Senior Engineer - MQ-28 Data Architect

Job Description
At Boeing, we innovate and collaborate to make the world a better place. We're committed to fostering an environment for every teammate that's welcoming, respectful and inclusive, with great opportunity for professional growth. Find your future with us.
Location:
Brisbane
Category:
Business Support
Position Type:
Permanent
Job Reference:
BOE/1901693B
Attachments:
No File Attached
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The Opportunity
The Boeing MQ-28 - Ghost Bat is a globally significant program delivering disruptive advantage to support Defence operational capabilities. Developed in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force, it is the first military combat aircraft to be designed, manufactured and assembled in Australia in 50 years.
As MQ-28 expands internationally, the program requires robust, secure and export-compliant data architecture to manage and store data across multiple customer nations.
Role overview
You will partner closely with the MQ-28 Global Digital Ecosystem Principal Engineer to define, implement and govern the MQ-28 enterprise data architecture and reference data platforms. Your role will deliver on the digital architecture and solution patterns that enable global design collaboration for engineering design, flight test, maintenance, logistics and operational analytics.
Key responsibilities

• Define and maintain the MQ-28 enterprise data architecture and data product roadmap in alignment with program strategic roadmaps and product architecture.
• Design reference data platform architectures (cloud, hybrid, and on-prem) to ingest, store, process and serve high-volume flight test, telemetry, sensor and maintenance data at scale.
• Specify data models, canonical schemas, ontologies and metadata standards to enable cross-domain interoperability (engineering, operations, logistics, analytics).
• Establish data governance, stewardship, cataloguing and lifecycle policies that incorporate export control, data rights, IP, and cross-jurisdictional access constraints.
• Define secure data integration and exchange patterns.
• Develop architectures for efficient analytics and ML/AI workflows (data lakes, feature stores, data warehouses, MLOps pipelines) supporting test analysis, performance trending and predictive maintenance.
• Create reference implementation patterns and reusable data platform blueprints for supplier/partner onboarding and rapid capability delivery.
• Collaborate with security, export control, legal and compliance teams to ensure architecture meet export constraints and national security requirements.
• Define interoperability contracts, APIs, data contracts and SLAs for internal systems and external partners/nations.
• Lead data migrations, ingestion design and coexistence strategies for existing PLM/ALM/SE systems and new data platforms.
• Produce architecture artefacts including data flow diagrams, logical & physical data models, data lifecycle diagrams, capacity & cost models and interface specifications.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to data engineers, platform teams and stakeholders.
• Communicate architecture rationale, risks, cost/benefit tradeoffs and timelines to program leadership and international partners.

Essential skills & experience

• Proven experience as a Data Architect or Senior Data Engineering/Architecture role on complex, multi-stakeholder defence, aerospace or mission-critical programs
• Expertise designing large-scale data platforms: data lakes, data warehouses, streaming platforms, feature stores and analytical pipelines
• Strong experience with cloud data architectures (AWS/Azure/GCP) and hybrid/on-premises integration in regulated environments
• Deep understanding of data modelling (relational, time-series, event-sourced), metadata, master data management and ontologies
• Practical experience with ingestion and integration patterns (e.g. Kafka/streaming, ETL/ELT, CDC, APIs, message buses and batch processing)
• Experience implementing data security controls and familiarity with cyber control frameworks (e.g. Essential 8, ISM, NIST800-43)
• Familiarity with export control frameworks (ITAR/EAR or equivalents), data sovereignty requirements and contractual data/IP rights
• Australian Citizenship (required for Defence security clearance).

Desirable skills & experience

• Hands-on with data platform technologies and tools such as AWS (S3, Glue, Kinesis, Redshift, SageMaker), Azure (Data Lake, Event Hubs, Synapse, ML), GCP (BigQuery, Dataflow), Kafka, Snowflake, Databricks, Postgres/TimescaleDB.
• Familiarity with PLM/ALM/SE ecosystems and integrating engineering toolchains into data platforms.
• Experience with observability, data lineage and catalog tools (OpenLineage, Amundsen, DataHub, Collibra).
• Knowledge of ML/AI operationalisation, feature stores and MLOps practices.
• Scripting and automation skills (Python, CI/CD tooling) to support prototype and reference implementations.
• Prior exposure to global defence programs or multi-national supplier networks.

Other benefits

• Work on cutting edge projects with opportunities to work across platforms
• Attractive remuneration and annual bonus
• Formal reward and recognition program
• Access discounts for health insurance, travel and accommodation
• Paid parental leave and Defence leave
• Salary packaging options available
• Health and wellbeing benefits include annual flu vaccinations and Employee Assistance Program
• Social and community groups

BDA works with strong links with our global Boeing community, and we strongly encourage collaboration with our international counterparts.
We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Female applicants, people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island descent and veterans are encouraged to apply.
Please note, this role will be shortlisted in 2026. Your patience is appreciated.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not accept unlawful discrimination in our recruitment or employment practices on any grounds including but not limited to; race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military and veteran status, or other characteristics covered by applicable law.
We have teams in more than 65 countries, and each person plays a role in helping us become one of the world's most innovative, diverse and inclusive companies. We are proud members of the Valuable 500 and welcome applications from candidates with disabilities. Applicants are encouraged to share with our recruitment team any accommodations required during the recruitment process. Accommodations may include but are not limited to: conducting interviews in accessible locations that accommodate mobility needs, encouraging candidates to bring and use any existing assistive technology such as screen readers and offering flexible interview formats such as virtual or phone interviews.