Azure Data Architect

Cognizant; Duluth (GA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus PTO

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant seeks a Principal Architect to design and govern enterprise-grade data and AI platforms on Azure Databricks and Snowflake in a hybrid work model.

The role defines scalable solutions, guides complex implementations, and ensures alignment with business outcomes while creating responsible AI capabilities delivering value for clients and society.

Qualifications

• Hands-on Azure Databricks expertise including cluster config and delta storage.
• Knowledge of AI concepts and ML workflows at scale.
• Experience in enterprise data architecture and data modeling.
• Understanding of security, compliance, and identity management.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL; notebook development and testing.
• Experience in hybrid work environments and cross-team coordination.
• Ability to evaluate new AI tech and guide stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end data and AI architecture using Azure Databricks.
• Design lakehouse patterns for large-scale data ingestion and analytics.
• Provide guidance to integrate Databricks with data warehouses and data lakes.
• Ensure models are responsible, explainable, and compliant.
• Lead reference architectures and reusable components for data pipelines and models.
• Collaborate with product owners to translate goals into architectural roadmaps.
• Drive performance, security, and cost governance of Databricks workloads.
• Support feature stores, experiment tracking, and model lifecycle processes.
• Promote modern data/AI practices like IaC, CI/CD, and resilience.
• Partner with scientists and engineers to design end-to-end pipelines.
• Document architecture decisions and mentor other architects.
• Ensure solutions deliver sustainability and societal impact.

Skills

Azure Databricks

Artificial intelligence

Data architecture

Security & compliance

Python/SQL

Notebook development

Tools

Delta Lake

Azure data services

Databricks tooling

Job description

Job Summary

Principal Architect role focused on designing and governing enterprise grade data and artificial intelligence platforms using Azure Databricks SNOWflake in a hybrid work model. The architect will define scalable solutions guide complex implementations and ensure alignment with business outcomes while creating responsible data and artificial intelligence capabilities that deliver sustainable value for clients and society.

Job Summary

Principal Architect role focused on designing and governing enterprise grade data and artificial intelligence platforms using Azure Databricks SNOWflake in a hybrid work model. The architect will define scalable solutions guide complex implementations and ensure alignment with business outcomes while creating responsible data and artificial intelligence capabilities that deliver sustainable value for clients and society.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the end to end data and artificial intelligence architecture blueprint using Azure Databricks to deliver secure scalable and high performing solutions that align with enterprise strategy and business outcomes
• Design robust lakehouse and data engineering patterns on Azure Databricks that enable reliable ingestion transformation and consumption of large scale structured and unstructured data for analytics and machine learning workloads
• Provide architectural guidance to cross functional teams on integrating Azure Databricks with data warehouses data lakes and operational systems to create unified and trusted information platforms
• Oversee selection and use of artificial intelligence tools frameworks and services ensuring that models built on Azure Databricks are responsible explainable and aligned with ethical and regulatory requirements
• Lead creation of reference architectures reusable components and best practice standards for data pipelines model training and model serving to accelerate solution delivery and reduce technical debt
• Collaborate closely with product owners and business stakeholders to translate complex business goals into clear architectural roadmaps that prioritize value impact reliability and long term maintainability
• Drive performance optimization security hardening and cost governance of Azure Databricks workloads by applying tuning patterns monitoring strategies and well defined resource management practices
• Support teams in designing feature stores experiment tracking and model lifecycle processes on Azure Databricks so that artificial intelligence solutions remain traceable testable and easy to improve over time
• Guide adoption of modern data and artificial intelligence practices including automation infrastructure as code continuous integration and continuous delivery so that platforms remain resilient and ready for rapid change
• Partner with data scientists engineers and analysts to design end to end pipelines from data acquisition through model deployment that improve decision making and operational efficiency across the organization
• Influence technology choices and architectural decisions through clear documentation diagrams and presentations that help teams understand trade offs and make informed design selections
• Mentor architects and senior engineers by reviewing designs sharing insights from complex implementations and fostering a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning
• Ensure that architectural solutions support sustainability accessibility and positive societal impact by enabling fair insights responsible artificial intelligence and data driven innovation for clients and communities

Qualifications

• Possess deep hands on expertise in Azure Databricks including cluster configuration job orchestration delta based storage patterns and integration with wider Azure data services
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of artificial intelligence concepts machine learning workflows and operationalizing models at scale using cloud native tools and frameworks
• Bring strong experience in enterprise data architecture including data modeling metadata management data quality practices and designing resilient platforms for analytics and reporting
• Apply solid understanding of distributed computing security compliance and identity management to design Azure hosted solutions that protect sensitive information and meet organizational policies
• Exhibit proficiency in modern programming and scripting languages commonly used with Azure Databricks such as Python and SQL along with familiarity in notebook based development and testing
• Show experience working in hybrid work environments using collaborative tools and structured communication practices that ensure effective coordination across onsite and remote team members
• Demonstrate ability to evaluate emerging data and artificial intelligence technologies create adoption recommendations and guide stakeholders through change while keeping focus on measurable business value.

Exempt Roles (up to AD Level)

Note: Compensation range should extend from the minimum to P75, consistent with the job family and level.

For all remote positions and those based in pay transparency locations, include this text in the External Description:

Salary And Other Compensation

The annual salary for this position is between $150-170K depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.