NCAPS-Data Catalog & Metadata Specialist

COLSA•Remote, Alabama, AL

2d•$100,000 - $110,000•Remote

About The Position

COLSA is seeking a Senior Data Catalog & Metadata Specialist to support NASA’s Consolidated Applications and Platform Services (NCAPS) contract, specifically supporting NASA’s Aerospace Capabilities Portfolio Office (ACPO) and its Digital Innovation & Integration Service Capability (DIISC) team. This role will make data across ACPO’s teams, tools, and centers easier to find, understand, and trust by mapping data lineage, establishing a shared data catalog and metadata standards, and driving adoption across the portfolio. This is a fully remote position open to candidates residing in the United States, excluding the following states: AR, CT, DE, HI, IA, KS, MT, NE, NJ, NY, RI, SD, VT, WV, and WY.

Requirements

Senior Data Catalog & Metadata Specialist experience
Experience supporting NASA's Consolidated Applications and Platform Services (NCAPS) contract
Experience supporting NASA's Aerospace Capabilities Portfolio Office (ACPO) and its Digital Innovation & Integration Service Capability (DIISC) team
Ability to make data easier to find, understand, and trust
Experience mapping data lineage
Experience establishing a shared data catalog and metadata standards
Experience driving adoption across a portfolio
Experience creating clear, consistent, searchable records for datasets
Experience building and maintaining taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, and a shared business glossary
Experience defining descriptive metadata and documentation standards
Experience setting cataloging and metadata standards
Experience helping users find data, interpret it correctly, and understand its provenance and limitations
Experience onboarding new datasets and retiring stale ones
Experience documenting provenance and ownership
Experience applying sensitivity and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) classifications
Experience identifying data-quality concerns
Experience mapping data lineage end to end
Experience selecting and onboarding an enterprise data catalog tool (e.g., DataHub, Atlan, Collibra, Alation, Microsoft Purview)
Experience evaluating options, standing up a platform, defining metadata models, and integrating with data sources
Experience ensuring catalog integration with data orchestration tools (e.g., Dagster)
Experience defining and tracking metadata completeness, documentation, and freshness metrics
Experience driving catalog adoption
Experience serving as a point of contact for data information

Responsibilities

Catalog and describe the portfolio’s data by creating clear, consistent, searchable records for datasets so users can find what exists, understand what it is, and determine whether they can use it.
Build and maintain taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, a shared business glossary, and descriptive metadata and documentation standards.
Set the cataloging and metadata standards the data team must follow and help ensure consistent adoption.
Help analysts, engineers, and program staff find the right data, interpret it correctly, and understand its provenance and limitations.
Onboard new datasets and retire stale ones by documenting provenance and ownership, applying sensitivity and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) classifications, and identifying data-quality concerns.
Map the portfolio’s data lineage end to end, including sources, systems, owners, flows, transformations, and downstream consumers.
Work with the team’s manager to select and onboard an enterprise data catalog tool, such as DataHub, Atlan, Collibra, Alation, or Microsoft Purview, including evaluating options, standing up the platform, defining the metadata model, and integrating it with portfolio data sources.
Ensure the catalog integrates effectively with the team’s data orchestration tool, Dagster.
Define and track metadata completeness, documentation, and freshness metrics.
Drive catalog adoption across the portfolio and serve as a point of contact for what data exists, where it resides, and how it should be described and used.