Data Engineer

Summary

Anika Systems is an outcome-driven technology solutions firm that helps federal agencies solve complex business challenges through data, AI, automation, enterprise platforms, and engineering services. The Data Engineer will support federal government data programs by building and maintaining scalable data pipelines, analyzing large datasets, and delivering governed, analytics-ready assets. The role also involves developing dashboards and reports, resolving data quality issues, documenting solutions, and collaborating with technical teams and agency stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain scalable ETL/ELT data pipelines using PySpark and Python within Databricks environments
• Develop and optimize SQL queries, and data models to support analytical and reporting workloads
• Automate data ingestion workflows from disparate agency sources including APIs, flat files, relational databases, and streaming feeds
• Monitor pipeline health, resolve data quality issues, and implement alerting and logging to ensure reliability of data products
• Collaborate with data architects to design and enforce data schemas, partitioning strategies, and performance optimization practices
• Conduct exploratory data analysis to identify trends, anomalies, and opportunities for improvement
• Develop self-service analytics dashboards and reports using Databricks SQL, Tableau, or Power BI
• Write complex, performant SQL queries against large datasets to answer ad hoc analytical requests from program managers and leadership
• Translate business questions into clearly scoped analytical tasks and deliver findings as data visualizations, written summaries, or briefings
• Work closely with data scientists, program analysts, IT engineers, and agency stakeholders to understand data needs and deliver tailored solutions
• Document pipelines, data models, and analytical notebooks to support knowledge transfer, peer review, and audit readiness
• Participate in Agile sprint ceremonies, contribute to backlog grooming, and deliver iterative data products aligned with program priorities

Skills

• **Candidates must be a U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a government suitability clearance.**
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field
• 3+ years of experience in data engineering, data analytics, or a closely related discipline
• Demonstrated experience on federal government programs or supporting a federal agency data environment
• Strong proficiency in SQL — including complex joins, window functions, CTEs, and query performance tuning against large datasets
• Hands-on experience with PySpark for distributed data processing, transformations, and optimization techniques
• Proficiency in Python for scripting, data manipulation, and automation
• Direct experience working within Databricks, including notebooks, jobs, clusters, and Unity Catalog
• Familiarity with data lakehouse concepts including Delta Lake, bronze/silver/gold architecture, and medallion design patterns
• Experience with version control systems (Git/GitHub/GitLab) and collaborative development workflows
• Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark or Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate/Professional
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS GovCloud, Microsoft Azure Government, or Google Cloud for Government
• Familiarity with CI/CD practices for data pipelines, including automated testing and deployment using tools like Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions
• Working knowledge of data visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI) and experience connecting them to Databricks SQL endpoints
• Familiarity with Unity Catalog for data access control, lineage, and governance within Databricks

Qualifications

Must Haves

• **Candidates must be a U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a government suitability clearance.**
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related technical field
• 3+ years of experience in data engineering, data analytics, or a closely related discipline
• Demonstrated experience on federal government programs or supporting a federal agency data environment
• Strong proficiency in SQL — including complex joins, window functions, CTEs, and query performance tuning against large datasets
• Hands-on experience with PySpark for distributed data processing, transformations, and optimization techniques
• Proficiency in Python for scripting, data manipulation, and automation
• Direct experience working within Databricks, including notebooks, jobs, clusters, and Unity Catalog
• Familiarity with data lakehouse concepts including Delta Lake, bronze/silver/gold architecture, and medallion design patterns
• Experience with version control systems (Git/GitHub/GitLab) and collaborative development workflows

Nice to Haves

• Databricks Certified Associate Developer for Apache Spark or Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate/Professional
• Experience with cloud platforms such as AWS GovCloud, Microsoft Azure Government, or Google Cloud for Government
• Familiarity with CI/CD practices for data pipelines, including automated testing and deployment using tools like Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions
• Working knowledge of data visualization platforms (Tableau, Power BI) and experience connecting them to Databricks SQL endpoints
• Familiarity with Unity Catalog for data access control, lineage, and governance within Databricks

Benefits

• This position is 100% remote.