Homeoffice Data Developer / Architect presso Initiate Government Solutions

Description

Founded in 2007, Initiate Government Solutions (IGS) a Woman Owned Small Business. We are a fully remote IT services provider that delivers innovative Enterprise IT and Health Services solutions across the federal sector. Our focus is on data analytics, health informatics, cloud migration, and the modernization of federal information systems.
 

IGS uses ISO 9001:2015, 20000-1:2018, 27001:2013, 28001:2007, CMMI/SVC3, CMMI/DEV3 best practices, and PMBOK® methods to provide clients with a strategy to build solid foundations to grow capabilities and revenue. Our range of IT services and delivery methodologies are tailored to our customers’ unique needs to achieve maximum value.

IGS is currently recruiting for a remote Data Developer / Architect to support our work with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). 

Assignment of Work and Travel:

This is a remote access assignment, Hybrid if in the DC Metro Area. The Candidate will work remotely daily and will remotely access VA systems and therein use approved VA provided communications systems. Travel is not required; however, the candidate may be required to attend onsite client meetings as requested. 

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is modernizing clinical contact centers to provide Veterans with additional choices for meeting clinical, pharmacy, scheduling, and administrative needs. VA Health Connect offers Veterans and their caregivers immediate, 24/7, on-demand access to clinical and administrative services via phone, video, and VA Health Chat.

The Data Developer / Architect is responsible for designing, building, and optimizing data systems and solutions that support VA Health Connect’s mission. This role focuses on architecting robust data pipelines, integrating diverse data sources, and ensuring the scalability, security, and reliability of data platforms. The Data Developer / Architect collaborates with project managers, delivery teams, and clients to deliver high-quality data infrastructure, enable advanced analytics, and support data-driven decision-making across the organization.

Responsibilities and Duties (Included but not limited to):

• Design, develop, and maintain scalable data architectures and pipelines using both traditional and AWS cloud-native services (e.g., RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift, Glue, EMR, Lambda, S3, Athena) to support clinical and operational data needs.
• Integrate data from multiple healthcare and call center systems, ensuring seamless data flow, interoperability, and optimized AWS ETL pipelines.
• Build, optimize, and manage ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes leveraging AWS Glue, Step Functions, and Lambda for efficient data ingestion, transformation, and storage.
• Develop, configure, and maintain databases, AWS data warehouses, and data lakes (e.g., Redshift, S3, Lake Formation), ensuring data integrity, security, and performance.
• Implement and enforce data governance, quality assurance, and compliance standards across all data platforms, including cloud-based systems.
• Collaborate with analysts and business stakeholders to define data requirements and deliver solutions that enable reporting and analytics, including BI integration with AWS QuickSight or external visualization platforms.
• Develop and deploy APIs and secure data services to enable cross-platform access to enterprise data assets.
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve data-related issues, proactively identifying opportunities for cloud cost optimization and performance improvements.
• Document data architecture, data flows, technical specifications, and cloud environment configurations.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and best practices in cloud data engineering, AWS services, and advanced analytics.
• Participate in project meetings, workshops, and stakeholder presentations as a technical subject matter expert.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers, fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and adherence to best practices.
• Lead or contribute to strategic data initiatives, ensuring project delivery aligns with organizational objectives and timelines. 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related field.
• 3–10 years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, database development, or similar technical roles.
• Strong experience with relational and non-relational databases (e.g., SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Amazon RDS, Aurora, DynamoDB, Redshift).
• Proficiency in data pipeline development using tools such as SQL, Python, Spark, or AWS Glue, Lambda, EMR.
• Experience with cloud data platforms (AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) and enterprise-scale data warehousing solutions.
• Knowledge of data modeling, data integration, and API development.
• Familiarity with data governance, security, and compliance standards in healthcare or regulated environments.
• Demonstrated leadership or team lead experience with responsibility for guiding engineers, delegating work, and driving technical decisions.
• Excellent problem-solving, organizational, and multitasking skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication abilities, including technical documentation.
• Excellent communication skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.

Preferred Qualifications and Core Competencies:

• Active VA Public Trust.
• Prior experience supporting a VA program.
• Prior, successful experience working in a remote environment.
• Master’s Degree or equivalent experience in Data Engineering, Computer Science, Health Informatics, or related discipline.
• Experience in consulting, technology, or professional services environments.
• Familiarity with big data technologies (Hadoop, Kafka, Kinesis) and advanced analytics platforms.
• Experience with data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, AWS QuickSight) for supporting analytics teams.
• Knowledge of healthcare data standards (e.g., HL7, FHIR) and interoperability frameworks.
• Hands-on experience with AWS cloud architecture best practices, including cost management, security, and automation (e.g., CloudFormation, Terraform).
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives, mentor junior staff, and promote continuous improvement in a cloud-based data engineering environment.

Successful IGS employees embody the following Core Values:

• Integrity, Honesty, and Ethics: We conduct our business with the highest level of ethics. Doing things like being accountable for mistakes, accepting helpful criticism, and following through on commitments to ourselves, each other, and our customers. 
• Empathy, Emotional Intelligence: How we interact with others including peers, colleagues, stakeholders, and customers’ matters. We take collective responsibility to create an environment where colleagues and customers feel valued, included, and respected. We work within a diverse, integrated, and collaborative team to drive towards accomplishing the larger mission. We conscientiously and meticulously learn about our customers’ and end-users’ business drivers and challenges to ensure solutions meet not only technical needs but also support their mission.
• Strong Work Ethic (Reliability, Dedication, Productivity): We are driven by a strong, self-motivated, and results-driven work ethic. We are reliable, accountable, proactive, and tenacious and will do what it takes to get the job done. 
• Life-Long Learner (Curious, Perspective, Goal Oriented): We challenge ourselves to continually learn and improve ourselves. We strive to be an expert in our field, continuously honing our craft, and finding solutions where others see problems.  

Compensation: There are a host of factors that can influence final salary, including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications.

Benefits: Initiate Government Solutions offers competitive compensation and a robust benefits package, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision care, matching 401K and profit sharing, paid time off, training time for personal development, flexible spending accounts, employer-paid life insurance, employer-paid short and long term disability coverage, an education assistance program with potential merit increases for obtaining a work-related certification, employee recognition, and referral programs, spot bonuses, and other benefits that help provide financial protection for the employee and their family.

Initiate Government Solutions participates in the Electronic Employment Verification Program.