Staff Data Engineer

Awetomaton is seeking a Staff Data Engineer to support a new customer by building and maintaining the ingestion, curation, and metadata-enrichment pipelines that power enterprise data catalog and discovery services. In this role, you will design and operate scalable data systems that transform raw and source data into reliable, well-structured datasets for catalog, search, and downstream mission use. The ideal candidate will possess a BS degree or higher and have 5+ years of experience. We are looking for a candidate to start in the August 2026 timeframe.

This position can be performed nationwide but we strongly prefer personnel local to Dayton, OH or St Louis, MO.

DoD Top Secret clearance is required. For highly qualified candidates, we will sponsor.

Criteria for success

• Communicate effectively in both written and verbal form with peers & decision makers
• Demonstrate initiative when faced with limited guidance or ambiguous requirements  
• Strong understanding of cloud data pipelines, data warehousing solutions, and ETL/ELT orchestration tools
• Proficient in defining data standards, data frameworks, and ensuring data quality  

Required Experience and Skills

• Bachelor of Science in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related discipline
• Proficiency in Python, SQL, Spark, or similar data-centric technologies
• Experience with orchestration tools (Airflow, Dagster, Argo Workflow)
• Experience designing data lake and/or data warehouse structures
• Strong understanding of data modeling, data quality frameworks, schema evolution, and lineage
• Understanding of large-scale, cost-efficient data processing
• Comfort working with containers and cloud-native deployment
• Strong ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences

Desired Education and Experience

• Master of Science in Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field  
• Familiarity with data management/governance platforms  
• Cloud & platform certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Data Analytics, Certified Kubernetes Application Developer, etc.)  
• Background in working with federal government, Department of Defense, and/or the Intelligence Community

About Awetomaton

We build software that enables humans to make informed decisions from raw intel data, with a specialization in satellite collection. We are a Dayton-based defense startup that believes there is a critical skill & culture gap - one we are filling with high-output, mission focused engineering talent. Results matter to our customers. We've never lost a customer because we deliver what they need. Awetomaton is where you do work that matters with a passionate team in an environment that inspires your creativity.

Benefits

We provide industry leading benefits that balance your health & wellbeing today, as well as lay a solid financial future into retirement. Highlights of our benefit plan include:

• Flexible time off totaling 36 days / year. No approvals required.
• 100% 401k company match up to IRS annual limits. This is a benefit of up to $24,500 for 2026.
• Health plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield with Health Savings Account (HSA). We pay 95% of employee premiums including family plans.
• Employee favorite: Tech and Wellness reimbursement of $3000 / year. Treat yourself with the newest gadgets or athletic gear. No approvals required.
• Annual profit sharing as 401k contribution. No set percent and dependent on annual company performance. Benefit is above and beyond 401k match.
• MacBook laptop and well-equipped office spaces for optimal productivity in office and on-the-go.