Senior Database Developer

We are Skyward.
That is, a love for people, for improvement, for human advancement through information technology. We are a people-centered business with a desire to serve others. We are diverse and unified; creative and collaborative; a collection of complementary, not competing talents. And though on the surface we remain relaxed, beneath, a torrent of energy links us to our civic tech mission.
We stand by our values, and we won’t compromise on any of them.
Integrity: We’re conscientious, intentional, and empathetic. Our words and actions align. That’s our character. Please don’t ask us to play another part, we’re poor actors.
Compassionate: If we may borrow a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” Because our team is thoughtful and supportive, caring deeply for each other, our clients, and our work, this comes naturally.
Inquisitive: We remain students by failing openly and turning lessons into solutions.
Unconventional: For us, life isn’t what happens outside of work. Work happens inside of life and our culture erases the line often dividing the two.
Authentic: Made possible only because we embody the values listed above. We’re relaxed and fun yet intensely curious and driven. Team members are placed with thought, care, and precision to ensure that Trust, Truth, and Transparency continue to represent our brand.
Because of that, we continue Onward, Upward, and Skyward.
This position is contingent on contract award**
We need a Senior Database Developer.
Do you speak fluent SQL, dream in schemas, and somehow also happen to be the calmest, most trusted point of contact anyone's ever worked with? Can you architect a data warehouse before lunch and then hop on a call with a federal client without missing a beat? If you're part database whisperer, part professional right-hand-person - equally happy designing a data pipeline as you are owning a client relationship - then we want you to apply.
Come join us if you're motivated to learn from others, to learn from mistakes, to be part of a future-looking and growth-oriented team.
Let's go Skyward together.
What you'll do:
Be the human Rosetta Stone between raw data and real insight. Assess our client's current data systems and design a data management framework that actually makes sense
Build (and guard) a central data repository like it's Fort Knox, but friendlier
Whip messy data into shape with validation rules and automated cleansing. No rogue duplicates on your watch
Set up access controls so the right people see the right data, and only the right data. Least privilege, maximum peace of mind
Build backup and disaster-recovery plans so solid that "we lost the data" becomes a foreign phrase
Automate the boring stuff - data collection, transformation, and reporting pipelines that hum along without someone babysitting them
Keep a living, breathing data dictionary and enforce naming standards, so nobody's guessing what a field actually means ever again
Be THE point of contact for our government client's Contracting Officer and COR. The one name everyone knows to call
Keep a bird's-eye view of everything happening across the contract, including the work of the analysts on your team
Answer the call (literally) within 24 hours, every time. Because reliability is basically your love language
What we'd like you to have:
A bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of experience
Serious database chops: architecture, development, and administration, not just "I know how to write a SELECT statement."
Strong SQL skills. You write queries that are clean, fast, and a little bit beautiful: joins, CTEs, window functions, performance tuning, the works
A solid understanding of report development and automation. You'd rather build a report that runs itself than hit "refresh" every Monday morning
Hands-on experience developing data frameworks. You look at a pile of disconnected tables and think, "Oh, I can fix that."
A general understanding of AWS. You know your way around the cloud well enough to never get lost in it
Experience building or improving a data governance framework (data quality, security, access control. The whole nine yards)
Comfort being the face of a contract. You've been the go-to person a client trusts, not just the person quietly fixing things behind the scenes
A track record of staying cool under a deadline. Federal clients love a fast, calm response
A knack for turning "the data is broken" into an actual fix, calmly, before anyone panics
U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a Public Trust security clearance (non-negotiable for this one - the government's rules, not ours)
What would blow us away:
Prior experience supporting a federal statistical, data, or reporting program
Extra tools in your belt: Python, Java, SQL, and Tableau. Bonus points if you can build a dashboard people actually want to look at
An AWS certification. Official proof that your head is in the cloud (in the best way)
Even if you don't meet 100% of the qualifications, we encourage you to apply. At Skyward, we're focused on hiring individuals with the right skills and passion to grow, not just checking off every box.
And now the important part. What we offer you:
Medical, dental, vision insurance
15 days of paid leave
7 days of sick leave
2 days bereavement leave
11 paid Federal holidays
Up to 40 hours for jury duty
401K with 4% employer contribution (and no vesting period)
Up to 4 weeks of paid paternity and maternity leave
Company provided laptop
$5,000 per year for professional development
$600 per year for technical supplies and equipment
$2,000 referral bonus
Life and disability insurance
HSA and FSA
Legal Shield and ID Shield Voluntary Benefits
Opportunity to work in a collaborative, motivated team focused on modernizing government services with cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions. Who says government work can't be exciting!
At Skyward, we support flexible working hours and remote opportunities to help maintain a healthy work-life balance for all employees.
Offers of employment with Skyward are contingent upon acceptable results of a background investigation.
Applicants must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust security clearance due to the nature of our work as a government contractor.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
We believe great work deserves great pay. That's why we ensure our compensation is not only competitive but also fair and transparent, as required by Maryland law. Expect a salary that matches your skills, experience, and the value you bring to the table — because you're worth it!

Work arrangement
Yes