Principal Data Architect

lplfinancial; Fort Mill (SC); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

LPL Financial is seeking a Principal Data Architect to define and lead the enterprise data architecture strategy for cloud-native platforms and systems of record.

You will partner with Product, Engineering, Security, Operations, and EA teams to establish standards, roadmaps, and governance while delivering scalable, secure, and trusted data solutions to enable data-driven decision making.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in Data Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, or large-scale data platform engineering.
• 10+ years strong expertise in AWS cloud services and platform architecture.
• 5+ years experience of Data Lakes, Data Warehouses, Lakehouse architectures, and modern distributed data platforms.
• 10+ years experience with domain-driven design, event-driven architecture, and enterprise integration patterns.
• 5+ years experience of enterprise security architectures including IAM, authentication, authorization, encryption, and data protection. Experience with metadata management, data catalogs, lineage, governance, and observability frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead enterprise data architecture strategy and roadmaps.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, security, operations, and EA teams to establish standards.
• Architect cloud-native data platforms with secure, scalable, and observable capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership across multiple strategic initiatives.
• Mentor architects and engineers on data architecture patterns.

Skills

Data Architecture

Cloud Architecture

AWS Expertise

Enterprise Architecture

Security Architecture

Tools

AWS Cloud Services

Job description

Where Ambition Meets Innovation

Build a career that matches all your initiative with an impressive dose of innovation. From cutting-edge resources and a collaborative environment to the freedom to make an impact and more, you'll find the ingredients you need at LPL Financial to shape your success while helping clients pursue their financial goals.

Job Overview

We are seeking a visionary and experienced Principal Data Architect to define and lead the enterprise data architecture strategy for cloud-native data platforms and systems of record. This role will drive the evolution of modern data ecosystems, enabling scalable, secure, resilient, and trusted data solutions that support business growth, digital transformation, and data-driven decision making.

The successful candidate will partner with Product, Engineering, Security, Operations, and Enterprise Architecture teams to establish architectural standards, modernization roadmaps, and technology strategies while providing technical leadership across multiple strategic initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Data Strategy & Architecture Leadership

• Define and drive enterprise data architecture strategy, roadmaps, and target-state blueprints.
• Lead architectural initiatives and collaborate with product and engineering teams to design scalable and sustainable solutions.
• Establish architecture standards, design principles, reference architectures, and best practices for enterprise data platforms.
• Translate business objectives into technology strategies and architecture roadmaps.
• Contribute to enterprise architecture governance, technology standards, and modernization initiatives.

Modern Data Platform Architecture

• Design and implement cloud-native data platforms leveraging AWS services and modern architectural patterns.
• Lead the adoption of Lakehouse architectures utilizing open table formats such as Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake.
• Drive implementation of domain-oriented architectures, Data Products, Data Mesh principles, and self-service data platforms where appropriate.
• Define enterprise standards for data domains, metadata management, data catalogs, lineage, and data discovery.
• Architect scalable data ingestion, processing, storage, and distribution patterns supporting batch, streaming, and near real-time workloads.

Systems of Record & Enterprise Data Management

• Establish architectural patterns for authoritative Systems of Record and Books of Record.
• Define strategies for data ownership, data integrity, auditability, lineage, historical data management, and reconciliation.
• Drive enterprise data governance, quality, observability, and metadata management capabilities.
• Partner with business and technology teams to create trusted, reusable, and governed data assets.

Security, Resiliency & Operational Excellence

• Architect secure data platforms including authentication, authorization, encryption, key management, and fine-grained access controls.
• Design highly available, multi-region cloud architectures supporting resiliency, disaster recovery, and business continuity requirements.
• Define non-functional requirements covering scalability, reliability, performance, recoverability, and operational supportability.
• Establish observability, monitoring, operational health, and platform reliability standards.

Leadership & Mentorship

• Provide technical leadership and architectural guidance across multiple teams and programs.
• Mentor architects and engineers on modern data architecture principles and cloud-native design patterns.
• Communicate complex technical concepts and trade-offs to executive leadership and business stakeholders.
• Drive adoption of architecture best practices through governance, scorecards, and technical reviews.

What are we looking for?

We’re looking for strong collaborators who deliver exceptional client experiences and thrive in fast-paced, team-oriented environments. Our ideal candidates pursue greatness, act with integrity, and are driven to help our clients succeed. We value those who embrace creativity, continuous improvement, and contribute to a culture where we win together and create and share joy in our work.

Requirements:

• 10+ years of experience in Data Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, or large-scale data platform engineering.
• 10+ years strong expertise in AWS cloud services and platform architecture.
• 5+ years experience of Data Lakes, Data Warehouses, Lakehouse architectures, and modern distributed data platforms.
• 10+ years experience with domain-driven design, event-driven architecture, and enterprise integration patterns.
• 5+ years experience of enterprise security architectures including IAM, authentication, authorization, encryption, and data protection. Experience with metadata management, data catalogs, lineage, governance, and observability frameworks.

Preferences:

• AWS Solutions Architect Professional, AWS Data Engineer, or related cloud certifications.
• Experience implementing Lakehouse architectures using A