Data Program Architect

Ascensus; Dresher (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 180,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascensus is seeking a Data Program Architect to define and drive the architecture vision, strategy, and execution of the enterprise data platform for the Ascensus Government Savings division. This highly visible leadership role requires strategic thinking, strong technical judgment and proactive engagement across the organization.

This role builds trusted relationships, guides data platform decisions, and partners with product, business, and technology leaders to ensure scalable, compliant data

Qualifications

• 15+ years in IT with significant data architecture and platform design experience.
• Deep expertise in enterprise data architecture and governed data access.
• Hands-on experience with ETL and data integration tooling such as Informatica.
• Experience with Oracle databases and data modeling.
• Proven Azure-based data warehouse design, performance tuning, and analytics integration.
• Strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Excellent communication and executive presentation abilities.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end data platform architecture for Ascensus Government Savings.
• Lead architectural design for Oracle, Azure data warehouses, and downstream analytics and reporting solutions.
• Oversee data platform tool selection (e.g., Informatica) and orchestration frameworks.
• Define secure data access patterns and APIs for internal and external consumers.
• Provide architectural oversight and mentorship to data and delivery teams.
• Shape the data platform roadmap with product, business, and technology leaders.
• Establish reference architectures and governance for data ingestion, storage, access, and governance.

Skills

Data architecture

Azure data warehouse

Oracle databases

ETL design

Data security

Leadership

Cloud data platforms

Tools

Informatica

Job description

Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.

Ascensus does not provide visa sponsorship now or in the future and does not hire candidates working under OPT

Data Program Architect is responsible for defining and driving the architecture vision, strategy, and execution of the enterprise data platform for the Ascensus Government Savings division. This role owns critical architectural decisions across data storage, integration, access patterns, and tooling, and plays a central role in shaping the data platform roadmap in collaboration with product, business, and technology leaders.

Position Summary

This highly visible leadership position requires strategic thinking, strong technical judgment, and proactive engagement across the organization. It builds trusted relationships, influences outcomes that align technology with business goals, and communicates complex data concepts clearly.

Job Functions, Essential Duties, and Responsibilities

• Define and own the end-to-end data platform architecture for Ascensus Government Savings, including vision, strategy, standards, and execution across operational, analytical, and integration layers, ensuring scalability, regulatory compliance, and secure data access.
• Lead architectural design for enterprise data systems, including Oracle-based transactional platforms, Azure-based data warehouses, and downstream analytics and reporting solutions; guide logical and physical database designs to support performance, resiliency, and extensibility.
• Own data platform tool and technology selection, including data warehouses, ETL and integration tools (e.g., Informatica), orchestration frameworks, and data access methods; conduct due diligence, assess vendor and cost tradeoffs, and ensure alignment with enterprise and cloud strategies.
• Define and govern secure, consistent, and performant data access patterns and APIs, including MCP- or server-based designs, supporting internal applications, analytics users, and approved external consumers.
• Provide architectural oversight and execution guidance to data and delivery teams, translating high-level architecture into actionable designs and partnering with engineers to balance standards compliance with timely delivery.
• Partner with product, business, and technology leadership to shape the data platform roadmap, ensuring architectural decisions directly support business outcomes, regulatory requirements, analytics needs, and future growth.
• Establish and maintain reference architectures and design standards for data ingestion, transformation, storage, access, and governance, enabling reuse, consistency, and reduced technical debt.
• Oversee the overall health of the data platform portfolio, including scalability, performance, stability, cost efficiency, risk exposure, and technical debt; collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize remediation and investment initiatives.
• Promote collaboration and architectural transparency across engineering, security, infrastructure, database, risk, support, and operations teams; serve as a trusted enterprise-level architectural advisor.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in data architecture, tooling, and processes by evaluating emerging technologies and patterns relevant to fintech and cloud-native data platforms.
• Provide hands‑on technical leadership and mentorship, guiding engineers and architects on best practices in data modeling, ETL design, cloud data patterns, and secure data access.
• Ensure data security, privacy, and compliance by design, working closely with security and risk teams to prevent unauthorized access, improper transmission, or unapproved disclosure of regulated data.
• Exercise broad technical autonomy and judgment, making architecture and design decisions with significant business impact while aligning to enterprise principles and governance.

Experience, Skills, and Knowledge Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in Information Technology, with significant experience in data architecture and enterprise data platform design; experience in financial services or fintech environments strongly preferred.
• Deep expertise in enterprise data architecture, including transactional and analytical platforms that support scale, regulatory compliance, and governed data access.
• Strong background in data engineering and platform design, with hands‑on experience architecting and guiding implementations across ingestion, transformation, storage, and access layers; ability to contribute to proofs of concept as needed.
• Extensive experience with Oracle databases, including data modeling and performance considerations for operational systems.
• Proven experience designing Azure-based data warehouse solutions, including modern cloud architectures, performance tuning, cost optimization, and analytics integration.
• Hands‑on experience with ETL and data integration architectures, including significant experience with Informatica or similar tools; strong understanding of batch and near-real-time data movement, orchestration, and data quality patterns.
• Experience defining and governing data access methods, including server-based designs (e.g., MCP or similar patterns), ensuring secure and consistent access across applications and consumers.
• Ability to develop a deep understanding of business capabilities and data domains and partner effectively with product, analytics, risk, and business leaders to align data architecture with strategy.
• Strategic mindset paired with strong execution skills; ability to balance long-term architectural vision with near-term delivery needs.
• Strong leadership and influence skills, with the ability to build trust, mentor engineers and architects, and drive alignment across cross‑functional teams without direct authority.
• Excellent communication and executive-level presentation skills, including the ability to clearly explain complex technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
• Experience with distributed systems and integration patterns, including service-oriented architectures, event-driven platforms, and data-driven microservice ecosystems.
• Strong understanding of data security, privacy, and compliance, including authentication, authorization, and secure handling of sensitive and regulated data.
• Innovation-oriented mindset, comfortable challenging existing approaches and introducing new architectural patterns, tools, and practices.
• Demonstrated passion for continuous learning and staying current with emerging trends in cloud data platforms, analytics, integration, and data architecture.

Compensation and Benefits

The national average salary range for this role is 180-220k in base pay, exclusive of any bonuses and benefits. The base salary range represents the low and high end for this position. Actual salary offered will vary and may be above or below the range based on various factors including location, experience, performance, and internal pay alignment. Other rewards and benefits may include: 401(k) match, Medical, Dental, Vision, Paid‑Time‑Off, etc. For more information, please visit careers.ascensus.com/#Benefits

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.