Database Engineer Jobs in Virginia
Database Engineer jobs in Virginia are in high demand, concentrated in defense contracting, federal IT services, cloud infrastructure, and financial technology, with openings at every level from entry-level associate to senior architect. The largest hiring activity clusters around Northern Virginia, Richmond, and the Hampton Roads area, where established employers such as Booz Allen Hamilton, SAIC, and Capital One consistently recruit database engineers. SQL optimization, cloud database platforms like AWS RDS and Azure SQL, and data warehousing are the most sought-after specialties across Virginia listings. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Job ID: 2618546
Location: Springfield, VA, US
Date Posted: 2026-10-28
Category: Information Technology
Subcategory: Database Engr
Schedule: Full-Time
Shift: Day Job
Travel: No
Minimum Clearance Required: Top_Secret
Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: TS/SCI
Potential for Remote Work: ORA_ON_SITE
Description
SAIC is hiring a COMSEC Database Management Engineer in Springfield, VA to own the data behind cryptographic accountability for a global federal mission. The COMSEC Material Control System is an authoritative record of what cryptographic material exists, who holds it, where it moved, and when it was destroyed. You will keep that system running today and design, build, and deploy its replacement.
The role runs on two tracks on purpose. Accountability does not pause for modernization, and the hardest part of the new build is not the new schema — it is understanding what is in the legacy record well enough to carry it forward without losing a transaction. You will do both, which is why this job develops a skill set the market is short of.
What You Will Do:
- Operate the current CMCS database and application in production — availability, backup and recovery, performance tuning, patching, and release deployment.
- Design the Next-Generation CMCS data model: inventory, accounts, custodian and hand receipt chains, chain-of-custody history, destruction records, and access authorizations.
- Build a tiered architecture that separates data by classification and by audience, with access enforced at the row level in the database rather than only in the application.
- Implement an append-only audit architecture where every accountability event carries actor, timestamp, and source, and corrections are new entries rather than overwrites.
- Develop database services and APIs, managed through version control, peer review, and versioned schema migrations in a CI pipeline.
- Integrate CMCS with the systems that generate COMSEC events, including Key Management Infrastructure and federal access management systems supporting personnel onboarding and offboarding.
- Migrate the legacy record — profile it, design the transformation rules, and prove record count, balance, and transaction history parity through automated reconciliation before cutover.
- Provide Tier II and Tier III application support, resolving data errors, failed transactions, and reported discrepancies.
Why This Role: This is a system of record being rebuilt, not a maintenance seat. You will make the data architecture decisions, then live with them through migration and into production — and few engineers anywhere combine modern data platform skill with real cryptographic accountability depth. There is a defined path toward Senior Database Engineer, CMCS Solution Architect, and engineering leadership.
Qualifications
Required Education & Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline and 9 years of experience; Masters and 7 years; 4 additional years of relevant experience may substitute for the degree.
5 years of database engineering or development experience.
Proven relational data modeling for transactional systems of record — normalization, referential integrity, constraint design, and audit trail architecture.
Production DBA experience on an enterprise platform (Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL): backup and recovery, performance tuning, index and query optimization, high availability.
Advanced SQL and stored procedure development, plus one general-purpose language for data services and automation.
Experience building system-to-system interfaces — API, message-based, or ETL — with real error handling and reconciliation.
Hands-on legacy data migration experience: profiling, transformation design, and proving the migration was complete and accurate.
Working knowledge of federal database security requirements — access control, encryption, audit logging, and the evidence an Assessment and Authorization needs.
Required Clearance:
US Citizenship.
Active top secret clearance with SCI eligibility.
Nice to Have:
Experience with CMCS, KMI, or another cryptographic accountability system.
Experience building systems that must produce defensible audit evidence under external inspection — property, custody, controlled substances, or financial accountability all count.
Multi-level or compartmented data architectures where classification or need-to-know is enforced in the data tier.
Near real-time dashboards and reporting against a transactional system without degrading transaction performance.
Familiarity with COMSEC accountability concepts: CCI handling, hand receipts, SF-153 transfers, inventory reconciliation, destruction reporting.
Agile delivery with JIRA and CI pipelines in a federal accredited environment; ServiceNow ITSM and CMDB.
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Where Virginia roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Database Engineer Job Market in Virginia
A snapshot from current Virginia openings, updated as new roles post.
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What Virginia Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in database engineer jobs across Virginia.
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a closely related field
- Proficiency in SQL and at least one major database platform such as Oracle, PostgreSQL, or Microsoft SQL Server
- Experience designing, implementing, and tuning relational and cloud-based database systems
- Familiarity with cloud environments including AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform
- Understanding of database security, backup and recovery procedures, and performance monitoring
- Active security clearance or eligibility to obtain one, particularly for Northern Virginia defense roles
Database Engineer Jobs in Virginia: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a database engineer in Virginia?
Virginia does not require a state-issued license to work as a database engineer, so the path runs through education and certification. Most hiring managers in Virginia expect a bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field. Vendor certifications such as Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate or Oracle Database certifications carry significant weight. For roles tied to federal agencies and defense contractors in Northern Virginia, obtaining a security clearance early is a practical advantage.
How much do database engineers make in Virginia?
Database engineers in Virginia earn a median of about $93,320 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $60,840 for the lowest 10% to over $160,190 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire database engineers in Virginia?
Employers hiring database engineers in Virginia right now include Booz Allen Hamilton, Appian, and Amazon Web Services, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Virginia's concentration of federal agencies, defense contractors, and large financial services firms means demand stays consistent year-round across the state.
Which Virginia cities have the most database engineer jobs?
McLean, Reston, and Herndon have the most database engineer openings in Virginia. Northern Virginia dominates because of its dense cluster of federal agencies, defense contractors, and cloud infrastructure firms, while Richmond draws demand from financial services and healthcare IT employers, and Hampton Roads reflects consistent hiring from Navy and military-adjacent technology operations.
Are there remote database engineer jobs in Virginia?
Yes, and more than most technical fields. About 75% of database engineer openings tied to Virginia are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting how much of the work involves writing queries, managing cloud instances, and monitoring systems that require no physical presence. Database administration and cloud database management tend to be the most remote-friendly sub-roles, while positions requiring hands-on hardware or classified government network access are typically on-site.
How can I get hired as a database engineer in Virginia with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is targeting junior database administrator or data analyst roles, which Virginia employers such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, and Capital One regularly staff at the associate level. Building a portfolio of personal or academic database projects and earning an entry-level certification like Microsoft's Azure Data Fundamentals strengthens applications significantly. Community colleges across Virginia, including Northern Virginia Community College, offer database coursework that feeds directly into associate-level hiring pipelines for local employers.
Where can I find and apply to database engineer jobs in Virginia?
You can find and apply to database engineer jobs in Virginia on Migrate Mate, which lists current Virginia openings updated regularly. Find roles that fit your experience and location and apply directly to the employers posting them.
See All 28 Database Engineer Jobs in Virginia
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