Metadata & Governance SME

Overview: Nakupuna Federal, as part of the NFB Joint Venture, is seeking a Metadata & Governance Subject Matter Expert (SME) to design and implement metadata frameworks, catalog configurations, and governance models for the Defense Health Agency (DHA). This role will ensure that DHA’s clinical, operational, and readiness data can be trusted, discoverable, and reusable across the enterprise. The Metadata & Governance SME will play a critical role in advancing DHA’s mission to safeguard sensitive healthcare data, enhance interoperability, and strengthen military readiness. This individual will work closely with technical teams and DHA stakeholders to embed governance into workflows, enforce data stewardship, and align catalog practices with DoD standards. As part of the NFB JV team, the Metadata & Governance SME will directly support the achievement of ten program objectives, with emphasis on:

• Metadata Management (Obj. 2): Designing schemas, configuring repositories, and enforcing standards for enrichment and lineage.
• Federated Governance (Obj. 3): Establishing governance workflows, roles, and decision rights.
• Lifecycle Governance (Obj. 5): Developing machine-readable contracts and compliance monitoring processes.
• AI/ML Integration (Obj. 9): Ensuring metadata, lineage, and governance practices enable DHA’s Responsible AI objectives.

The Metadata & Governance SME will contribute to the delivery of key artifacts including metadata schemas, configured repositories, lineage visualizations, governance playbooks, lifecycle contracts, and compliance enforcement reports. Responsibilities: The following reflects management’s definition of essential functions for this job but does not restrict the tasks that may be assigned. Management may assign additional duties and responsibilities to this job at any time due to reasonable accommodation or other reasons.

• Design and implement metadata schemas, repositories, and classification rules for DHA’s enterprise data catalog.
• Define data stewardship roles, governance workflows, and federated decision-making processes.
• Develop machine-readable data contracts and enforce lifecycle governance standards across domains.
• Ensure metadata enrichment and lineage are validated and meet compliance requirements for PHI/PII/CUI.
• Contribute to AI/ML readiness by embedding explainability, lineage, and compliance into catalog design.
• Collaborate with analysts, engineers, and DHA stakeholders to align governance practices with mission needs.
• Support production of governance playbooks, compliance traceability matrices, and metadata enrichment reports.
• Conduct training and knowledge transfer sessions to build governance maturity within DHA.
• Provide ongoing recommendations for improving DHA’s metadata and governance ecosystem based on best practices.

Additional Internal Corporate Duties:

• Grow People: Take ownership of your work and actively contribute to team success by sharing expertise, mentoring colleagues, and supporting leadership development at every level.
• Always Deliver: Consistently meet or exceed quality standards, ensuring accuracy and timeliness of assigned tasks and deliverables in support of DHA and Nakupuna Federal.
• Continually Add Value: Demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit by identifying opportunities for process improvements, creative solutions, and innovation that strengthen both project.

Qualifications: Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Information Management, Computer Science, or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 8–10+ years of experience with metadata management, catalog configuration (e.g., Collibra, Alation, Talend), and data governance in a federal or healthcare setting

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience supporting the Military Health System or DHA data initiatives.
• Prior work with DoD enterprise data platforms such as ADVANA, VAULTIS, VANTAGE, or MAVEN.
• Proven ability to design and enforce metadata frameworks that enable interoperability with DoD and DHA systems.
• Experience developing and implementing federated governance playbooks.
• Knowledge of DoD Responsible AI principles and metadata requirements for AI/ML workflows.
• Experience evaluating and recommending COTS enterprise data catalog solutions, ensuring cost-effectiveness, scalability, and security.

Certifications (Preferred): Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) or DAMA; ITIL or CGRC (formerly CAP). Clearance Requirements:

• Must have the ability to obtain a Secret clearance.
• Demonstrated understanding of HIPAA, PHI/PII/CUI protections, and compliance with NIST SP 800-171 and DFARS 252.204-7012.

Travel Requirements: Ability to travel up to 10% of the time to DHA HQ, stakeholder sites, or partner facilities across CONUS. Work Location: Hybrid work environment at Nakupuna Federal offices (Arlington, VA), DHA HQ (Falls Church, VA), and remote work as approved. Core work hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed. Physical Requirements: The ideal candidate must at a minimum be able to meet the following physical requirements of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation:

• Ability to perform repetitive motions with the hands, wrists, and fingers.
• Ability to engage in and follow audible communications in emergency situations.
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods at a desk and working on a computer.

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