Principal GCP Data Architect

Advatix Inc.; Dallas, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

HRforGrowth is seeking a hands-on Principal GCP Data Architect to design and implement large-scale data ecosystems on Google Cloud, guiding architecture across data governance, security, and modern data platform practices.

The successful candidate will lead PB-scale cloud migrations, build scalable, self-service data platforms, and mentor cross-functional teams within Agile/DevOps, collaborating closely with executive stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Experience in Data Engineering, Data Warehousing, and BI (18–20 years).
• Minimum 6 years of GCP experience, exclusively on GCP.
• Active GCP Professional Data Engineer certification.
• Deep proficiency with BigQuery/BigLake/BigQuery Omni and SQL-based analytics.
• Hands-on IaC with Terraform or Pulumi, and modern data tooling.
• Proven PB-scale cloud migrations and cross-functional leadership.
• Strong governance, security, and enterprise data architecture skills.
• Bachelor's or Master's in CS/IS; strong executive communication.

Responsibilities

• Define the long-term roadmap for enterprise data platforms on GCP.
• Design self-service data architectures with centralized governance, security, and quality.
• Lead PB-scale cloud migrations, including AWS to GCP.
• Architect data ecosystems supporting PB-scale workloads.
• Enforce data governance and security with IAM, VPC, masking, and Dataplex.
• Drive IaC practices using Terraform or Pulumi for repeatable infra.
• Architect with BigQuery, BigLake, Dataflow, Dataproc, Pub/Sub, Looker, Vertex AI.
• Support analytics/AI using Looker and Vertex AI; integrate Pub/Sub and Kafka.
• Promote dbt, Airflow, and GKE/Kubernetes in data engineering.
• Lead and mentor large cross-functional teams in Agile/DevOps.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and communicate business ROI and risks.
• Establish standards and continuous improvement across data platforms.

Skills

GCP Data Stack

Data Engineering

Cloud Migrations

Data Governance

Security Architecture

IaC Terraform

IaC Pulumi

BigQuery

BigLake

Dataflow

Dataproc

Cloud Composer

Pub/Sub

Kafka

Looker

Vertex AI

BigQuery ML

dbt

Airflow

GKE

Kubernetes

Terraform

Pulumi

Leadership

Agile

Education

Bachelor's in CS/IS

Master's in CS/IS

Tools

Dataplex

Terraform

Pulumi

GKE

Job description

Department: Information Technology, Type: Full Time

Role: Principal GCP Data Architect

Our Client is seeking a hands-on Principal GCP Data Architect to lead the design and implementation of large-scale data ecosystems. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) data stack, extensive data engineering experience, a proven track record of enterprise-scale cloud migrations, and strong capabilities in data governance, security, and modern data platform architecture.
The successful candidate will have worked exclusively with GCP, possess an active GCP Professional Data Engineer certification, and come from a strong Data Engineering, Data Warehousing, and Business Intelligence background. AI experience is considered a plus..

Job Type: Full-Time

Compensation: $160,000 – $220,000 per year

Key Responsibilities

• Define the long-term roadmap for enterprise data platforms on GCP, ensuring alignment with global business objectives and strategic data initiatives.
• Design and oversee modern, self-service data architectures that empower decentralized teams while maintaining centralized standards, governance, security, and quality.
• Lead complex, end-to-end enterprise-scale cloud migrations, including migrations from AWS to GCP.
• Architect and implement large-scale data ecosystems capable of supporting PB-scale workloads.
• Design and enforce robust data governance and security frameworks, including IAM, VPC Service Controls, data masking, encryption, and automated governance using Dataplex.
• Drive Infrastructure as Code (IaC) practices using Terraform or Pulumi to create repeatable, scalable, and version-controlled infrastructure.
• Architect solutions using GCP data services including BigQuery, BigLake, BigQuery Omni, Google Cloud Storage, Dataflow, Dataproc, Cloud Composer, Pub/Sub, and related technologies.
• Support modern analytics and AI capabilities using Looker, Vertex AI, and BigQuery ML.
• Integrate messaging and streaming platforms including Pub/Sub and Confluent/Kafka.
• Establish and promote modern data engineering practices using dbt, Airflow, and containerization technologies such as GKE/Kubernetes.
• Lead and mentor large, cross-functional engineering teams within Agile and DevOps environments.
• Collaborate with data engineers, software engineers, security professionals, business stakeholders, and technical leadership.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to executive stakeholders, including the VP of Data.
• Communicate the business value and ROI of data initiatives while identifying and managing technical risks.
• Establish architectural standards, best practices, and continuous improvement initiatives across enterprise data platforms.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 18–20 years of experience in Data Engineering, Data Warehousing, and Business Intelligence.
• Minimum 6 years of experience specifically focused on GCP.
• Candidates must have worked exclusively with GCP in their relevant cloud experience.
• Active GCP Professional Data Engineer certification is required.
• Expert-level proficiency across the GCP Data Stack, including:
  • BigQuery, including BigLake and BigQuery Omni
  • Google Cloud Storage
  • Dataflow / Apache Beam
  • Dataproc / Spark / Hadoop
  • Cloud Composer / Airflow
  • Pub/Sub
  • Confluent / Kafka integration
  • Looker
  • Vertex AI
  • BigQuery ML
• Deep experience with modern data technologies including dbt, Airflow, and GKE/Kubernetes.
• Proven experience leading at least two enterprise-scale, PB-scale cloud migrations.
• Demonstrated experience leading large, cross-functional engineering teams in Agile/DevOps environments.
• Strong expertise in data governance, security, architecture, and enterprise data platform design.
• Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code technologies such as Terraform or Pulumi.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related technical field.
• Strong executive communication and stakeholder management skills.

Equal Employment Opportunity

In its recruiting and search practices, HRforGrowth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity, and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals. HRforGrowth evaluates and presents candidates to its clients without regard to any protected characteristic.

HRforGrowth endeavors to advise the hiring organization to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws — including those enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — in its hiring decisions, terms of employment, and workplace practices.