Sr. Principal - Information Architect

We are seeking a Sr. Principal - Information Architect & Data Modeling expert to define, design, and govern our enterprise information architecture. The ideal candidate will be a thought leader who sets industry-aligned standards for data modeling and architecture, driving data interoperability, semantic consistency, and enterprise data governance. This role is central to enabling our cloud-native, AI-enabled data platform vision and ensuring trusted, high-quality data is available for business insights and innovation.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Data Architecture & Strategy

• Establish and evolve enterprise information architecture frameworks that align with industry standards.
• Define canonical data models (CDM), shared taxonomies, and reference architectures for use across systems, domains, and APIs.
• Lead the development of enterprise data blueprints for operational, analytical, and AI/ML use cases.
• Drive adoption of data-as-a-product and domain-driven design (DDD) principles to support distributed data ownership.

Data Modeling Excellence

• Set and enforce standards for conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling following best practices (e.g., 3NF, Dimensional Modeling, Data Vault 2.0).
• Lead design reviews to ensure data normalization, referential integrity, metadata completeness, and lineage traceability.
• Champion semantic model design (Looker Modeler / LookML, dbt, Dataform, etc.) for analytics and self-service BI.
• Design and evolve data contracts, ensuring consistency and governance across microservices and data pipelines.

Cloud & Modern Data Platform Enablement

• Architect and oversee cloud-native data solutions on GCP (BigQuery, Dataplex, Dataflow, Pub/Sub, Looker Modeler) or equivalent cloud platforms.
• Ensure alignment of data architecture with MLOps pipelines, real-time data streaming, and AI/ML readiness.
• Promote automation-first approaches for schema management, model validation, and metadata curation.

Data Governance, Compliance & Quality

• Define and implement enterprise data governance standards integrating lineage, stewardship, and data quality KPIs.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA) through model design and data classification strategies.
• Collaborate with Governance and Security teams to embed privacy-by-design and security-by-design principles in data architecture.

Stakeholder Engagement & Influence

• Serve as a key advisor to senior leadership on data architecture decisions and data-driven transformation.
• Partner with engineering, analytics, AI/ML, business, and governance teams to ensure architecture meets evolving needs.
• Translate complex architecture concepts into actionable roadmaps and communicate effectively at all levels of the organization.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in computer science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field.
• 12+ years of experience in enterprise data architecture, data modeling, or information architecture, including 3-5 years at a senior principal, chief architect, or equivalent level.
• Strong proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Java, or Scala, and experience with SQL.
• Proven experience in designing and implementing data architectures, ETL processes, and MLOps practices.
• Knowledge of machine learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch) and experience in deploying ML models in production.
• Demonstrated expertise in:
  
  
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    Data modeling techniques: relational (3NF), dimensional (Kimball), Data Vault 2.0, hierarchical, NoSQL, graph models.
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    Information architecture frameworks: TOGAF, DAMA-DMBOK, DCAM, CDMC.
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    Cloud-native data architecture: GCP (BigQuery, Dataplex, Dataflow), AWS, or Azure equivalents.
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    Semantic modeling for BI / analytics (Looker Modeler / LookML, dbt, Dataform).
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    Metadata management, data lineage, and master/reference data management (MDM/RDM).
  
  
  
  

• Strong knowledge of:
  
  
  • Data governance tools (Collibra, Informatica, Dataplex, Alation, etc.).
  • Regulatory compliance (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA) and data privacy principles.
  • Data contracts, API data modeling, and domain-driven design (DDD).
  
  
  
  

• Experience leading data architecture for:
  
  
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    Data lakehouses, data mesh/data fabric architectures, and multi-cloud strategies.
  • Integration of AI/ML solutions into data architectures.
  
  
  
  
• Exceptional communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience implementing data products in a data mesh or federated architecture.
• Hands-on experience with modern catalog, lineage, and observability tools.
• Experience with event-driven architectures and real-time data streaming patterns.

What Sets You Apart

• You think strategically while remaining hands-on where needed.
• You balance rigor in data design with pragmatism for fast-changing business needs.
• You bring thought leadership in emerging data architecture trends and future-ready solutions.