Data Steward - Secret Clearance - Norfolk, Va.

About the role

We are looking for a dedicated Data Steward to define, maintain, and champion authoritative data definitions, business rules, and metadata standards across mission‑critical domains. In this role, you will serve as the primary stewardship point of contact and authoritative voice on data meaning, fitness‑for‑use, trustworthiness, and operational applicability. You will design and document logical and physical data architectures, data models, interface contracts, and APIs while ensuring data handling practices strictly align with security, classification, governance, and compliance requirements. Partnering closely with engineers, architects, leadership, and mission stakeholders, you will validate data readiness for analytics, resolve cross‑domain data disputes, and oversee operational data flows to ensure optimal situational awareness and decision support. This position requires working onsite full‑time with occasional travel (up to 15% of the time), primarily to Scott AFB in O'Fallon, IL, and/or MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL.

Responsibilities

• Governance & Standardization: Define, maintain, and document authoritative data definitions, business rules, metadata standards, and approved data sources.
• Data Architecture & Modeling: Design and document logical/physical data architectures, data models, integration patterns, interface contracts, APIs, schemas, and message formats.
• Quality & Compliance: Apply and validate data handling practices in alignment with security, classification, governance, and compliance requirements; conduct routine data quality reviews and corrective actions.
• Cross‑Functional Stewardship: Serve as the authoritative voice on data meaning and trustworthiness, resolving cross‑domain data disputes and definition conflicts.
• Operational Alignment: Oversee operational data flows across mission areas to identify gaps or redundancies, providing operational context and subject‑matter expertise to engineering and analytics teams.
• Reporting & Audit Support: Enable dashboards, analytics, operational planning, and audit readiness by ensuring data is structured, documented, governed, and accessible.

Requirements

• Security Clearance: Active, fully adjudicated Secret‑level clearance granted by the U.S. Government.
• Professional Experience: Experience supporting enterprise or operational data governance, stewardship, metadata management, and data quality practices.
• Governance & Modeling Knowledge: Strong understanding of data governance, authoritative data source management, data models, business rules, metadata standards, and data definitions.
• Architecture Familiarity: Knowledge of enterprise data architecture, integration concepts, APIs, schemas, interface standards, and security/compliance data handling requirements.
• Collaboration & Communication: Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and documentation skills to bridge technical, operational, and leadership teams.
• Work Arrangement & Adaptability: Self‑motivated, comfortable working independently in ambiguous environments, willing to obtain required certifications, and able to work onsite full‑time with up to 15% travel (primarily to Scott AFB and/or MacDill AFB).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Department of Defense (DoD) or federal operational environments and mission command / C2 data contexts.
• Familiarity with operational planning, readiness, and enterprise data governance initiatives.
• Experience supporting data integration, reporting, dashboards, decision‑support tools, and audit/compliance activities.