Data Architect

Plative; United States; Remote; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Plative is seeking a Data Architect to design and implement scalable data platforms across cloud environments. You will partner with client teams to architect data warehouses, ELT pipelines, and semantic layers, enabling fast analytics at scale.

Lead medallion layer designs, oversee end-to-end ELT projects, mentor junior engineers, and advise on governance, cost optimization, and BI integration.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building data warehouses or data lakes on at least two cloud platforms.

Responsibilities

• Design medallion layer data warehouse schemas (bronze, silver, gold) on Databricks, Redshift, Snowflake and/or BigQuery.
• Select and implement ELT tools to move data from source systems into the warehouse.
• Build and optimize semantic layers on top of the warehouse so analysts and business users can query data without writing SQL.
• Connect data warehouses to BI platforms (Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or similar) to enable self-service analytics and reporting.
• Translate business requirements into scalable technical integration architectures and implementation strategies.
• Facilitate discovery sessions and technical workshops with clients to understand system landscapes, integration requirements, and data flows.
• Own complex integration solutions from design through deployment, ensuring high performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Advise on data governance, quality checks, and cost optimization as warehouses scale.
• Drive complex technical design conversations with clients and recommend configuration and architectural solutions aligned with best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including architects, consultants, and client technical teams to deliver integration solutions.
• Proactively flag project risks, technical limitations, or architectural concerns early and propose mitigation strategies.
• Stay current with emerging integration technologies, tools, and patterns and evaluate opportunities to apply them to client solutions.

Skills

SQL

Data warehouse design

ELT

Medallion architecture

BI integration

Stakeholder communication

Project management

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Software Engineering/ MIS

Tools

Databricks

Redshift

Snowflake

BigQuery

Tableau

Looker

Power BI

FiveTran

Airbyte

Job description

The Data Architect plays a critical role in designing and building foundational data platforms that enable customers to move, organize, and analyze their business data at scale. In this position, you will partner with client team members to architect, implement, and deploy data warehouse solutions across multiple cloud platforms and customer organizations. This position requires deep expertise in medallion layer design, ELT implementation, semantic layer architecture and BI tool integration. You should be able to lead architecture discussions, guide technical execution, and mentor junior engineers. As a senior technical contributor, you will take ownership of complex data warehouse solutions, conduct technical discovery with customers, and ensure scalable, maintainable data architectures. You will act as a trusted technical advisor to both internal teams and customer stakeholders while driving best practices in data design, pipeline development, semantic layer modelling, and BI implementation.

Responsibilities

• Design medallion layer data warehouse schemas (bronze, silver, gold) on Databricks, Redshift, Snowflake and/or BigQuery.
• Select and implement ELT tools to move data from source systems into the warehouse. You'll evaluate options, configure pipelines, and troubleshoot performance issues.
• Build and optimize semantic layers on top of the warehouse so analysts and business users can query data without writing SQL.
• Connect data warehouses to BI platforms (Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or similar) to enable self-service analytics and reporting.
• Translate business requirements into scalable technical integration architectures and implementation strategies.
• Facilitate discovery sessions and technical workshops with clients to understand system landscapes, integration requirements, and data flows.
• Own complex integration solutions from design through deployment, ensuring high performance, scalability, and maintainability.
• Advise on data governance, quality checks, and cost optimization as warehouses scale.
• Drive complex technical design conversations with clients and recommend configuration and architectural solutions aligned with best practices.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including architects, consultants, and client technical teams to deliver integration solutions.
• Proactively flag project risks, technical limitations, or architectural concerns early and propose mitigation strategies.
• Stay current with emerging integration technologies, tools, and patterns and evaluate opportunities to apply them to client solutions.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Management Information Systems, or a related field.
• 5+ years building data warehouses or data lakes on at least two cloud platforms (Databricks, Redshift, Snowflake, or BigQuery).
• Hands on experience designing medallion or similar layered architectures (atomic, aggregated, and presentation layers).
• Shipped at least two end-to-end ELT implementations with thorough understanding of the landscape and trade-offs between products.
• Design AI powered semantic models to accelerate data discovery and enable intelligent query generation for end users.
• Build and optimize semantic layers on top of the warehouse so analysts and business users can query data without writing SQL.
• Connect data warehouses to BI platforms (Tableau, Looker, Power BI, or similar) to enable self-service analytics and reporting
• Strong SQL knowledge, write efficient queries and understand query optimization.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple complex projects and priorities in a fast-paced consulting environment.
• Passion for building scalable integration solutions and ensuring data accuracy and reliability.

Nice to Have

• Experience with FiveTran, Airbyte or other ELT platforms.
• Familiarity with data governance tooling (metadata management, lineage tracking, data quality platforms).
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools like Claude Code to accelerate pipeline and configuration work.
• Background in financial services, SaaS, or private equity-backed companies.
• Ability to mentor junior data engineers or analysts.
• Experience with AI-powered analytics or semantic modeling capabilities in modern BI platforms.

How You’ll Embody Our Core Values

At Plative, our core values shape how we work, collaborate, and grow. As part of the team, you will:

• Put People First: Build trusted relationships with clients and mentor teammates.
• Grow Together, Win Together: Share knowledge, celebrate wins, and elevate others.
• Bring Your Authentic Self to Work: Foster openness, empathy, and integrity in every interaction.
• Take the Path You’ll Be Proud Of: Deliver excellence, own outcomes, and learn from challenges.
• Push Boundaries, Blow Minds: Design creative, scalable solutions that drive real impact.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive and benchmarked to the market. Exact ranges vary by region and will be discussed during the initial interview process.

AI Disclosure & Hiring Practices

Plative uses AI-powered tools to support our recruitment process. However, AI tools never replace human judgment; all hiring decisions are made entirely by our Talent Team.

Plative Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We are also committed to fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.