Principal Data Architect

United States Digital Space LLC; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Generous annual leave

Health plan options

401(k) with company match

Life insurance and AD&D

Ongoing training and development

Job summary

BlueFlag is seeking a Principal Data Architect to lead core data architecture for a VA platform, guiding senior data engineers and VA leaders. The role is remote, customer-facing daily, and focused on Azure Commercial with Databricks and Unity Catalog.

You will help shape future data architecture, governance, and security while delivering scalable solutions across thousands of tables and streaming workloads.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in data engineering and data architecture, starting hands-on and rising to lead/principal
• Proven leadership of engineering teams and mentoring senior engineers
• Customer-facing experience: leading architecture discussions and briefing executives
• Expert cloud data engineering on Azure with data warehousing skills
• Hands-on Unity Catalog design including access control and lineage
• Strong SQL and Python (PySpark) skills
• Experience with CDC, streaming, and incremental loads
• Experience migrating large on-prem data warehouses to cloud
• Git, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code for data platforms
• Familiarity with HIPAA, NIST 800-53, and FISMA requirements
• Bachelor's degree required

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture discussions with VA stakeholders and translate needs into designs
• Mentor senior data engineers through reviews and hands-on problem solving
• Set standards for ingestion, storage, modeling, and serving on Azure stack
• Architect move to Azure Commercial with Databricks and Unity Catalog
• Design metadata-driven frameworks across thousands of tables
• Support reporting and ML workloads with Synapse, Databricks, and Power BI
• Ensure PHI/PII protection via access controls and ATO support
• Author architecture and technical approach sections for proposals

Skills

Azure data engineering

Azure Data Factory

Synapse Analytics

Databricks

Delta Lake

Unity Catalog

SQL

Python (PySpark)

CDC/Streaming

Git CI/CD IaC

HIPAA/NIST/FISMA

Leadership

Customer-facing

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

Tools

Azure Data Factory

Synapse Analytics

Databricks

Delta Lake

ADLS Gen2

Job description

BlueFlag is hiring a Principal Data Architect to lead data architecture for a premier data and artificial intelligence (AI) platform at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The platform powers reporting, analytics, and machine learning for Veterans' health and benefits. This remote role is customer-facing every day. You will lead senior data engineers, guide VA leaders through architecture decisions, and help build the platform's future on Azure Commercial with Databricks and Unity Catalog.

We're looking for an engineer first: someone who built pipelines and warehouses hands-on, then grew into leading teams and advising customers. You'll join a friendly, collaborative team doing work that makes a real difference for Veterans and their families.

What You'll Do

• Work with customers daily: lead architecture discussions, brief VA stakeholders, and turn their needs into clear designs and decisions.
• Lead and mentor senior data engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and hands‑on problem solving.
• Set architecture and standards for ingestion, storage, modeling, and serving with Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics, Databricks, and Delta Lake.
• Architect the platform's move to Azure Commercial, with Databricks as the engineering platform and Unity Catalog governing data, access, lineage, and models.
• Design metadata-driven frameworks that move thousands of tables through batch, incremental, change data capture (CDC), and streaming patterns.
• Serve reporting and machine learning workloads through the Synapse Dedicated Pool, Databricks SQL, Power BI, and model training pipelines.
• Protect PHI and PII through access policy, masking, and Authority to Operate (ATO) support under HIPAA and federal security requirements.
• Write architecture and technical approach sections for proposals.

Why Join BlueFlag

At BlueFlag, we're passionate about leveraging cutting‑edge technology to make a real difference. You'll be at the forefront of cloud innovation, working on projects that directly impact people's lives. We offer a high‑growth, entrepreneurial environment that values fresh ideas and authentic teamwork.

Requirements

• 12+ years in data engineering and data architecture, starting as a hands‑on data engineer, with 5+ years as a lead or principal architect
• Proven leadership of engineering teams, including mentoring senior engineers and setting technical direction
• A demonstrated history of customer‑facing work: leading architecture discussions, briefing executives, and writing for technical and non‑technical readers
• Expert, hands‑on cloud data engineering and data warehousing on Azure: Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics (including Synapse Dedicated Pool), Databricks, Delta Lake, and ADLS Gen2
• Hands‑on Unity Catalog design: catalogs and grants, attribute‑based access control, row filters and column masks, and lineage
• Design of lakehouse (medallion) architectures, data warehouse models, and metadata‑driven frameworks across thousands of tables
• Strong proficiency in SQL and Python (PySpark)
• Experience with CDC, streaming, and incremental load patterns (e.g., Oracle GoldenGate, Azure Event Hubs, Apache Kafka)
• Experience migrating large on‑premises data warehouses to the cloud, including parallel runs and reconciliation
• Experience with Git, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code for data platforms (e.g., Terraform, Databricks Asset Bundles)
• Working knowledge of HIPAA, NIST 800‑53, and FISMA requirements for PHI and PII
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field.

US Citizen: Must be a citizen of the United States

Security Clearance: Must be able to obtain a public trust clearance. Must be eligible to work in the United States.

Desired

• Experience with VA health data (CDW, VistA, Oracle Health, HL7, FHIR)
• Experience in Azure Government or other FedRAMP High environments
• Experience with Immuta, Collibra, or Microsoft Purview
• Experience with Databricks SQL, serverless compute, Microsoft Fabric, or Power BI semantic models
• Experience with MLOps and model serving on Databricks
• Databricks or Azure architect certifications

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Generous annual leave and paid holidays
• Comprehensive group health and dental plans
• 401(k) with company match
• Life insurance and AD&D coverage
• Ongoing training and professional development opportunities