Application Developer - Metadata Store Focus

Residency

All applicants must currently reside in the United States

Overview

Join BigBear.ai’s Data Platform team to build the metadata layer that makes enterprise data discoverable, trustworthy, and actionable. You’ll design and deliver metadata-driven services, ingestion pipelines, and developer tools that connect catalogs, data stores, and analytics platforms enabling faster insights and stronger governance across critical systems. This is a hands-on role where engineering, data modeling, and collaboration with cross-functional teams converge to deliver measurable impact on national-security-focused solutions.

Location & security

• Must be located in or able to work from Washington, D.C. area (hybrid).
• TS/SCI clearance with a current CI polygraph is required; work includes SCIF support.

What you will do

• Design, implement, and maintain services and tools that integrate with enterprise metadata repositories and data catalogs (ingest, model, search, lineage).
• Build and operate metadata ingestion pipelines, RESTful APIs, and event-driven integrations to improve discovery, lineage, and governance.
• Create internal developer tooling for schema/metadata management, search, and lineage visualization to accelerate onboarding and data quality.
• Define metadata models and integration patterns in partnership with data engineering, product, and platform teams.
• Troubleshoot and optimize metadata workflows; monitor data quality and consistency across systems.
• Contribute to architecture decisions, code reviews, sprint planning, and continuous improvement of delivery practices.
• Ensure production-ready systems by applying security, performance, and scalability best practices.

What you need to have

• TS/SCI clearance with CI polygraph (required).
• Bachelor’s degree + 6+ years of application/software development experience (or 8+ years’ experience in lieu of a degree); recent hands-on experience within the last 2 years is preferred.
• Strong development experience in at least one of: Python, Java, or C#.
• Practical experience with metadata stores or governance platforms (examples: Apache Atlas, DataHub, Collibra, Microsoft Purview, or similar/custom metadata systems).
• Clear understanding of metadata concepts: lineage, schema, glossary, classification, and governance workflows.
• Hands-on experience building RESTful APIs and/or event-driven services (Kafka, Pub/Sub, etc.).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms and patterns (Azure, AWS, or GCP).
• Experience with CI/CD, source control (Git), and modern DevOps practices.
• Proficiency with Node.js + TypeScript and containerization (Docker).
• Experience with search/analytics and data stores such as Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and Redis.

What we'd like you to have

• Experience with data engineering, ETL/ELT, or data modeling pipelines.
• Familiarity with graph databases (Neo4j) or advanced lineage/search capabilities.
• Experience with frameworks and tooling like NestJS/Express, Jest, GitLab CI, Spring Boot, or Scala/Groovy.
• Background integrating enterprise governance tooling and implementing policy-driven workflows.
• Prior work on secure or classified systems (advantageous given mission context).
• Interest or experience with applied AI/LLMs for metadata enrichment (e.g., semantic classification, automated tagging).

Pay transparency

Please note the targeted compensation range is provided as an estimate, and any actual compensation offer may vary depending on the needs of the company, or an applicant's skillset, competencies, experience, education, certifications, location, or other factors. The estimated range does not include the value of any benefits offered.

About BigBear.ai

BigBear.ai is a leading provider of AI-powered decision intelligence solutions for national security, supply chain management, and digital identity. Customers and partners rely on Bigbear.ai’s predictive analytics capabilities in highly complex, distributed, mission-based operating environments. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, BigBear.ai is a public company traded on the NYSE under the symbol BBAI. For more information, visit https://bigbear.ai/ and follow BigBear.ai on LinkedIn: @BigBear.ai and X: @BigBearai.

BigBear.ai is an Equal opportunity employer all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.