Software Engineer (Data Engineer) at Ardent Principles, Inc.
Herndon, VA
—
Jul 19, 2026
Herndon, VA
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A full-time, fully onsite data engineering role requiring an active TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph. The work centers on designing and maintaining production data pipelines, writing and optimizing SQL, building API integrations with SaaS platforms, and transforming semi-structured data into structured datasets using Python, cloud platforms, and ETL/ELT patterns. Suits experienced data engineers comfortable working with sparse documentation and complex, multi-source data environments.
Mid level · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
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 Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
An active TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph is explicitly required and is a hard gate for this role.
The role is titled 'Software Engineer (Data Engineer)' with no seniority level in the title; advertised seniority is Unspecified. The requirements describe solid but not exceptional scope (no stated years, no leadership mandate), supporting a Mid-level classification.
SOC classification is Medium confidence: the role is primarily a data pipeline/ETL builder (15-1243 Database Architects), but the emphasis on Python, API integrations, and software engineering best practices gives it meaningful overlap with 15-1252 Software Developers.
Compensation is described only as 'highly competitive salary' with no figures provided.
The 'Highly Desired Qualifications' section is explicitly labeled 'not mandatory,' so all skills drawn from it are marked preferred.
'Data quality checks and validation frameworks' is listed under the required responsibilities section; 'Great Expectations, Soda, or Monte Carlo' appear only under Highly Desired — these are captured as separate skills at their respective levels.
ITSM/ITOM/CMDB knowledge and API gateway platforms appear only under Highly Desired and are omitted as skills because they name no specific tool; the named platforms (ServiceNow, SolarWinds, Forward Networks, NetIM) are captured instead.
Requires a TS/SCI 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
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.