Knowledge Architecture Lead / Senior Ontologist

Information Technology Senior Management Forum; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 174,000 - 381,000; Full time

Job summary

Accenture seeks a Senior Ontologist and Knowledge Architecture Lead to own the design, governance, and delivery of enterprise knowledge graph initiatives. You will drive semantic modeling strategy and governance across business stakeholders, data engineering, and AI/ML teams.

The role requires 12+ years in ontology engineering and leading architecture efforts, with a Bachelor's/Master's in information science or related field.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in ontology engineering, knowledge modeling, or semantic web disciplines.
• 12+ years in lead/architect roles with standards, team development, and roadmaps.
• Bachelor's or Master's (or PhD) in information science, CS, library science, linguistics, philosophy, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end ontology lifecycle from requirements to deployment.
• Define enterprise ontology architecture and URI strategy.
• Lead governance, version control, and quality gates for ontologies.
• Guide business and technical stakeholders through semantic modeling decisions.
• Collaborate with AI/ML teams on ontology-informed modeling.

Skills

Ontology engineering

Knowledge modeling

Semantic web

NLP integration

Stakeholder leadership

Education

Information Science / CS / Library Science / Linguistics / Philosophy

Tools

Ontology tooling

Triplestores

SHACL validation

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.

By combining hands‑on engineering with deep industry context, we help organizations build their digital core, modernize operations, unlock value from data and AI, and deliver tangible business outcomes at speed and scale.

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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