Data Platform Architect at Expression
Falls Church, VA
—
Aug 17, 2026
Falls Church, VA
Sep 25, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A data platform architect role at a defense-focused consultancy, based in Falls Church, VA, supporting DoD and national security clients. The position centers on providing hands-on architectural guidance to delivery teams building data pipelines, analytics workflows, and AI/ML solutions on Databricks and Palantir Foundry. The ideal candidate brings production experience on modern data platforms, strong DataOps/MLOps practices, and the ability to establish technical standards across cross-functional teams in a cleared environment.
Senior level · 5+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Secret clearance · Full-time
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Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
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How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $166,452 (middle half $130,866–$200,954).
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 20, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The clearance requirement is stated as 'Secret/Top Secret' — the role gates on at minimum a Secret clearance, with Top Secret potentially required depending on assignment. Classified as Secret here; hiring managers should confirm the exact level needed.
The 3+ years figure is stated for 'designing or implementing production solutions on Databricks, Palantir Foundry, or similar modern data platforms' — it is a platform-level requirement, not tied to a single named tool, so it is reflected in total experience rather than on any individual skill.
Delta Lake, MLflow, and Unity Catalog are listed in the required qualifications with 'or similar platform-native services' — the qualifier means the specific tool is interchangeable, but hands-on knowledge of Databricks-native capabilities is a hard gate.
Tableau, Power BI, and Qlik Sense appear in the responsibilities section (not a qualifications block) as integration targets, not as skills candidates are gated on.
MAVEN Smart System / Advana experience is listed under Preferred Qualifications alongside prior DoD/IC environment experience.
No compensation figures are provided in the posting.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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