Principal Data Operations Lead ​/ Caspian JCRS-D Subject Matter Expert (SME

Responsibilities

Peraton seeks a Principal Data Operations Lead / CASPIAN JCRS-D Subject Matter Expert (SME)to support Department of War Cyber Defense Command (DCDC) with Defensive Cyberspace Operations (DCO) and AI Cyber Security Support.

Location: Fort Meade, MD.

In this role, you will perform advanced statistical analysis, develop ML models, and conduct operational research to support cyber defense decision-making and threat characterization.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Perform as technical authority for Data Acquisition, Standards, and Governance, ensuring all incoming data streams comply with DCDC/ARCYBER standards
  • Design complex engineering pipelines
  • Oversee compliance with metadata tagging requirements and standards
• Innovate and implement JCRS-D Optimization & Innovation workflows
• Conduct Performance Optimization (Output and Speed), addressing latency/throughput, compute and storage optimization, and troubleshooting/bottleneck resolution
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify operational trends
• Collaborate with mission partners to translate requirements into analytic solutions
• Document analytic workflows and methodologies for knowledge transfer
• Mentor junior data scientists and provide technical guidance

Required Qualifications:

• Minimum of 12 years with BS/BA;
  Minimum of 10 years with MS/MA;
  Minimum of 7 years with Ph.D.
• Must have minimum of 5+ years of demonstrated experience leading cross-functional Data Operations teams (comprising data engineers, analysts, and system administrators) in high-tempo, mission-critical environments.
• Proven experience serving as the primary technical decision-maker for a large-scale data enterprise, with specific authority over data architecture, infrastructure scaling, and operational data pipelines.
• Authoritative CASPIAN Knowledge:
  Must possess verifiable, authoritative-level expertise in the CASPIAN architecture, including its underlying data schemas, integration nodes, and security compliance constraints.
• JCRS-D Optimization & Innovation:
  Deep, hands-on technical proficiency in JCRS-D data technologies. The candidate must demonstrate prior success in innovating and implementing custom JCRS-D analytical workflows, rather than just operating existing ones.
• System Integration:
  Proven ability to engineer and deploy custom API integrations and data bridges specifically tailored to JCRS-D platforms and upstream/downstream DoD analytics systems.
• Data Acquisition, Standards, and Governance:
  • Technical authority to define, enforce, and iterate data acquisition standards, ensuring all incoming data streams comply with DCDC/ARCYBER governance, data tagging, and metadata tagging requirements.
  • Expert-level proficiency in designing complex ETL/ELT pipelines using industry-standard enterprise tools (e.g., Apache NiFi, Kafka, Spark) to automate data ingestion from disparate, disconnected tactical and strategic sources.
  • Demonstrated capability to implement automated data quality checks, anomaly detection, and schema validation before data enters the CASPIAN/JCRS-D environment.
• Performance Optimization (Output and Speed):
  • Must have direct experience engineering low-latency, high-throughput data processing architectures capable of handling massive volumes of structured and unstructured DoD data.
  • Advanced proficiency in technical decision-making regarding distributed compute resource allocation, query optimization, and storage tiering to maximize analytical output speed.
  • Proven track record of identifying and remediating critical data flow bottlenecks within complex, classified or secure unclassified network enclaves.
• Must have DoD 8570.01-M / 8140 certification compliance (e.g., IAT Level III or IASAE Level II/III).
• Active TS with ability to obtain SCI.
• US Citizenship Required.

Preferred

• Minimum of 10+ years of advanced experience in data engineering, data architecture, and data operations within secure DoD or Intelligence Community (IC) environments.

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world’s leading mission capability…