Senior Technology Manager, Data Semantics and Context Modeling

Lululemon Athletica; Washington; On-site; USD 180,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

lululemon is seeking a Senior Manager, Data Semantics and Context Modeling to lead the design and governance of a trusted semantic layer across our data platform. You will shape the business ontology, context, and knowledge representations to support analytics, BI, and AI/ML solutions.

You will build semantic abstractions, integrate with catalog, metadata, and lineage tooling, and drive adoption across BI tools.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data, analytics, or information architecture with deep experience in data semantics and taxonomy.
• Experience building or managing a centralized semantic layer or metrics platform, data mesh, and data products.
• 3+ years in senior leadership managing teams with deep complexity or multiple projects.
• Strong understanding of semantic layers and context modeling, business metrics/KPI frameworks, and data governance.

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve the enterprise semantic layer, ensuring consistent definitions, metrics, and meaning across all consumption patterns.
• Provide dimensional models and semantic abstractions that contextualize analytics, BI, and AI/ML workloads.
• Identify and implement generative AI and multimodal methods to create the semantic layer and support downstream analytics.
• Maintain the business context layer, including hierarchies, relationships, and event semantics.
• Integrate semantics with the data catalog, metadata, and lineage tooling to enable discoverability.
• Drive adoption of the semantic layer across BI tools, dashboards, and data products.
• Partner with the data platform and delivery teams to enable context-driven data insights.
• Define canonical enterprise data models and common business entities (customer/guest, product, store, transaction).
• Lead and develop a high-performing team of data and semantic modeling experts.
• Foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Semantic modeling

Context modeling

Data governance

Leadership

AI/ML governance

Data analytics

Job description

Senior Technology Manager, Data Semantics and Context Modeling

Business Unit: Store Support Centre (SSC)

lululemon is an innovative performance apparel company for yoga, running, training, and other athletic pursuits. Setting the bar in technical fabrics and functional design, we create transformational products and experiences that support people in moving, growing, connecting, and being well. We owe our success to our innovative product, emphasis on stores, commitment to our people, and the incredible connections we make in every community we're in. As a company, we focus on creating positive change to build a healthier, thriving future. In particular, that includes creating an equitable, inclusive and growth-focused environment for our people.

about this team

The Enterprise Data & AI organization is a strategic and operational driver of growth for lululemon, owning and building the data and AI platforms and services that enable the enterprise to operate with intelligence at scale. The team leads the design and delivery of a trusted unified data foundation, AI-driven data analytics and insights, and AI solutions across lululemon’s vertically integrated retail ecosystem, while embedding strong data governance and responsible AI practices from the very beginning. By applying AI to critical business challenges and creating new, transformative AI solutions, the team helps reshape how lululemon operates. Through deep partnership with product, technology, and business teams, Enterprise Data & AI accelerates product innovation, unlocks measurable value, elevates guest and educator experiences, and drives enterprise efficiency.

core responsibilities

The Enterprise Data & AI team is at the center of how lululemon scales as a data-driven organization. As the Senior Manager, Data Semantics and Context Modeling, you will lead the design, governance, and adoption of a trusted semantic layer across our enterprise data platform. In this role, you’ll help shape how the business ontology, context, and knowledge are represented in the Enterprise Data Platform. You will build and provide the models and semantic abstractions that support context-driven analytics, BI, and AI/ML solutions. You will integrate semantics with the data catalog, metadata, and lineage tooling to create discoverability. You will create representations such as knowledge graphs to capture relationships, attributes and semantics of lululemon’s enterprise data, enabling the right context to be integrated into downstream AI applications and insights generation.

If you’re motivated by solving complex alignment challenges, influencing at scale, and building something foundational that impacts the entire organization, this is a rare opportunity to define how data and AI work at lululemon.

Select Responsibilities Include:

• Own and evolve the enterprise semantic layer, ensuring consistent definitions, metrics, and meaning across all consumption patterns.
• Provide dimensional models and semantic abstractions that contextualize and improve the performance of analytics, BI, and AI/ML, and other downstream applications.
• With a use-case based lens, identify and implement generative AI and multimodal methods to create the semantic layer and provide appropriate context for downstream analytics and AI use-cases.
• Maintain the business context layer, including hierarchies, relationships, business rules, and event semantics.
• Integrate semantics seamlessly with the data catalog, metadata, and lineage tooling to enable discoverability and trust.
• Drive adoption of the semantic layer across BI tools, dashboards, ad hoc analysis, data products, and AI-enabled analytics experiences.
• Partner with the enterprise data platform, and the data and insights delivery teams to enable delivery of context-driven data insights.
• Define and maintain canonical enterprise data models and common business entities (e.g., customer/guest, product, store, transaction, inventory).
• Lead and develop a high-performing team of data and semantic modeling experts
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement

Qualifications

• 10+ years in data, analytics, or information architecture, with deep experience in data semantics and taxonomy
• Experience building or managing a centralized semantic layer or metrics platform, data mesh, and data products
• 3+ years in senior leadership managing teams with deep complexity or multiple projects
• Strong understanding of:
  • Semantic layers and context modeling
  • Business metrics and KPI frameworks
  • Data governance and stewardship models
• Experience supporting AI, machine learning, or natural language query and analytics use cases through governed semantic models.

Demonstrated ability to lead through influence in a federated environment

Experience partnering with senior stakeholders (Director-VP level) across business and tech

must haves

• Acknowledge the presence of choice in every moment and take personal responsibility for your life.
• Possess an entrepreneurial spirit and continuously innovate to achieve great results.
• Communicate with honesty and kindness and create the space for others to do the same.
• Lead with courage, knowing the possibility of greatness is bigger than the fear of failure.
• Foster connection by putting people first and building trusting relationships.
• Integrate fun and joy as a way of being and working, aka doesn’t take yourself too seriously.

additional notesAuthorization to work in the U.S. is required for this role

Please note: Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visa at this time for this role.

compensation and benefits package

lululemon’s compensation offerings are grounded in a pay-for-performance philosophy that recognizes exceptional individual and team performance. The typical hiring range for this position is from $179,800-$236,000 annually; the base pay offered is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and internal equity. As part of our total rewards offering, permanent employees in this position may be eligible for our competitive annual bonus program, subject to program eligibility requirements.

At lululemon, investing in our people is a top priority. We believe that when life works, work works. We strive to be the place where inclusive leaders come to develop and enable all to be well. Recognizing our teams for their performance and dedication, other components of our total rewards offerings include support of career development, wellbeing, and personal growth:

• Extended health and dental benefits, and mental health plans
• Paid time off
• Savings and retirement plan matching
• Parenthood top-up
• Extensive catalog of development course offerings
• People networks, mentorship programs, and leadership series (to name a few)

Note: The incentive programs, benefits, and perks have certain eligibility requirements. The Company reserves the right to alter these incentive programs, benefits, and perks in whole or in part at any time without advance notice.

workplace arrangement

In-person collaboration and connection is important to our culture. Work is performed onsite, minimum 4 days per week.

Only those applicants under consideration will be contacted. Please accept our utmost appreciation for your interest. Lululemon is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on merit and business needs, and not on race, color, creed, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, military service, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or any other classification protected by federal, state or provincial and local laws and ordinances. Reasonable accommodation is available for qualified individuals with disabilities, upon request. This Equal Employment Opportunity policy applies to all practices relating to recruitment and hiring, compensation, benefits, discipline, transfer, termination and all other terms and conditions of employment. While management is primarily responsible for seeing that Lululemon equal employment opportunity policies are implemented, you share in the responsibility for assuring that, by your personal actions, the policies are effective.

Lululemon is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you would like someone from our team to contact you for individualized support, email us at [e-mail]. In your email, please include the position title, the location of the position and the nature of your request.

The use of AI tools, including but not limited to ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, DeepSeek, or any other AI-assisted software, is strictly prohibited during the interview process. This includes, AI-generated responses, content creation, or any form of automated assistance in live interviews, case studies, technical assessments, or written submissions.

At lululemon, we are committed to privacy, integrity, transparency, and ethical hiring practices. Our commitment to responsible AI ensures that proprietary information is protected and that all hiring decisions are based on an individual’s own skills, judgment, and expertise without AI assistance. Any use of AI during the interview process will result in immediate disqualification. Lululemon reserves the right to use AI detection tools to verify the authenticity of candidate responses.