Data Architect, Advisor

Jobtailor; Maryland; On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor seeks a senior Enterprise Data Architect to lead the design of scalable data platforms in the Maryland/DC region. You will shape the target-state architecture for operations and analytics, and partner with Systems Architects, Data Engineers, and product teams to align data initiatives with business goals.

Responsibilities include defining event-driven patterns, metadata governance, reusable data products, and ensuring data quality.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in enterprise data architecture across operations and analytics.
• Hands-on experience with a modern data engineering stack.
• Strong knowledge of SQL, NoSQL, Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, and Kinesis.
• Experience designing event-driven and streaming data integration.
• Experience with Java, Python, SQL, and Scala.
• Experience with AWS cloud data platforms.
• Active Secret Clearance.
• Local to the Washington, D.C. Metro area.

Responsibilities

• Define enterprise data architecture for ops, analytics, and AI.
• Establish event-driven integration patterns and governance.
• Assess legacy systems for data structures, quality, and storage.
• Collaborate with Systems Architects, Solutions Architects, and Data Engineers.
• Define target-state architecture across stores and data lake.
• Develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models.
• Design event-driven patterns feeding the EDL via messaging/ESB.
• Define reusable data products with ownership and schemas.
• Define data governance, metadata, and cataloging standards.
• Ensure architecture supports analytics, ML, and Generative AI use cases.

Skills

Enterprise data architecture

Event-driven design

Data modeling

Relational & NoSQL databases

Streaming data integration

Programming (Java, Python, SQL, Scala)

AWS cloud platform

Security & data governance

Education

BS/BA

MS/MA

PhD

Tools

Kafka

Spark

Hadoop

Kinesis

SQL/NoSQL tooling

Job description

Responsibilities

• Define the enterprise data architecture supporting operational systems, analytical platforms, and AI initiatives.
• Establish the event-driven integration patterns, governance and metadata standards, and reusable data products.
• Assess legacy systems to understand data structures, data quality, storage mechanisms, and transformation logic.
• Work closely with the Systems Architect on enterprise direction, with Solutions Architects on product-level data needs, and with Data Engineers.
• Define the target-state data architecture spanning operational stores and the analytical data lake.
• Develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models that support both transactional systems and analytics.
• Design event-driven integration patterns that feed the EDL, using messaging and an enterprise service bus.
• Define reusable data products with clear ownership, documented schemas, lineage, quality expectations, and access policies.
• Define data governance, metadata, and cataloging standards.
• Ensure the data architecture supports analytics, machine learning, and Generative AI use cases.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years with BS/BA
• Minimum of 6 years with MS/MA
• Minimum of 3 years with PhD
• Demonstrated experience in enterprise data architecture across operational and analytical systems.
• Hands‑on experience with at least one modern data engineering stack.
• Strong knowledge of relational and non‑relational databases (e.g., SQL, NoSQL, Hadoop, Spark, Kafka, Kinesis) and data modeling.
• Experience designing event‑driven and streaming data integration.
• Experience with programming languages (e.g., Java, SQL, Scala, Python).
• Experience with schema definition, data governance, metadata management, and data quality practices and software engineering best practices including secure, testable, and maintainable code.
• Experience with cloud data platforms, preferably AWS.
• Active Secret Clearance.
• Local to the Washington, D.C. Metro area.