Big Data Engineer to design, build, and optimize large-scale data processing systems. This role partners closely with engineering, data, and business teams to deliver scalable, high-performance data solutions across modern cloud environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable data pipelines using technologies such as Spark, Hadoop, Python, and Scala
• rchitect and deploy big data workloads using Amazon EMR on EKS (Kubernetes)
• Build and manage Kubernetes-based infrastructure for distributed data processing
• Implement data ingestion, transformation, and storage solutions for large-scale datasets
• Optimize pipelines for performance, scalability, and reliability
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve production data issues
• Develop and execute automated testing frameworks (unit, integration, E2E)
• Collaborate with data scientists, analysts, and cross-functional teams to support data-driven initiatives
• Continuously evaluate and adopt emerging technologies and best practices

Core Technical Skills

Big Data & Distributed Systems

• Strong experience with Spark, Hadoop, Hive, Trino
• Expertise handling large-scale (petabyte-level) datasets
• Deep understanding of performance challenges (e.g., data skew, resource constraints)

Kubernetes & Containerization

• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes (EKS) including pods, services, deployments
• Experience running Spark on Kubernetes (EMR on EKS)
• Knowledge of Helm, YAML manifests, autoscaling, and cluster troubleshooting

Cloud (AWS)

• Experience with S3, EMR, Glue, Lambda, Athena
• Strong understanding of EKS architecture, IAM roles (IRSA), networking, and monitoring (CloudWatch/CloudTrail)
• Familiarity with serverless architectures (Lambda, Fargate)

Programming

• Proficiency in Python or Scala
• Strong understanding of data structures, concurrency, and performance optimization

SQL

• dvanced SQL skills including window functions, joins, aggregations, and query optimization

AI & Modern Development Practices

• Experience with AI-assisted development tools (e.g., ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot)
• Prompt engineering and AI-driven workflow optimization
• bility to incorporate AI insights into engineering practices and team productivity

Preferred / Nice-to-Have

• CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, ArgoCD)
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation)
• Docker and container optimization
• Observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)
• Service mesh technologies (Istio, Linkerd)
• WS or Kubernetes certifications

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field (Master's preferred)
• 5+ years of experience in big data engineering or related roles
• Strong background in distributed systems, cloud platforms, and data architecture
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• bility to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment

What Success Looks Like

• Reliable, scalable data pipelines powering business insights
• Strong partnership across engineering and business teams
• Continuous improvement of data platforms and development workflows
• Effective use of automation and AI to enhance productivity and outcomes

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