Ontology Architect

Saksoft; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Saksoft is seeking an Ontology Architect to design licensing ontology and knowledge-graph foundations for a Client engagement. You will work with business SMEs and architects to translate licensing policies into semantic models and guide onsite and offshore teams.

The role is 100% remote for a 12+ month contract, requiring deep experience in ontology, knowledge graphs and related semantic technologies, with strong client-facing capabilities.

Qualifications

• Hands-on work designing enterprise ontology and knowledge graphs.
• Proficient use of OWL, RDF, SHACL, SPARQL and related semantic modelling tools.
• Experience mapping ontologies to databases, APIs, metadata platforms or cloud data warehouses.
• Knowledge of provenance, lineage, canonical identifiers and governance processes.
• Familiarity with GenAI, Agentic AI, RAG, LLM grounding and deterministic rule engines.
• Strong client-facing communication and workshop facilitation abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead client workshops to clarify licensing concepts, rights and business rules.
• Design ontology models with relationships, taxonomies, hierarchies and constraints.
• Develop and govern semantic models using OWL, RDF, SHACL and SPARQL.
• Map ontology concepts to authoritative data sources including Snowflake.
• Define knowledge-graph structures, provenance, and versioning practices.
• Align ontology design with Agentic AI, deterministic rules and traceability.
• Guide teams during implementation, testing and architecture reviews.
• Present architecture decisions, risks and recommendations to stakeholders.

Skills

Ontology design

Knowledge graphs

OWL & SPARQL

Graph platforms

Ontology mapping

Entity resolution

GenAI grounding

Stakeholder comms

Job description

Job Description

SKILLS NEEDED : Ontology Architect with Graph and Agentic AI, 10+ years in data or semantic technologies, including 5+ years in ontology and knowledge-graph solutions

Role Summary

Seeking a client-facing Ontology Architect to design the licensing ontology and knowledge-graph foundation for the WBD Agentic AI engagement. The candidate will work directly with business SMEs and architects, translate licensing concepts and policies into semantic models, and provide technical guidance to onsite and offshore engineering teams.

Position: Ontology Architect

Duration: 12+ months – contract

Location: 100% remote

Key Responsibilities

• Lead client workshops to understand licensing concepts, rights, restrictions, territories, platforms, and business rules.
• Design ontology models covering concepts, relationships, taxonomies, hierarchies, cardinalities, and constraints.
• Develop and govern semantic models using OWL, RDF, SHACL, and SPARQL.
• Map ontology concepts to authoritative enterprise data sources, including Snowflake.
• Define knowledge-graph structures, identifiers, provenance, lineage, and ontology versioning.
• Align ontology design with Agentic AI, deterministic rules, evidence traceability, and explainable decisions.
• Guide ontology, data, AI, application, and QA teams during implementation and testing.
• Review technical deliverables and present architecture decisions, risks, and recommendations to client stakeholders.

Mandatory Skills

• Strong hands-on experience in enterprise ontology and knowledge-graph design.
• Expertise in OWL, RDF, RDFS, SHACL, SPARQL, taxonomies, and semantic modelling.
• Experience with graph platforms such as Amazon Neptune, Stardog, GraphDB, Neo4j, Apache Jena, or equivalent.
• Experience mapping ontologies to databases, APIs, metadata platforms, or cloud data warehouses.
• Knowledge of entity resolution, canonical identifiers, provenance, lineage, and ontology governance.
• Understanding of GenAI, Agentic AI, RAG, LLM grounding, and deterministic rule engines.
• Strong client-facing communication, workshop facilitation, architecture review, and team-guidance skills.

Preferred Skills

• Media and Entertainment experience, particularly content licensing, rights management, or intellectual property.
• Experience integrating ontologies or knowledge graphs with AI or decision-support solutions.
• Exposure to AWS, Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Neptune, Snowflake, and Python.
• Experience with tools such as Protégé, TopBraid EDG, PoolParty, or Stardog Studio.