Knowledge Architecture Lead / Senior Ontologist

Accenture; Cincinnati (OH); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Accenture is seeking a Senior Ontologist and Knowledge Architecture Lead to own the design, governance, and delivery of enterprise knowledge graph initiatives. You will guide semantic modeling, ontology governance, and the technical direction of a cross-functional team spanning business stakeholders, data engineering, and AI/ML disciplines.

In this hybrid role, you will collaborate with NLP and AI teams to develop ontology-guided pipelines and ensure alignment with business goals and governance

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 years hands-on experience in ontology engineering or related semantic domain.
• Experience owning production-grade ontologies in enterprise environments and Agile delivery.
• Lead technical standards, team development, and roadmap ownership with stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or PhD) in Information Science, CS, Library Science, Linguistics or related field.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end ontology lifecycle from requirements to long-term stewardship.
• Define enterprise ontology architecture and URI/versioning strategies.
• Govern A-Box hydration and alignment with enterprise semantic assets.
• Lead mapping of relational data into semantic schemas and oversee validation pipelines.
• Drive governance standards, DO criteria, peer reviews, and knowledge sharing.
• Lead SME workshops and translate modeling decisions for non-technical audiences.
• Collaborate with NLP/AI teams on ontology-guided pipelines and feature engineering.

Skills

Ontology engineering

Knowledge modeling

Semantic web

Team leadership

Agile delivery

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or PhD) in Information Science, Computer Science, Library Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, or a related field

Tools

OWL 2

RDFS

SKOS

R2RML/RML

SHACL

Triplestore platforms

Job description

We Are:

Accenture is a global professional services and solutions company that helps leading organizations reinvent with digital, cloud, data, and AI capabilities, drawing on its large global workforce, industry expertise, and ecosystem partnerships to create 360° value.

You Are:

We are seeking a Senior Ontologist and Knowledge Architecture Lead to own the design, governance, and delivery of enterprise knowledge graph initiatives. This role carries the principal responsibilities for developing and implementing semantic modeling strategy, ontology governance frameworks, and the technical direction of a cross-functional team spanning business stakeholders, data engineering, and AI/ML disciplines.

Key Responsibilities:

Ontology Strategy & Architecture:

• Own the end-to-end ontology lifecycle: requirements gathering, conceptual modeling, formal specification (OWL 2, RDFS, SKOS), validation, deployment, and long-term stewardship
• Define enterprise ontology architecture: modular design patterns, URI strategy, versioning policy, and alignment with upper ontologies (e.g., BFO, DOLCE, schema.org)
• Establish T-Box design standards and govern A-Box hydration patterns across structured and unstructured data sources
• Make authoritative decisions on advanced modeling patterns (e.g., reification, n-ary relations, punning, ontology modularization) and document rationale for organizational reuse
• Lead alignment efforts between domain ontologies and enterprise-wide or cross-domain semantic assets
• Evaluate and recommend the selection of ontology tooling, triplestore platforms, and semantic middleware to meet project and organizational requirements

Ontology Design & Development:

• Author and review ontologies, taxonomies, and vocabularies using OWL, RDF, RDFS, and SKOS to production-quality standards
• Define and enforce competency question frameworks to scope, drive, and validate ontology design across delivery workstreams
• Lead mapping of traditional data structures (relational, semi-structured) into semantic frameworks using R2RML, RML, or equivalent
• Oversee knowledge graph hydration, integration testing, and validation pipelines
• Ensure ontological models align with business goals, regulatory requirements, and enterprise data governance policies

Governance & Standards:

• Establish and own ontology governance standards: version control protocols, change management processes, quality gates (W3C compliance, SHACL/ShEx validation), and deprecation policies
• Define and enforce Definition of Done criteria for all ontology deliverables
• Lead ontology review and approval processes, including peer review structures and sign-off with business and technical stakeholders
• Maintain and evolve governance documentation, modeling guidelines, and pattern libraries for use across the team

Stakeholder Leadership:

• Lead business SME workshops to elicit domain concepts, relationships, business rules, and competency questions
• Serve as the primary semantic modeling authority for business and technical stakeholders, resolving ambiguity and driving alignment
• Translate complex modeling decisions into accessible rationale for non-technical audiences, including senior business sponsors
• Represent the knowledge modeling function in cross-organizational planning, architecture review boards, and governance forums

Technical Leadership & NLP/AI Integration:

• Partner with Entity Extraction and NLP teams to develop ontology-guided pipelines for information extraction from unstructured sources
• Advise AI/ML teams on ontology-informed feature engineering, embedding strategies, and knowledge-augmented model design
• Define integration patterns between the knowledge graph and downstream analytical, search, and AI/ML systems
• Stay current with advances in semantic web, knowledge representation, and neuro-symbolic AI; translate emerging practices into team standards

Team Leadership & Delivery Management:

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of ontologists and semantic analysts at intermediate and junior levels
• Conduct structured knowledge transfer, design reviews, and coaching to build team capability and modeling maturity
• Own delivery timelines, workstream dependencies, and risk escalation across the ontology program
• Coordinate across Data Engineering, AI/ML, Product, and Business SME workstreams to ensure coherent delivery
• Lead roadmap planning, scope definition, and estimation (T-shirt sizing / story pointing) for ontology initiatives across delivery horizons (v1/v2/v3)

This role is hybrid in nature and will require time in office and traveling to client locations. Travel can be between 20-80%.

Here’s What You Need:

• Minimum 12 years years of hands‑on experience in ontology engineering, knowledge modeling, or a closely related semantic web or knowledge representation discipline
• Minimum 12 years previous experience owning and delivering production‑grade domain ontologies in complex enterprise or large‑scale consulting environments including working in Agile or iterative delivery environments,
• Minimum 12 years experience in a lead, principal, or architect‑level role with responsibility for technical standards, team development, and roadmap ownership and stakeholder‑facing estimation,
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or PhD) in Information Science, Computer Science, Library Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, or a related field.

Compensation at Accenture varies depending on a wide array of factors, which may include but are not limited to the specific office location, role, skill set, and level of experience. As required by local law, Accenture provides a reasonable range of compensation for roles that may be hired as set forth below.

We anticipate this job posting will be posted until 09/30/2026.

Accenture offers a market competitive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, and long‑term disability coverage, a 401(k) plan, bonus opportunities, paid holidays, and paid time off. See more information on our benefits here: U.S. Employee Benefits | Accenture

Role Location Annual Salary Range

California $163,000 to $413,600

Cleveland $150,900 to $330,900

Colorado $163,000 to $357,400

District of Columbia $173,500 to $380,500

Illinois $150,900 to $357,400

Maine $138,800 to $304,400

Maryland $163,000 to $357,400

Massachusetts $163,000 to $380,500

Minnesota $163,000 to $357,400

New York $150,900 to $413,600

New Jersey $173,500 to $413,600

Virginia $150,900 to $380,500

Washington $173,500 to $380,500

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