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Freelance Data Platform Engineer Jobs in Virginia

Data Platform Architect

Falls Church, VA ยท On-site

$68 - $87.50/hr

T. is partnering with Expression to find a Data Platform Engineer . See details below: About The Role: Expression is seeking an experienced Data Platform Architect to provide architectural guidance ...

Data Platform Architect

Falls Church, VA

$68 - $87.50/hr

T. is partnering with Expression to find a Data Platform Engineer . See details below: About The Role: Expression is seeking an experienced Data Platform Architect to provide architectural guidance ...

Data Platform Architect

Falls Church, VA ยท On-site

$140 - $190/hr

T. is partnering with Expression to find a Data Platform Engineer . See details below: About The Role: Expression is seeking an experienced Data Platform Architect to provide architectural guidance ...

MLOps Platform Engineer The Data Modeling Analytics & AI Engineering team is seeking an experienced MLOps Platform Engineer to design, build, and support enterprise-grade machine learning operations ...

MLOps Platform Engineer The Data Modeling Analytics & AI Engineering team is seeking an experienced MLOps Platform Engineer to design, build, and support enterprise-grade machine learning operations ...

We are seeking a Platform Engineer to design, implement, and maintain the infrastructure that ... If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

AI Platform Engineer Company Overview Glint Tech Solutions is a women-owned global staffing and IT ... Implement HIPAA, CMS, and Zero Data Retention compliance controls including audit logging and ...

Platform Engineer

Hampton, VA ยท On-site

$75K - $158K/yr

The Platform Engineer will be designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise Cross Domain Solution (CDS) platforms that enable secure data sharing between classified and unclassified environments.

Platform Engineer

Hampton, VA ยท On-site

$75K - $158K/yr

Design, engineer, and maintain enterprise CDS platforms to ensure secure, reliable crossdomain data transfer Administer and configure user interface applications and external services to deliver ...

Showing results 21-40

Freelance Data Platform Engineer information

What is a freelance data platform engineer?

A Freelance Data Platform Engineer is a professional who designs, builds, and maintains data infrastructure and platforms on a project or contract basis, rather than as a full-time employee. They work with clients to develop scalable and efficient data solutions, such as data warehouses, ETL pipelines, and cloud-based data systems. Their responsibilities often include integrating various data sources, ensuring data quality, and optimizing data workflows to support analytics and business intelligence. Freelance Data Platform Engineers typically have expertise in databases, cloud services, programming, and data architecture. They offer flexibility and specialized skills to organizations that need temporary or project-based support.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a freelance data platform engineer?

To thrive as a Freelance Data Platform Engineer, you need strong skills in data architecture, ETL processes, and cloud platform management, typically supported by a degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with tools like SQL, Python, Spark, AWS, Azure, and certifications such as AWS Certified Data Analytics or Google Cloud Data Engineer are highly valuable. Effective client communication, problem-solving, and project management skills help you stand out, especially when coordinating independently with multiple stakeholders. These competencies ensure you can design scalable solutions, deliver projects efficiently, and build strong client relationships in a dynamic freelance environment.

How do freelance data platform engineers typically manage collaboration with clients and remote teams?

Freelance Data Platform Engineers often collaborate with clients and distributed teams using project management tools, version control systems, and regular virtual meetings. Clear communication is essential for aligning on data requirements, setting expectations, and providing progress updates. It's common to work asynchronously, so documenting work and maintaining transparent workflows help ensure smooth handoffs. Building trust and reliability is key to fostering long-term client relationships in a freelance setting.

What is the difference between Freelance Data Platform Engineer vs Data Engineer?

AspectFreelance Data Platform EngineerData Engineer
CredentialsRelevant certifications (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure), technical skillsSimilar certifications, technical skills, often full-time roles
Work EnvironmentIndependent, project-based, remote or on-siteFull-time, in-house or remote
Employer & Industry UsageFreelance platforms, consulting firms, startupsTech companies, finance, healthcare, large enterprises
Search & Comparison IntentYes, for freelance opportunities or project-based workYes, for full-time or contract roles

In summary, Freelance Data Platform Engineers typically work independently on short-term projects, requiring similar skills and certifications as Data Engineers but with a focus on flexibility and client-based work. Data Engineers often work full-time within organizations, focusing on building and maintaining data infrastructure.

How much do freelance data platform engineers make?

Freelance data platform engineers typically earn between $50 and $150 per hour, depending on experience, skills, and project complexity. Experienced professionals with expertise in cloud platforms, data pipelines, and tools like Apache Spark or Kafka tend to command higher rates. Annual earnings vary widely based on workload and client base, often ranging from $80,000 to over $200,000 for full-time equivalent work.

What are the most commonly searched types of Data Platform Engineer jobs in Virginia?

The most popular types of Data Platform Engineer jobs in Virginia are:

What job categories do people searching Freelance Data Platform Engineer jobs in Virginia look for?

The top searched job categories for Freelance Data Platform Engineer jobs in Virginia are:

What cities in Virginia are hiring for Freelance Data Platform Engineer jobs?

Cities in Virginia with the most Freelance Data Platform Engineer job openings:

Data Platform Architect

Hatch IT

Falls Church, VA โ€ข On-site

$68 - $87.50/hr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 16 days ago


Job description

hatch I.T. is partnering with Expression to find a Data Platform Engineer. See details below:
About The Role:
Expression is seeking an experienced Data Platform Architect to provide architectural guidance, technical standards, and operational support for teams delivering secure, scalable data, analytics, and AI/ML solutions in mission environments.
The Data Platform Architect will work across engineering, data science, analytics, platform, and mission teams to guide implementation in Databricks and Palantir Foundry. This role will help delivery teams structure data pipelines, data products, analytics and ML workflows, and platform assets so solutions are consistent, reusable, governed, supportable, and production-ready.
The successful candidate will provide hands-on guidance spanning data integration, DataOps, DevOps, MLOps, governance, security, compliance, performance optimization, and platform operations while helping teams move solutions from prototypes into reliable production environments.
Location and Clearance:
  • Clearance: Secret/Top Secret clearance required
  • Location: Falls Church, VA

About the Company:
Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Washington DC, Expression provides data fusion, data analytics, software engineering, information technology, and electromagnetic spectrum management solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, and national security community. Expression's "Perpetual Innovation" culture focuses on creating immediate and sustainable value for their clients via agile delivery of tailored solutions built through constant engagement with their clients. Expression was ranked #1 on the Washington Technology 2018's Fast 50 list of fastest growing small business Government contractors and a Top 20 Big Data Solutions Provider by CIO Review.
Responsibilities:
  • Provide hands-on architectural guidance to teams implementing data pipelines, analytics workflows, data products, and AI/ML capabilities in Databricks and Palantir Foundry.
  • Guide selection and implementation of platform-native capabilities for data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, model execution, analytics, and data-product delivery.
  • Advise teams on appropriate use of Databricks, Foundry, and integrated cross-platform architectures.
  • Guide the transition of prototypes and notebook-based solutions into reliable, maintainable production workflows.
  • Establish and maintain technical standards for project structure, code organization, pipeline design, workflow orchestration, testing, metadata, lineage, documentation, and platform implementation.
  • Develop reusable templates, reference architectures, and implementation patterns that improve consistency and accelerate delivery.
  • Promote scalable approaches including medallion architecture, governed data publishing, reusable transformation logic, and shared analytics and ML components.
  • Conduct technical reviews and provide actionable guidance to improve scalability, maintainability, reliability, and supportability.
  • Guide CI/CD implementation for jobs, pipelines, notebooks, packaged code, models, and data products.
  • Establish operational practices for deployment, environment promotion, monitoring, alerting, rollback, release management, observability, lineage, and data-quality validation.
  • Promote reproducible MLOps practices for model training, validation, packaging, registration, deployment, monitoring, batch inference, and lifecycle management using MLflow, Databricks workflows, and related capabilities.
  • Design scalable ML inference approaches supporting production workloads and establish monitoring for model performance, data drift, and system health.
  • Support self-service ML capabilities that enable data scientists to efficiently deploy and monitor models.
  • Define integration patterns for onboarding data sources, managing schema evolution, and connecting Databricks and Foundry with enterprise systems, applications, data warehouses, streaming platforms, APIs, and BI tools.
  • Guide implementation of secure access controls, governed data sharing, metadata management, data catalogs, lineage, traceability, and audit-ready workflows.
  • Establish data-quality standards and automated testing approaches for analytical and ML workloads.
  • Partner with stakeholders to define data definitions, business logic, governance requirements, and compliant handling of structured and unstructured data.
  • Advise teams on Spark optimization, workload design, workflow dependencies, storage and compute utilization, and other platform-performance considerations.
  • Identify and help resolve architecture, integration, reliability, and performance issues affecting production jobs, data products, and operational analytics.
  • Design data models supporting machine learning, analytics, and business intelligence requirements, including integrations with Tableau, Power BI, and Qlik Sense.
  • Build and support integrations with MAVEN Smart Systems/Palantir Foundry environments and other enterprise systems.
  • Collaborate with engineers, data scientists, BI analysts, product managers, platform and security teams, and mission stakeholders to align architecture decisions with delivery priorities.
  • Participate in design sessions, technical reviews, sprint activities, demonstrations, and cross-team problem solving.
  • Maintain technical documentation supporting implementation consistency, reuse, operational handoff, and long-term supportability.

Qualifications:
  • 5+ years of technical experience, including 3+ years designing or implementing production solutions on Databricks, Palantir Foundry, or similar modern data platforms.
  • Strong experience with Python, SQL, PySpark, and Spark SQL for scalable data-processing workflows.
  • Experience with Palantir Foundry or comparable enterprise analytics platforms, including pipeline development, governed data delivery, lineage, and operational analytics.
  • Experience designing and operationalizing data pipelines, transformation workflows, and data products supporting structured and unstructured data.
  • Hands-on knowledge of Databricks platform capabilities such as Delta Lake, Workflows, MLflow, Unity Catalog, or similar platform-native services.
  • Familiarity with DataOps, DevOps, and MLOps practices, including CI/CD, version control, testing, deployment, monitoring, and operational support.
  • Strong understanding of data quality, metadata management, lineage, access control, and governance within secure or regulated environments.
  • Experience troubleshooting architecture, integration, performance, and operational issues across distributed data platforms.
  • Ability to establish technical standards, guide architecture and implementation decisions, and clearly communicate technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Deep Databricks expertise, including medallion architecture, Delta optimization, workload tuning, cluster and job strategy, and production ML enablement.
  • Experience implementing solutions in Palantir Foundry, including data-pipeline organization, governed data assets, operational workflows, and integrations.
  • Experience with Git-based CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure and deployment tooling, and cloud-native platform services.
  • Experience supporting the ML lifecycle, including model packaging, registration, deployment, monitoring, and inference-workflow integration.
  • Knowledge of enterprise data integration, API-based data exchange, and secure cross-platform interoperability.
  • Experience with Advana/MAVEN Smart System (Palantir Foundry) or similar DoD enterprise analytics environments.
  • Prior experience supporting Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, or other Federal mission environments.

Benefits:
Expression offers competitive salaries and benefits, such as:
  • 401k matching
  • PPO and HDHP medical/dental/vision insurance
  • Education reimbursement
  • Complimentary life insurance
  • Generous PTO and holiday leave
  • Onsite office gym access
  • Commuter Benefits Plan

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.