Enterprise Architect & Technical Lead — Data, AI Governance

Steampunk; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Steampunk seeks an Enterprise Architect - Technical Lead to direct technical delivery across data, AI governance, and ICAM workstreams for a large federal advisory program. This role provides enterprise-level architectural guidance within procurement-neutral boundaries and serves as the senior technical voice in client engagements.

The ideal candidate will have 12+ years of EA experience in federal environments, the ability to obtain a U.S.

Qualifications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.
• 12+ years of enterprise architecture experience, including federal technology environments.
• Strong knowledge of open data standards, API design, and avoiding proprietary vendor lock-in.
• Experience translating enterprise architecture patterns into governance standards for a broad technical team.
• Demonstrated experience leading and mentoring multidisciplinary technical teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting architecture-level recommendations to senior government stakeholders.
• Local to Baltimore, MD metro area and willing to go on client site at least 2 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Direct how data, AI governance, and ICAM workstream technical roles divide and execute their work
• Recommend architectural patterns, reference architectures, and governance standards at the enterprise level
• Ensure all technical recommendations and data outputs use open, standard formats and APIs - including data exports with sufficient structural integrity for independent government reconstruction
• Evaluate AI technologies and platforms for open-source/proprietary status, licensing implications, and technical risk to inform governance and compliance recommendations
• Review and quality-assure technical deliverables produced across the data, AI governance, and ICAM workstreams before client delivery
• Explicitly avoid designing or mandating specific system architectures, or selecting specific commercial products/platforms, at a level of detail that would constrain future competitive procurements
• Serve as the senior technical voice in client engagements on architecture-level recommendations

Skills

Security clearance

Enterprise architecture

Open data standards

API design

Governance

Leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/IS/Engineering

TOGAF certification

Job description

Steampunk seeks an Enterprise Architect - Technical Lead to direct technical delivery across data, AI governance, and ICAM workstreams for a large federal advisory program. This role provides enterprise-level architectural guidance within procurement-neutral boundaries and serves as the senior technical voice in client engagements.

The ideal candidate will have 12+ years of EA experience in federal environments, the ability to obtain a U.S.