Entry Level Architect Jobs in Silver Spring, MD (NOW HIRING)

Position Description: CGI Federal has an exciting opportunity for Database Engineers within our Intel sector advancing the national security mission through cutting edge technology. You must have a passion for keeping pace with rapidly evolving technology advancements and leveraging your knowledge on a highly collaborative team to deliver state-of-the-art capabilities. The Database Engineer builds, maintains, and optimizes basic database systems. They write SQL, assist senior engineers with schema design, and help secure and troubleshoot day-to-day data storage. It is a hands-on support role focused on ensuring data is accessible and error-free. CGI Federal is growing its high-performance team whose members share a passion for building high-quality, scalable, advanced IT solutions in a collaborative, fast-paced, outcome-driven mission. This position is located in our Arlington office; however, a hybrid working model is acceptable. Your future duties and responsibilities: Key Responsibilities (Entry Level)
• Database Maintenance: Assist with routine backups, software patching, and system health monitoring.
• Query Optimization: Write and test basic SQL queries and scripts to ensure fast and efficient data retrieval.
• Database Development: Support the team by implementing minor database changes, tables, and views.
• Troubleshooting: Help identify, log, and resolve basic database errors or connectivity issues.
• Documentation: Maintain accurate records of database schemas, data flows, and system configurations.
• Collaboration: Work alongside software developers and system administrators to integrate databases with web applications. Key Responsibilities (Junior Level)
• Database Maintenance: Assist in monitoring database performance, health, and capacity.
• Query Optimization: Review and rewrite basic SQL queries to improve retrieval speed and efficiency.
• Database Code: Create, modify, and test database objects such as stored procedures, triggers, and functions.
• Support & Troubleshooting: Act as the first line of support for database-related inquiries, resolving minor errors or bugs.
• Security & Backups: Enforce data security standards, manage user access permissions, and assist with backup and recovery processes.
• Documentation: Maintain and update technical documentation regarding database design, configurations, and change management. Key Responsibilities (Mid-Level)
• Database Architecture & Design: Design and evolve scalable relational and non-relational database systems (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MongoDB) to meet growing enterprise needs.
• Performance Optimization: Proactively identify problematic patterns, rewrite complex queries, implement partitioning strategies, and add/remove indexes for zero-downtime scalability.
• Pipeline Management: Build, automate, and maintain robust ETL/ELT workflows to securely ingest, transform, and synchronize large datasets across multiple systems.
• Backup & Recovery: Architect and enforce comprehensive backup protocols and disaster recovery procedures to protect against data loss.
• Technical Support & Mentorship: Act as a technical escalation point for Tier 1 support or junior engineers, debug complex database errors, and review database changes submitted by other developers.
• Security & Governance: Ensure data compliance, implement role-based access controls, and establish strong data governance frameworks. Key Responsibilities (Senior Level)
Architecture & Systems Design
• Design and implement relational and object-oriented database (OODB) schemas for highly distributed, large-scale production environments.
• Project long-range database administration and infrastructure needs based on organizational growth and system roadmaps.
• Create database parser and loading software to manage seamless, zero-downtime data migrations and ingest.
Performance Optimization & Scalability
• Execute granular query analysis, index tuning, and database refactoring to solve complex performance bottlenecks (e.g., preventing primary key integer overflows or mitigating inefficient load balancing).
• Develop ad hoc queries, scripts, and macros in languages like Python, Bash, or PL/SQL to automate database operations.
• Architect efficient queueing strategies, caching patterns, and table partitioning.
Data Security & Governance
• Enforce domain controls, security protocols, and data governance frameworks across the database landscape.
• Establish robust backup protocols, disaster recovery (DR) frameworks, and zero-downtime failover procedures. Key Responsibilities (SME Level)
Architecture & Systems Design
• Design, build, and scale enterprise databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, Oracle RAC, distributed NoSQL) handling hundreds of millions to billions of transactions daily.
• Architect highly available, multi-region disaster recovery (DR) solutions and implement zero-downtime migration frameworks.
• Establish enterprise-wide database coding and architectural patterns to enforce quality and security standards.
Performance Tuning & Optimization
• Execute deep-dive diagnostics into database engines to identify and eliminate latency and throughput bottlenecks.
• Audit execution plans, re-write inefficient SQL/PL-SQL, optimize indexing, and fine-tune server memory allocation.
• Implement robust database load-balancing, sharding, and caching strategies.
Leadership & Mentorship
• Act as the ultimate escalation point for complex, unprecedented database incidents.
• Collaborate with executive leadership and software architects to align data engineering strategy with broader business objectives.
• Lead technical design and code reviews, mentoring junior/mid-level database engineers and administrators.
Data Security & Governance
• Implement strict data security management, including compliance auditing (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS).
• Manage encryption at-rest and in-transit, robust role-based access control (RBAC), and automated threat monitoring. Required qualifications to be successful in this role: All levels require an active TS/SCI with Poly Entry Level:
• Education: o High School Diploma/GED with 4 years of relevant experience,
o Associates Degree with 2 years of relevant experience, o or Bachelor's Degree with 0 years of relevant experience
• SQL Proficiency: Fundamental understanding of SQL (Structured Query Language) for querying and managing databases.
• Database Knowledge: Familiarity with relational database systems (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server) and basic NoSQL concepts (e.g., MongoDB).
• Analytical Skills: Basic problem-solving abilities to trace the root cause of data anomalies. Junior Level/Moderate:
• Education: o High School Diploma/GED with 6 years of relevant experience,
o Associates Degree with 4 years of relevant experience, o Bachelor's Degree with 2 years of relevant experience, o or Masters Degree with 0 years of relevant experience
• Technical Skills: Foundational knowledge of relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle) and proficiency in SQL.
• Scripting: Familiarity with basic programming or scripting languages (e.g., Python) to automate routine database tasks is often preferred.
• Soft Skills: Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate technical database concepts to non-technical team members. Mid-Level/Complex:
• Education: o High School Diploma/GED with 8 years of relevant experience,
o Associates Degree with 6 years of relevant experience, o Bachelor's Degree with 4 years of relevant experience, o or Masters Degree with 2 years of relevant experience,
o or PhD with 0 years of relevant experience
• Technical Skills:
o Advanced command of SQL, Python, or Scala.
o Deep familiarity with both RDBMS (e.g., PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server) and NoSQL environments (e.g., MongoDB, Redis).
o Experience with cloud databases (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Tooling & Environments: Proficiency with continuous integration, deployment, and version control tools (e.g., Git, Jira, Confluence, Jenkins). Senior Level/Exceptionally Complex:
• Education: o High School Diploma/GED with 10 years of relevant experience,
o Associates Degree with 8 years of relevant experience, o Bachelor's Degree with 6 years of relevant experience, o or Masters Degree with 4 years of relevant experience,
o or PhD with 2 years of relevant experience
• Expertise: Deep, hands-on experience with Relational and NoSQL platforms (e.g., PostgreSQL, DynamoDB) operating in Linux environments.
• Tooling & Devops: Proficiency in CI/CD pipeline integration, utilizing tools such as Git, Jira, Kubernetes, and Ansible. SME Level/Exceptionally Complex:
• Education: o High School Diploma/GED with 12 years of relevant experience,
o Associates Degree with 10 years of relevant experience, o Bachelor's Degree with 8 years of relevant experience, o or Masters Degree with 6 years of relevant experience,
o or PhD with 4 years of relevant experience
• Relational / Distributed DBs: Expert-level understanding of relational engine internals (e.g., PostgreSQL, Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server) and distributed/NoSQL databases.
• Programming & Scripting: Advanced proficiency in SQL, PL-SQL, and scripting languages like Python or Shell.
• Cloud & Infrastructure: Hands-on experience with cloud-managed database services (AWS RDS/Aurora, GCP Cloud SQL, or Azure) and infrastructure as code tools (Terraform).
• Soft Skills: Exceptional communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership abilities. CGI is required by law in some jurisdictions to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role. The determination of this range includes various factors not limited to skill set, level, experience, relevant training, and licensure and certifications. To support the ability to reward for merit-based performance, CGI typically does not hire individuals at or near the top of the range for their role. Compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumst