Database Pipeline Engineer na 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 Database Pipeline Engineer to support the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in designing, building, and maintaining scalable and secure data pipelines across cloud platforms. This role ensures that data flows efficiently, reliably, and securely from source systems to destinations such as data warehouses, analytics platforms, and machine learning models. 

Assignment of Work and Travel:

This is a remote access assignment. 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.

This program is a transformative initiative by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs aimed at modernizing and streamlining access to VA data and services through secure, reliable, and scalable APIs. As a member of the team, you will play a key role in designing, developing, and supporting API solutions that empower veterans, partners, and internal stakeholders to access critical information and services efficiently.

In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams—including product managers, engineers, security specialists, and business analysts—to deliver high-quality API products in alignment with federal standards and VA objectives. You will contribute to the program’s mission of improving veteran experiences by enabling digital innovation, ensuring compliance, and promoting best practices in API development and platform management.

This position offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on veteran care and benefits delivery, while working in a dynamic, mission-driven environment that values collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities and Duties (Included but not limited to):

• Pipeline Architecture & Design: Design scalable and reliable data pipelines using cloud-native tools such as AWS Glue, Azure Data Factory, or Google Cloud Dataflow. Choose appropriate technologies for data ingestion, transformation, and storage. Develop data models and define data flow architectures.
• Data Ingestion & Integration: Build connectors to ingest data from various sources including databases, APIs, files, and streaming platforms. Integrate structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data in real-time or batch modes.
• ETL/ELT Development: Implement ETL or ELT processes to clean, enrich, and standardize data using tools like Apache Spark, Databricks, or cloud-native services. Optimize transformation logic for performance and scalability.
• Monitoring & Troubleshooting: Set up monitoring and alerting for pipeline health and data quality. Troubleshoot pipeline failures and data inconsistencies. Maintain logs for auditing and debugging.
• Automation & Orchestration: Automate pipeline deployment, scheduling, and execution using orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow or AWS Step Functions. Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for pipeline components.
• Collaboration & Documentation: Work with data engineers, analysts, and business stakeholders to understand data requirements. Document pipeline designs, data flows, and operational procedures. Provide support and training to users of the data pipelines.
• Cost Optimization: Monitor resource usage and optimize pipelines for cost and efficiency. Tune pipelines to handle large-scale data volumes and high throughput. 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Public Administration, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
• Hands-on experience with ETL tools and processes.
• Experience with FlyAway for database migration and version control.
• Proficiency in cloud-native data pipeline tools such as AWS Glue, Azure Data Factory, or Google Cloud Dataflow.
• Strong understanding of data modeling, data flow architecture, and pipeline orchestration.
• Experience with scripting and automation tools (e.g., Python, Bash, Terraform).
• Familiarity with structured and unstructured data formats and integration techniques.
• Strong troubleshooting and performance tuning skills.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance
• Strong organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications and Core Competencies:

• Active VA Public Trust
• Prior experience supporting federal agencies, especially the Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Familiarity with VA Lighthouse tools and infrastructure.
• Certifications in cloud data engineering or pipeline development.
• Prior, successful experience working in a remote 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.