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Data Engineer

Data Engineers work with data consumers to create and populate optimal data architectures, structures, and systems to meet CIA’s business needs.
  • Full time
  • Starting salary: $69,287 - $145,617
  • Bachelor's or master's degree
  • Opportunities for domestic travel are possible
Express Interest

Agency-wide Requirements

All applicants must be:

  • U.S. citizens (dual U.S. citizens also eligible)
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Willing to move to the Washington, DC area
  • Able to complete security and medical evaluations
  • Registered for the Selective Service

About the Job

As a Data Engineer for CIA, you will focus on the design, implementation, and operation of data management systems to meet the CIA’s business needs. This includes designing how the data will be stored, consumed, integrated, and managed by different data entities and digital systems. Data Engineers work together with data consumers to determine, create, and populate optimal data architectures, structures, and systems.

Data Engineers must also plan, design, and optimize for data throughput and query performance issues. This requires constantly updating expertise in areas such as platform, network and storage technologies, bandwidth management, data bus implications, and design.

Additionally, you will play a key role in the selection of backend database technologies (SQL, NoSQL, HPC, etc.), their configuration and utilization, and the optimization of the full data pipeline infrastructure to support the actual content, volume, ETL, and periodicity of data to support the intended kinds of queries and analysis to match expected responsiveness.

Domestic and/or foreign travel may be required.

Who You’ll Work With

At the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), we recognize our Nation’s strength comes from the diversity of its people. People from a broad range of backgrounds and viewpoints work at CIA, and our diverse teams are the reason we can keep our country safe.

Read more about diversity and inclusion

What You’ll Get

Our benefits support every aspect of a working professional’s life, including health and wellness, time off, family, finances, and continuing education. Our programs include highly sought-after government health benefits, flexible schedules, sick leave, and childcare. In some cases, we also offer sign-on incentives and cover moving expenses if you relocate.

As a CIA employee, you’ll also get the satisfaction of knowing your work is part of something bigger than yourself. Our work is driven by one mission: to keep our Nation safe. Every day is an opportunity to enhance U.S. national security.

Learn more about working at CIA

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s or master’s degree in one of the following fields or related studies:
    • Archives/Digitization Management
    • Computer/Data Science
    • Information/Data/Knowledge Management
    • Information Technology
    • Management Information Systems
    • Mathematics
    • Engineering
  • At least a 3.0 GPA on a 4-point scale
  • Knowledge of the following:
    • Data manipulation
    • Databases
    • Data structures
    • Data management
    • Best engineering practices
  • Ability to meet the minimum requirements for joining CIA, including U.S. citizenship and a background investigation

Desired Qualifications

  • Work experience related to data engineering, information, and data management