Data Platform Operations Lead (Contract)

540 is seeking a Data Platform Operations Lead to serve as an embedded SME and advisor, driving operational excellence, performance optimization, and production readiness for an AlloyDB-based platform in a FedRAMP High environment. You’ll join a high-impact team supporting a mission-critical data platform built on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In this role, you will bridge the gap between complex database architecture and mission objectives, serving as a strategic liaison to client stakeholders while overseeing the technical evolution of the platform’s operations. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring deep expertise in PostgreSQL, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and cloud-based data platform operations.

Location: Remote friendly within the continental United States
Citizenship & Clearance Requirement: per client requirements, must be a U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance
Education Requirement: Bachelor’s Degree
Contract Duration: Initial 6-month contract (40 hours/week), with strong likelihood of extension and potential for long-term or full-time conversion based on performance and program needs

HOW YOU’LL DRIVE IMPACT

• Serve as an embedded SME and lead advisor for the data platform operations team supporting a production GCP environment
• Drive operational readiness, including development and refinement of runbooks, SOPs, escalation procedures, and day-two support processes
• Provide hands-on support for production incidents, including troubleshooting, root cause analysis (RCA), and long-term remediation
• Monitor system health, logs, and performance metrics to identify risks and optimization opportunities
• Lead PostgreSQL / AlloyDB performance tuning, including indexing strategies, query optimization, and maintenance practices
• Provide guidance across GCP services including Dataflow, BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Cloud Functions, and Dataplex
• Support release management, including database deployments and rollback strategies
• Contribute to resiliency planning, including backup/recovery, disaster recovery (DR), and high availability (HA)
• Develop and maintain operational documentation and technical artifacts aligned to production needs
• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for client stakeholders, providing strategic database roadmaps and defending technical architectural decisions during program reviews

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• 8+ years of experience in data engineering, database engineering, or platform operations 
• Strong experience supporting production data platforms in cloud environments
• Deep, hands-on expertise in PostgreSQL (performance tuning, indexing, query optimization, vacuuming, maintenance)
• Experience supporting PostgreSQL in production at scale (large datasets, high availability environments)
• Experience with AlloyDB or similar PostgreSQL-based managed database services
• Hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform (GCP), including data and streaming services
• Experience with Dataflow, BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Cloud Functions, and/or Dataplex
• Experience with data lifecycle management, retention policies, data governance and cataloging
• Proven experience in production operations, including incident response and root cause analysis
• Hands-on experience with SLIs/SLOs/SLAs, including defining reliability targets, implementing monitoring and using error budgets to guide operational decisions and platform improvements
• Proven track record of institutionalizing operational knowledge through technical writing
• Experience supporting release management and database deployment processes
• Experience working in FedRAMP or regulated cloud environments
• Strong communication skills and ability to work directly with engineering teams and stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership, lead operational efforts, and deliver in a fast-paced environment

NICE TO HAVE SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• Google Cloud certifications (Data Engineer, Cloud Architect, Cloud Database Engineer)
• CompTIA Security+ certification
• Experience supporting systems at or near production launch
• Background in high availability (HA), disaster recovery (DR), and backup strategies
• Experience identifying and resolving performance bottlenecks using logs and system metrics
• Prior experience in a client-facing or embedded advisory role
• Experience working with federal customers or within government contracting environments
• Familiarity with maintaining architecture diagrams and technical documentation repositories
• Experience supporting day-two operations for cloud-native data platforms

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO)

540's policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.