Hybrid Data Engineer

at Elder Research

• Job title: Data Engineer
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Junior, Mid level
• Salary: Not specified
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Tech skills: Cloud, Java, Python, SQL
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Arlington, United States

About the role

• Data Engineer supporting the IRS in combating tax fraud, focusing on data pipelines and machine learning. Collaborating with stakeholders to deliver reliable data engineering solutions.

Responsibilities

• Support the Internal Revenue Services mission to combat tax fraud, identity theft, and non-compliance by designing and delivering secure, scalable, and automated data pipelines
• Work directly with IRS stakeholders, program managers, data scientists, and technical teams to translate complex business and compliance needs into reliable data engineering solutions
• Enable fraud detection, audit prioritization, refund review, and compliance risk analysis across large, sensitive tax and financial datasets.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex data and system issues across cross-functional and mission-critical environments with minimal supervision
• Engineer solutions that integrate diverse data types, including transactional, financial, and textual data, to support compliance and fraud analytics
• Collaborate with data scientists and stakeholders to deploy analytics applications, dashboards, and decision-support tools
• Write, test, and refine reusable, well-documented code in Python, SQL, Java, and other languages using collaborative development practices
• Build and maintain secure, scalable data pipelines and end-to-end systems, including operation within air-gapped or restricted government environments
• Support the full engineering lifecycle, from concept and design through deployment, monitoring, and ongoing support
• Produce technical documentation and deliver briefings or presentations to technical and non-technical audiences
• Act as a technical consultant, translating business, compliance, and enforcement needs into effective data solutions.

Requirements

• 2-7+ years of experience in data science, analytics, or a related technical field
• Prior programming experience, preferably in Python, including data Design, build, and deploy robust, repeatable, and automated data pipelines using Python, SQL
• Bachelor of Science degree in a relevant field such as statistics, computer science, economics, mathematics, analytics, data science, data engineering, business, or social sciences
• Engineer data pipelines that support fraud detection, compliance analytics, and predictive risk modeling across structured and unstructured data sources in Databricks
• Develop and maintain end-to-end machine learning data workflows across on-premises and cloud environments, integrating backend systems with analytics platforms and user-facing applications
• Partner closely with data scientists, analysts, product managers, and government stakeholders to align data engineering solutions with IRS mission objectives.
• Modernize and optimize data and ML workflows by implementing best practices for scalability, reliability, maintainability, and security
• Translate client and stakeholder requirements into clear, actionable technical designs and implementation plans
• Contribute effectively within agile, fast-paced development environments, supporting iterative delivery and continuous improvement
• Demonstrate a strong willingness to learn new technologies, adapt to evolving requirements, and share knowledge across teams
• Willingness to travel and work on-site with clients as project needs require.

Benefits

• Competitive Salary and Benefits
• Important Work / Make a Difference supporting U.S. national security.
• Job Stability : Elder Research is not a typical government contractor, we hire you for a career not just a contract.
• People-Focused Culture: we prioritize work-life-balance and provide a supportive, positive, and collaborative work environment as well as opportunities for professional growth and advancement.