Data Engineer

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World! Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has turned bold ideas into world-changing impact advancing science and technology to strengthen U.S. security and promote global stability. Our mission spans four critical national security areas nuclear deterrence, threat preparedness, energy security, and multi-domain defense empowering teams to take on the toughest challenges of today and tomorrow. With a culture built on innovation and operational excellence, LLNL is a place where your expertise can make a real impact. We have an opening for a Data Engineer to build and modernize data systems that make mission-critical scientific and engineering data discoverable, reusable, and available for analysis. You will partner with scientists, engineers, software developers, and data stewards to understand complex experimental and operational workflows and translate them into reliable data products. The work spans structured and unstructured data, automated pipelines, metadata and schema design, data quality and lineage, APIs, visualization, and integration with modern data platforms. You will have opportunities to improve legacy processes, introduce reusable engineering practices, and help shape how research data is managed and shared within LLNL and across the National Nuclear Security Administration complex. This position is in the Applications, Simulations, and Quality Division within the Computing Directorate, supporting Strategic Deterrence data management programs. Depending on your assignment, this position may offer a hybrid schedule, blending in-person and virtual presence. You may have the flexibility to work from home one or more days per week. This position will be filled at either level based on knowledge and related experience as assessed by the hiring team. Additional job responsibilities and qualifications will apply if hired at the higher level. You will Design, build, test, and maintain automated pipelines that ingest, transform, validate, and publish structured and unstructured scientific or engineering data. Partner with scientists and engineers to understand their workflows and translate their needs into data requirements, schemas, metadata, APIs, and reusable data products. Develop and apply data quality, lineage, governance, and metadata practices that make data easier to discover, understand, and reuse. Build interfaces, APIs, dashboards, or other tools that allow technical users to explore data and incorporate it into analysis workflows. Apply DataOps and software engineering practices - including version control, automated testing, CI/CD, documentation, and containerization - to improve reliability and reproducibility. Evaluate data platforms, storage technologies, and commercial or open-source tools, and recommend solutions based on mission needs, security constraints, maintainability, and cost. Communicate data architectures, tradeoffs, risks, and progress clearly to technical and nontechnical stakeholders. Collaborate across application, platform, data governance, and infrastructure teams to establish shared standards and integration approaches. Perform other duties as assigned. Additional job responsibilities at the SES.3 level Independently define and deliver solutions to complex, ambiguous data management problems spanning multiple projects, organizations, or scientific disciplines. Set technical direction, evaluate architectural tradeoffs, and provide technical leadership or mentorship for data engineering efforts. Advise management, customers, and senior technical personnel on data strategy, platform selection, and implementation approaches. Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of Energy Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Data Science, or a related technical field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. Significant experience using Python or another programming language to process, transform, analyze, or validate data. Broad experience developing data pipelines for structured or unstructured data and working with formats such as JSON, YAML, Parquet, CSV, or XML. Comprehensive experience with data modeling, schema design, metadata, data quality, or data lineage. Broad experience using collaborative software development practices such as Git, code review, automated testing, or documentation, with familiarity with CI/CD or containerization concepts. Comprehensive experience integrating systems through REST APIs, databases, object storage, file-based exchange, or similar mechanisms. Proficient and demonstrated experience working with customers or subject matter experts to define requirements and deliver technical solutions. Proficient written and verbal communication skills necessary to explain technical concepts, architectures, and tradeoffs to a range of audiences. Additional qualifications at the SES.3 level Advanced experience independently architecting and delivering complex data pipelines, platforms, or data products. Advanced experience analyzing complex scientific, technical, manufacturing, or business workflows and translating them into scalable data solutions. Significant experience providing technical direction, influencing stakeholders, and recommending systems, services, or process improvements. Qualifications we desire Broad experience with workflow orchestration tools such as Airflow, Prefect, or Dagster. Comprehensive experience with scientific, engineering, manufacturing, national security, or other regulated data environments. Proficient knowledge of S3-compatible object storage, lakehouse architectures, or distributed data platforms. Broad experience developing scientific visualizations or dashboards using tools such as Plotly, Streamlit, Tableau, or similar technologies. Comprehensive knowledge of data architectures supporting semantic search, machine learning, knowledge graphs, or AI-enabled applications. Pay Range $146,340 - $185,544 Annually for the SES.2 level $175,530 - $222,564 Annually for the SES.3 level This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting; pay will not be below any applicable local minimum wage. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Position Information This is a Career Indefinite position, open to Lab employees and external candidates. Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory? Included in 2026 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor! Flexible Benefits Package 401(k) Relocation Assistance Education Reimbursement Program Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs) Our values - visit https://www.llnl.gov/inclusion/our-values Security Clearance This position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance. If you are selected, we will initiate a Federal background investigation to determine if you meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information or matter. Also, all L or Q cleared employees are subject to random drug testing. Q-level clearance requires U.S. citizenship. Pre-Employment Drug Test External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. 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