Senior Data Engineers

Position Overview

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is a multi-mission science and operations center for NASA’s flagship observatories located on the Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus in Baltimore, Maryland, with 800+ employees. The Data Management Division is seeking Senior Data Engineers for our Data Systems Branch to focus on infrastructure, data ingestion, and API-based access in support of STScI’s NASA missions. This hybrid role requires candidates to reside in or relocate to our local market (MD, DE, VA, PA, DC & WV) and mandates US Citizenship or Permanent Residence to meet ITAR requirements. Compensation: The annual salary range for this senior role is $130,000 - $150,000, based on experience, education, skill set, and market conditions.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze, design, and implement effective data management solutions for high-volume, variable, and complex astronomic data across cloud and on-premise environments
• Assess current data management systems to identify and resolve performance or functional issues using new approaches and technologies
• Lead or participate in proof-of-concept projects and pilots for new products and scalability enhancements
• Examine data access patterns and SQL query performance to recommend improvements
• Design and develop database schemas, indexing strategies, data migration utilities, functions, and stored procedures
• Support development of data APIs and participate in daily operations including troubleshooting and debugging production issues
• Monitor database performance and promptly address operational challenges

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• 8+ years of hands-on experience in data engineering and data management for large database systems
• Extensive expertise in data modeling and composing advanced SQL queries (including analytical functions)
• Strong skills in performance tuning for databases and data pipelines
• Proficient in Python programming
• Experience with cloud databases (e.g., Amazon RDS) and cloud data storage and access strategies
• Knowledge of Postgres, SQLServer, and database migration techniques
• Familiarity with tools and frameworks such as Kafka and GraphQL

Benefits & Perks

• Employer retirement contribution – direct STScI contribution of 10% of your salary from your first day
• 12 days sick leave, 24 days vacation, and 10 paid holidays
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and prescription plans
• Additional benefits and perks