Chief Data Architect & Strategy Leader

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 105,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a forward-thinking Chief Data Officer to transform data into a strategic asset. You will partner with senior leadership to modernize governance, integration, and operations, enabling AI/ML readiness and trusted data across the organization.

You will lead the enterprise data strategy, architect resilient data environments, and drive full lifecycle data management—from curation to access and retention—while aligning stakeholders

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years in data strategy, data management, analytics, or related roles in technical environments.
• Experience designing scalable data architectures.
• Proven governance frameworks and policy enforcement experience.
• Strong understanding of data lifecycle management and technologies.
• Ability to evaluate and integrate emerging data technologies.
• Proven ability to align stakeholders and drive enterprise data practices.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Willingness to travel ~10% and support outside hours as needed.
• Active Secret clearance with potential for Top Secret clearance (US citizenship).

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of an enterprise data strategy aligned to mission priorities.
• Establish and enforce data governance to ensure quality, integrity, security, and compliance.
• Drive cross-organizational alignment as enterprise integrator across leadership, programs, and technical teams.
• Architect and oversee a resilient data environment, including platforms, pipelines, and infrastructure.
• Institutionalize full lifecycle data management from curation and storage to access and retention.
• Enable seamless data integration to improve interoperability and scalability.
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies to modernize the data ecosystem and AI/ML readiness.

Skills

Data governance

Data architecture

Stakeholder management

Data lifecycle management

AI/ML readiness

Communication

Security clearance

Travel readiness

Education

Master's degree in Data Science / CS / Engineering

Job description

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a forward-thinking Chief Data Officer to transform data into a strategic asset. You will partner with senior leadership to modernize governance, integration, and operations, enabling AI/ML readiness and trusted data across the organization.

You will lead the enterprise data strategy, architect resilient data environments, and drive full lifecycle data management—from curation to access and retention—while aligning stakeholders