Freelance Python Data Analysis Jobs in Charleston, SC

Five Rivers Analytics is seeking a versatile and driven Data Engineer with strong hands-on expertise in Databricks. This is a remote role based in South Carolina and the qualified candidate will be responsible for building, optimizing, and maintaining robust data pipelines, with a particular focus on reliably capturing source changes and preserving historical truth. The ideal candidate understands how to structure scalable data Lakehouse's using Delta Lake, write highly optimized SQL and Python, and implement Change Data Capture (CDC) and Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) architectures. You will deliver secure, auditable, and high-performance data products to empower our downstream data consumers. This is in support of the Logistics Analytics Data Services (LADS) program for the Marine Corps.

Responsibilities

Data Engineering, CDC & Pipeline Development

• Pipeline Orchestration: Design, build, and maintain scalable batch and streaming ETL/ELT pipelines using Python, SQL, and built-in Databricks Workflows.

• Change Data Capture (CDC): Establish efficient pipelines to ingest incremental source changes (inserts, updates, and deletes) into the lakehouse using native Databricks capabilities.

• Lakehouse Architecture: Implement and manage data layouts using the Medallion Architecture (Bronze, Silver, Gold layers) to clean, enrich, and optimize structured and semi-structured datasets.

• Data Governance & Security: Administer schemas, catalogs, and secure access permissions using Unity Catalog to ensure strict data governance.

• Performance Tuning: Optimize SQL queries, caching, indexing, and cluster configurations to reduce execution times and platform compute costs.

Historical Dimensional Modeling & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• SCD & History Implementation: Design and implement robust Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) patterns and historical truth tables in Delta Lake.

• Requirements & Collaboration: Work closely with dashboard developers, data analysts, and data scientists to deeply understand and capture their data requirements.

• Source System Mastery: Proactively investigate and learn about various source systems to understand how they work and how data is generated and extracted.

• Data Modeling: Create clean, optimized, and reusable semantic data models in Databricks SQL that serve as the "single source of truth" for the business.

Data Quality & Operations

• CI/CD & Git Integration: Implement software development best practices using Git integration in Databricks Repos for version control, code review, and automated deployments.

• Data Quality Monitoring: Implement automated data validation, logging, and alerting systems using native Databricks data quality tools to ensure high data integrity.

Qualifications

• Current and active Secret security clearance

• Bachelor’s degree in CS, IT, Engineering, Math, or related field, or equivalent experience.

• 8+ years' experience (Bachelor’s) or 6+ years (Master’s).

• Strong understanding of relational database principles, indexing, transaction management, and query optimization.

• Hands-on experience with SQL

• Knowledge of database security controls and encryption

• Experience in Agile/SAFe environments

Preferred Qualification:

• Experience modeling data for use in Foundry (Ontologies).

Job ID

2026-24960

Work Type

Remote

Pay Range

$140,000 - $160,000

Benefits

Regular - The company offers a comprehensive benefits program, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) and a range of other voluntary benefits. Paid Time Off (PTO) is offered to regular full-time and part-time employees.

Company Description

Work Where it Matters

Five Rivers Analytics (FRA), an Akima company, is not just another federal IT contractor. As an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC), our mission and purpose extend beyond our exciting federal projects as we support our shareholder communities in Alaska.

At FRA, the work you do every day makes a difference in the lives of our 15,000 Iñupiat shareholders, a group of Alaska natives from one of the most remote and harshest environments in the United States.

For our shareholders , FRA provides support and employment opportunities and contributes to the survival of a culture that has thrived above the Arctic Circle for more than 10,000 years.

For our government customers , FRA delivers streamline operations in support of an increasingly fast-paced, complex, and dynamic digital environment.

As a FRA employee , you will be surrounded by a challenging, yet supportive work environment that is committed to innovation and diversity, two of our most important values. You will also have access to our comprehensive benefits and competitive pay in addition to growth opportunities and excellent retirement options.

We are an equal opportunity employer and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, gender or gender-identity, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability, pregnancy or parental status, or any other basis prohibited by law. If you are an individual with a disability, or have known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us at job-assist@akima.com or 571-353-7053 (information about job applications status is not available at this contact information).