Lead Data Architect

We are seeking a dedicated Lead Data Architect to join our client's team. This role involves overseeing the technical architecture for enterprise data, analytics, and AI initiatives, focusing on a lakehouse platform, master data management, and data governance. The ideal candidate will support our client's mission to enhance enterprise reporting, decision-making, and artificial intelligence capabilities, contributing to innovative solutions that align with our organizational goals.

• Develop and maintain the enterprise data, analytics, and AI architecture roadmap, including integration, migration, master data, and data lifecycle management across cloud and on-premises platforms.
• Own the end-to-end architecture of the organization's data platform, including data layers, security policies, orchestration, observability, recovery, and cost management.
• Design and build core components using PySpark and SQL, establishing reusable patterns for data ingestion, transformation, change data capture, schema evolution, testing, and deployment.
• Define authoritative sources, data ownership, publishing patterns, and downstream responsibilities for key data domains such as customer, product, inventory, vendor, location, and transactional data.
• Lead the master data management efforts by consolidating sources, defining data standards, resolving identities, and establishing governance patterns for item, customer, vendor, and location data.
• Facilitate enterprise data governance and stewardship meetings, defining roles, decision rights, and escalation processes with relevant stakeholders.
• Maintain a comprehensive business glossary and metadata catalog, ensuring data quality standards for accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, and validity.
• Implement data classification, access controls, encryption, masking, and retention policies in collaboration with Legal and Compliance teams.
• Define data contracts and governance for strategic systems, including forecasting, recommendations, and operational outputs.
• Govern AI and analytics development through approved tools and security protocols, establishing a roadmap for customer segmentation, propensity modeling, and lifecycle value.
• Lead technical standards development, review architecture decisions, mentor engineering teams, and facilitate collaboration with business partners to translate technical concepts into business value.

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, data management, statistics, mathematics, or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum of 10 years' experience in data architecture, engineering, or management roles, including at least 5 years with enterprise data architecture and lakehouse platforms.
• Proven expertise in designing, developing, and maintaining large-scale data platforms using tools like Databricks, Snowflake, or MS Fabric.
• Extensive hands-on experience with Databricks, including ownership of a medallion or similar lakehouse architecture, from design to operation.
• Strong proficiency in PySpark and SQL, with practical experience in Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, workflow orchestration, and change data capture from relational sources.
• Experience designing enterprise data repositories, customer data platforms, identity resolution, or master data management capabilities.
• Demonstrated knowledge of metadata management, data lineage, lifecycle management, and technical controls related to data privacy and security.

• Certification in advanced data management, governance, or quality tools.
• Experience with in retail, fashion, or direct-to-consumer industries focused on merchandising, inventory, order management, and ecommerce data.
• Hands-on experience integrating planning, ecommerce, CDP, and finance systems with enterprise data platforms.
• Familiarity with MLflow, feature management, model serving, and cloud data services.
• Ability to effectively communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Joining our client offers the chance to lead and shape enterprise data initiatives at a growing organization committed to innovation. You will work in a collaborative environment with flexible benefits, opportunities for professional growth, and the ability to make a meaningful impact on the organization's data-driven future. This role provides a platform to apply your expertise in a meaningful way, within a culture that…