Data & AI Architect

WorkNovas LLC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

WorkNovas LLC in Chicago seeks a Senior Data & AI Architect to lead the data architecture for AI initiatives, ensuring scalable data pipelines and secure governance.

You will own the end-to-end data strategy for AI projects, decide data residency, and orchestrate flows between systems while maintaining a full data lineage.

The role requires deep cloud platform experience (Snowflake, BigQuery), strong communication with executives, and a track record of building data lakehouse solutions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or enterprise data management.
• 3+ years designing data solutions for AI/ML workloads.
• Deep expertise with cloud data platforms, particularly Snowflake, Google BigQuery, or equivalent.
• Experience with enterprise data lake or data mesh architectures.
• Strong understanding of data modeling (dimensional, graph, document), ETL/ELT pipelines, and data integration patterns.
• Experience with data governance frameworks, data cataloging tools, and lineage tracking.
• Experience with AI/ML data requirements including feature engineering, vector embeddings, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and unstructured data processing.
• Proficiency in SQL; working knowledge of Python or similar scripting languages.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex data concepts for non-technical stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Design and govern the data architecture that underpins all AI/ML initiatives.
• Own the end-to-end data strategy for AI projects and determine where data resides and how it flows between systems.
• Maintain a comprehensive data lineage and usage inventory for visibility across the organization.

Skills

Snowflake

BigQuery

Data Modeling

ETL/ELT

SQL

Python

Governance

Data Lineage

AI/GenAI data

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Snowflake

BigQuery

Vertex AI

Cloud Storage

Pub/Sub

Dataflow

Data Lake / Lakehouse

Knowledge graph / Ontology

Job description

Data & AI Architect

Chicago 3x/wk

C2H

Goal profile:

12-15+ years in Data Architecture/Data Engineering, strong Snowflake or BigQuery background, experience building enterprise data lakes/lakehouses, proven AI/GenAI architecture experience (RAG, vector databases, embeddings, unstructured data), strong governance/lineage expertise, and executive-level communication skills.

Position Summary

The AI Data Solutions Architect is a senior technical role within the AI Center of Excellence, responsible for designing

and governing the data architecture that underpins all AI and machine learning initiatives

This individual will own the end-to-end data strategy for AI projects - determining where data should

reside, how it flows between systems, and how it is structured to maximize value for AI workloads. They will maintain

a comprehensive data lineage and usage inventory, ensuring the organization has clear visibility into where data is

sourced, transformed, stored, and consumed.

Required Qualifications

8+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or enterprise data management.

3+ years of hands-on experience designing data solutions for AI/ML workloads.

Deep expertise with cloud data platforms, particularly Snowflake, Google BigQuery, or equivalent.

Experience with enterprise data lake or data mesh architectures.

Strong understanding of data modeling (dimensional, graph, document), ETL/ELT pipelines, and data

integration patterns.

Experience with data governance frameworks, data cataloging tools, and lineage tracking.

Experience with AI/ML data requirements including feature engineering, vector embeddings, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and unstructured data processing.

Proficiency in SQL; working knowledge of Python or similar scripting languages.

Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate complex data concepts for non-technical

stakeholders.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or related field.

Preferred:

Experience with Snowflake's advanced features (Snowpark, Cortex, data sharing, dynamic tables).

Hands-on experience with GCP services (Vertex AI, Cloud Storage, Pub/Sub, Dataflow).

Familiarity with knowledge graph technologies, semantic layers, or ontology design for AI applications.

Background in retail, automotive, or RV/dealership industry data environments.

Relevant certifications (e.g., Snowflake SnowPro, GCP Professional Data Engineer, AWS Data Analytics).

Experience with MCP (Model Context Protocol) or similar AI-to-data integration frameworks