AI-First Data Architect: Semantic Layers & Ontology

JLL; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

JLL seeks a hands-on Principal Data Architect to transform data consumption and establish AI/BI practices. You will define enterprise semantic layers and context models, enabling AI-powered consumption for business lines.

You will collaborate with product and platform teams to scale solutions across the organization and champion data-driven decision making. The role requires senior leadership, hands-on implementation, and mentorship for engineers, with focus on Databricks, cloud-native data

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of experience in enterprise data architecture or leadership roles.
• Proven experience building semantic layers and enterprise ontologies for AI-driven consumption.
• Experience with cloud-native data platforms and Databricks stack.
• Strong communication skills for executive-level storytelling.

Responsibilities

• Define strategic direction for JLL's AI/BI ecosystem and semantic/context layers.
• Design ontologies, knowledge graphs, and semantic models for intelligent data discovery.
• Architect analytical data models and dimensional designs for traditional analytics and AI use cases.
• Lead cloud-native data architecture initiatives leveraging Databricks on Azure or AWS.
• Build and deploy AI-first data consumption solutions including Text-to-SQL agents and MCP integration.
• Mentor technical leads and engineers, driving architectural excellence and governance.

Skills

Semantic modeling

Enterprise ontology

Context layer architecture

AI/BI strategy

Databricks

Azure/AWS

Text-to-SQL agents

LLM-based data apps

Data platform consumption

Communication with leadership

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS/Engineering

Tools

Databricks

Apache Spark

DBT

Job description

JLL seeks a hands-on Principal Data Architect to transform data consumption and establish AI/BI practices. You will define enterprise semantic layers and context models, enabling AI-powered consumption for business lines.

You will collaborate with product and platform teams to scale solutions across the organization and champion data-driven decision making. The role requires senior leadership, hands-on implementation, and mentorship for engineers, with focus on Databricks, cloud-native data