Application Developer - Metadata Store Focus

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 should 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).

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.