Data Architect (DataOps) - SME

Accenture Federal Services; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 224,000; Full time

Job summary

Accenture Federal Services seeks a Data Architect (SME) to lead the design and management of the organization’s enterprise data environment. You will ensure data is accurate, connected, and supports advanced analytics and AI.

You will build knowledge graphs, governance, and secure pipelines while collaborating with AI teams to deliver trusted data and insights across defense, national security, and civilian missions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree is required.
• At least 10 years in data architecture, data engineering, or related areas.
• Strong experience with enterprise data platforms and modern data pipelines.
• Familiarity with semantic technologies and knowledge graphs.
• Experience with metadata management, data lineage, and governance.
• Knowledge of cloud data services and secure multi-environment data integrations.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain enterprise data architectures integrating multiple data systems.
• Build and manage knowledge graphs, ontologies, and metadata structures.
• Develop secure, well-governed data pipelines ensuring high-quality data.
• Support AI and analytics teams with structured data for models and retrieval.
• Establish data governance, quality, and metadata standards across the organization.
• Evaluate new technologies and improve data platforms and processes, ensuring secure sharing.

Skills

Clear communication

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

RDF

OWL

SPARQL

Knowledge graph

Data governance tools

Job description

At Accenture Federal Services, nothing matters more than helping the US federal government make the nation stronger and safer and life better for people. Our 13,000+ people are united in a shared purpose to pursue the limitless potential of technology and ingenuity for clients across defense, national security, public safety, civilian, and military health organizations. Join Accenture Federal Services, a technology company within global Accenture. Recognized as a Glassdoor Top 100 Best Place to Work, we offer a collaborative and caring community where you feel like you belong and are empowered to grow, learn and thrive through hands-on experience, certifications, industry training and more. Join us to drive positive, lasting change that moves missions and the government forward!

Who you'll be:

The Data Architect (SME) is responsible for leading the design and management of the organization’s enterprise data environment, ensuring information is accurate, connected, and supports advanced analytics and AI. This role integrates traditional databases with modern data platforms and semantic/knowledge-graph technologies to provide meaningful insights and smarter decision-making. The SME establishes data standards, ensures secure data sharing, and collaborates with engineering and AI teams to maintain structured, governed, and high-quality data.

What you do:

Design and maintain enterprise data architectures that integrate multiple data systems. Build and manage knowledge graphs, ontologies, and metadata structures to improve data context and discovery. Develop secure, well-governed data pipelines and processes for high-quality, trusted data. Support AI and analytics teams by providing structured, contextual data for model development and retrieval workflows. Establish data governance, data quality, and metadata standards across the organization. Evaluate new technologies and recommend improvements to data platforms and processes. Ensure data sharing and access follow security, compliance, and zero trust requirements.

What you need:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or related areas.
• Strong experience with enterprise data platforms, distributed systems, and modern data pipelines.
• Familiarity with semantic technologies (RDF, OWL, SPARQL), ontologies, and knowledge graph design.
• Experience with metadata management, data lineage, and data governance processes.
• Knowledge of cloud data services and secure, multi-environment data integrations.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

Unique Skills / Technical Requirements:

• In-house custom developed application.
• Advanced AI, GenAI & Multi-Model Engineering, including multi-model and multi-modality orchestration.
• Provenance and end-to-end data lineage tracking.
• Air gapped, hybrid, and on-premise operational environments.
• UI, backend, and middleware engineering using TypeScript, React, Python, and other modern technologies.

Nice to have:

• Experience supporting AI/ML teams, retrieval architectures, or vector-based search.
• Background working in secure, multi-enclave, or zero trust environments.
• Experience with streaming data, real-time processing, or hybrid cloud architectures.
• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Data Engineering, or related field.

As required by local law, Accenture Federal Services provides reasonable ranges of compensation for hired roles based on labor costs in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The base pay range for this position in these locations is shown below.

Compensation for roles at Accenture Federal Services varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to office location, role, skill set, and level of experience.

Accenture Federal Services offers a wide variety of benefits. You can find more information on benefits here.

We accept applications on an on-going basis and there is no fixed deadline to apply. The pay range for the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia is: $109,500 - $224,200 USD

What We Believe

As a company wholly dedicated to serving the US federal government, we bring together the best talent to help reinvent how federal agencies operate and deliver greater value for their mission and the American people. We have an unwavering commitment to creating a culture in which all our people are respected, feel a sense of belonging, and have equal opportunity. As a business imperative, every person at Accenture Federal Services has the responsibility to create and sustain a culture where everyone feels welcomed and included. This is grounded in our core values and our experience that hiring and developing great people who reflect different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds is key to driving innovation and delivering the results that our clients and the country count on.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.

Our rich diversity makes us more innovative, more competitive, and more creative, which helps us better serve our clients and our communities.

For details, view a copy of the Accenture Federal Services Equal Opportunity Policy Statement.

Accenture Federal Services is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Additionally, a