Senior Data Engineer (Ontology & Knowledge Graph Systems)

Senior Data Engineer (Ontology & Knowledge Graph Systems)

We are seeking a Senior Data Engineer to design and implement a semantic data layer that unifies complex data assets across domains. This role focuses on building Palantir-style ontology and knowledge graph systems using open-source technologies to enable interpretability, analytics, and AI-driven workflows.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable ontology or knowledge graph models representing business and technical domains.
• Build and maintain data pipelines (batch and streaming) for ingesting, transforming, and mapping heterogeneous data into semantic structures.
• Develop and optimize storage and query layers using graph databases or RDF/OWL frameworks (e.g., Neo4j, Apache Jena, TerminusDB).
• Integrate with APIs and orchestration systems to operationalize actions and workflows on ontology objects.
• Implement and maintain SPARQL, Cypher, or GraphQL interfaces for downstream applications.
• Collaborate with data scientists and AI teams to expose graph-based features for modeling and analytics.
• Ensure data lineage, versioning, and governance of ontology schemas and transformations.
• Establish telemetry, metrics, and automated tests for data quality and consistency.
• Mentor other engineers on semantic modeling, data integration patterns, and graph-based system design.

Required Skills and Experience

• 6+ years of experience in data engineering, with strong background in distributed data systems.
• Expertise in data modeling, ontology design (RDF/OWL), and graph data structures.
• Proficiency with graph databases (Neo4j, TerminusDB, ArangoDB) and query languages (SPARQL, Cypher, GraphQL).
• Hands-on experience with Apache Spark or similar distributed data processing frameworks.
• Strong understanding of ETL/ELT workflows and data integration across multiple systems.
• Proficiency in Python, Scala, or Java.
• Experience designing and managing APIs, preferably GraphQL-based data access layers.
• Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools (Airflow, Temporal, Camunda) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Strong knowledge of data governance, schema evolution, and version control for ontology/data models.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills for working with cross-functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with semantic web technologies (RDF, OWL, SHACL).
• Background in AI/ML pipelines leveraging graph or semantic data.
• Understanding of reasoning and inference systems.
• Experience with cloud-based data platforms (AWS, GCP, or Azure).

Impact

This role will define the foundation of our semantic data architecture creating a unified, interpretable data layer that powers decision intelligence, analytics, and AI-driven systems across the organization.