Data Lead (Defense)

Air Space Intelligence

• $120K — $145K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5-7 years of experience in data engineering and forensics.
  • Proficiency in modern data engineering tools and patterns.
  • Strong technical communication skills for conveying data insights.
  • Experience with distributed messaging systems like Kafka or Spark.
  • Working knowledge of API design and various data formats.
  • Familiarity with defense operational data and mission systems.
  • Active U.S. Security Clearance (SECRET or TOP SECRET).

Responsibilities

  • Own and enhance the reality layer for defense products.
  • Operate data flows transferring operational data into trusted datasets.
  • Analyze real-world data to identify actionable insights.
  • Debug data through profiling and anomaly detection.
  • Communicate technical findings clearly to drive engineering changes.
  • Manage the orchestration of data processes using modern tooling.
  • Ensure data accuracy and reliability across varying formats and protocols.

Benefits

  • Opportunity to directly impact defense mission outcomes.
  • Collaborative work environment focused on shared success.
  • Access to advanced data engineering tools and technologies.
  • Support for professional development and continuous learning.
  • Engage in work that has a meaningful societal impact.
Full Job Description
What You Will Do:

You will own the reality layer that powers ASI's defense products. You will operate, improve, and expand the data flows that move operational data from mission systems into usable, trusted datasets for decision-making. This role is equal parts data engineering, data forensics, and technical communication. You will dig into real-world data, determine what it actually means, and translate findings into clear, actionable pipelines ready to drive mission-critical decisions for end users.

What We Value:
  • Strong fluency with modern data engineering tooling and patterns: streaming and batch pipelines, schema evolution, data contracts, and lineage.
  • Demonstrated ability to debug data: profiling, anomaly detection, reconciling sources, and separating signal from noise while cross-validating.
  • Strong technical communication skills: you can explain what the data is doing, what it means, what is broken, why it matters, and what engineering should change.
  • Comfort with distributed messaging and processing (Kafka, Flink, Spark, or equivalents) and modern orchestration (Airflow, Dagster, Temporal, or similar).
  • Strong grasp of API design and integration patterns (REST, gRPC, GraphQL) and experience working across a range of data formats and wire-level protocols (JSON, XML, Protobuf, and binary protocols like JREAP-C or CMF-B).
  • Working knowledge of modern network protocols, firewalls, system level connections, cross-system authentication, and an enthusiasm to get data flowing.
  • Familiarity with defense operational data and mission systems, with an appreciation for delayed reporting, inconsistent identifiers, changing semantics, and obscure edge cases.
  • Comfort operating in classified network environments (e.g., SIPR, JWICS) and working within accreditation boundaries (IL5/IL6, ATO processes).
  • Experience deploying data infrastructure on Kubernetes and across hybrid cloud and on-prem environments.
  • A bias for action and distinct aptitude for problem solving in ambiguous environments.
  • Active SECRET or TOP SECRET U.S. Security Clearance.

How We Hire:

We look at the interview process not as a screening or test, but rather as an opportunity to simulate what it would look like working together. We build the interview process around you.

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