Principal Data Engineer

Who we are:

Raft (https://goraft.tech) is a customer-obsessed non-traditional small business with a purposeful focus on Distributed Data Systems, Platforms at Scale, and Complex Application Development, with headquarters in Reston, VA. Our range of clients include innovative federal and public agencies leveraging design thinking, cutting edge tech stack, and cloud native ecosystem. We build digital solutions that impact the lives of millions of Americans.

We’re looking for an experienced Principal Data Engineer to support our customer and join our passionate team of high-impact problem solvers. This is a unique opportunity to help build and shape a game-changing organization where we put our customers and people first.

About the role:

As a Principal Data Engineer, you will solve hard problems in reconciling data across different data sites. If taking on challenges and working through tough processes over air-gapped environments, Data Recovery instances, and main site integration sounds like fun, then this role is for you! We are looking for a highly motivated Principal Data Engineer to dive headfirst into a team already hard at work dissecting these tough problems. Ideally, you are already armed with experience in PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, and CrunchyDB Postgres. This is a hot role, and we’re looking to hire immediately.

What we are looking for:

• Educational background in Computer Science, Mathematics, or equivalent
• Has worked in AWS Cloud environment
• Experience in relational and/or non-relational databases, like PostgreSQL and CrunchyDB Postgres
• Hands-on experience developing containerized services deployed on an orchestration platform; specifically, on Kubernetes
• High motivation and a willingness to immediately integrate with a team and hit the ground running

Highly preferred:

• Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance (also amazing if you already have a clearance)
• Keep up to date with trends in Data Engineering community
• Familiarity with on-premise/ private cloud systems
• Experience with offline/ online data transfer solutions

Clearance Requirements:

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. SECRET Security Clearance

Work Type:

• Remote

What we will offer you:  

• Highly competitive salary 
• Fully covered healthcare, dental, and vision coverage 
• 401(k) and company match 
• Unlimited PTO + 11 paid holidays 
• Education & training benefits 
• Annual budget for your tech/gadgets needs 
• Monthly box of yummy snacks to eat while doing meaningful work 
• Team off-site in fun places! 
• Generous Referral Bonuses 
• And More!

Our Vision Statement:  

We bridge the gap between humans and data through radical transparency and our obsession with the mission.

Our Customer Obsession:

We will approach every deliverable like it's a product. We will adopt a customer-obsessed mentality. As we grow, and our footprint becomes larger, teams and employees will treat each other not only as teammates but customers. We must live the customer-obsessed mindset, always. This will help us scale and it will translate to the interactions that our Rafters have with their clients and other product teams that they integrate with. Our culture will enable our success and set us apart from other companies.

How do we get there?

Public-sector modernization is critical for us to live in a better world. We, at Raft, want to innovate and solve complex problems. And, if we are successful, our generation and the ones that follow us will live in a delightful, efficient, and accessible world where out-of-box thinking, and collaboration is a norm.

Raft’s core philosophy is Ubuntu: I Am, Because We are. We support our “nadi” by elevating the other Rafters. We work as a hyper collaborative team where each team member brings a unique perspective, adding value that did not exist before. People make Raft special. We celebrate each other and our cognitive and cultural diversity. We are devoted to our practice of innovation and collaboration.

We’re an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.