Data Engineer

Meridian Softworks _Logo_Black_Margin-Tight.png" title="" width="185" height="76"> Important Notice for Applicants: At Meridian Softworks , we want to ensure a transparent and secure application process for all candidates. Official communication will come from an email address ending in @bixal.com or from @bixal.na.teamtailor-mail.com. Messages from other sources may be fraudulent, and you should exercise care to avoid any links or attachments included. Meridian Softworks will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Need Assistance or a Reasonable Accommodation?If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation to complete your application, we're here to help. Please reach out to us at [email protected] and let us know how we can support you. You do not need to share personal details or disclose the nature of your request. You can expect a response from a team member within 24 hours during the regular work week and on the next operating day during the weekend or holidays. Why Meridian Softworks ? Meridian Softworks is a consulting company headquartered in Fairfax, VA, working alongside governments and organizations to help them deliver better services and experiences to the communities they serve. Using evidence-based knowledge and technology, Meridian Softworks empowers clients to deliver on their missions more effectively by fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement. Our values: People-First : Emphasizing the importance of people in all aspects of work. Collaboration and Transparency : Valuing teamwork and open communication. Growth Mindset : Encouraging innovation and continuous improvement. Creating Lasting Impact : Focusing on meaningful outcomes and positive change. About the role: We are seeking a skilled and motivated Data Engineer to join our dynamic team as we continue to build and optimize data pipelines using PySpark, Databricks, AWS, and other cutting-edge technologies. The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in PySpark, Databricks, AWS, Kafka/streaming architectures, and infrastructure as code, and will be responsible for platform reliability, scalability, and evolution across the program. This is a full-time position supporting a current contract. This role offers you a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a project that aligns with Meridian Softworks ’s mission of delivering innovative, human-centered solutions. While the role has a fixed duration, we are committed to transparency and collaboration, keeping you informed about contract updates and new opportunities. At Meridian Softworks , we support your professional journey, ensuring your experience reflects our inclusive, purpose-driven culture and prepares you for future success. Location This role can work remotely from anywhere in the USA. You must be legally authorized to work in the US. Meridian Softworks does not provide visa sponsorship. Compensation: The salary range for this role is $130,000 – $135,000. In the spirit of transparency, most offers tend to land near the midpoint of the range. We make compensation decisions thoughtfully, considering your experience, the skills you bring, and our commitment to internal equity. Fairness and transparency are core to how we operate. Responsibilities: Lead the design and implementation of complex data ingestion pipelines using PySpark, Databricks Intelligence Platform, and AWS services (S3, IAM roles and policies), including Kafka/streaming architectures, schema evolution, and Delta Share, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards. Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) for data engineering, providing technical guidance and mentorship to engineers across the team and representing data engineering in cross-functional discussions. Take ownership of platform reliability and performance, proactively identifying optimization opportunities across data ingestion, transformation, and storage layers. Troubleshoot complex pipeline failures across multi-system dependencies. Lead cross-functional technical initiatives, collaborating with data scientists, analysts, DevOps engineers, client teams (upstream data providers and downstream consumers), and stakeholders to deliver integrated solutions that meet program objectives. Contribute to the data platform technical vision and architecture, making strategic decisions on tooling, frameworks, and design patterns that shape the program's long-term data engineering direction. Define and enforce engineering standards, including code quality, testing practices, CI/CD processes, and infrastructure as code patterns using Terraform. Evaluation of new technologies and approaches, presenting proof of concepts and technical roadmaps to leadership. Author and maintain architectural documentation, technical decision records, and platform runbooks that enable team autonomy and operational excellence. Other relevant duties as assigned