Principal Data Architect - Office CTO

Are you ready for new challenges and new opportunities? Join our team in Seattle!
Current job opportunities are posted here as they become available.

Princip al Data Architect, Office of the CTO

The mission of the Allen Institute is to unlock the complexities of bioscience and advance our knowledge to improve human health. Using an open science, multi-scale, team-oriented approach, the Allen Institute focuses on accelerating foundational research, developing standards and models, and cultivating new ideas to make a broad, transformational impact on science. The Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) supports this mission by providing engineering infrastructure, as well as developing and implementing high-impact, data-driven tools for foundational bioscience.

We are seeking a highly motivated Principal Data Architect to lead the organization and curation of the Allen Institute’s extensive, multimodal biological data assets, spanning over 20 years and multiple petabytes of data across neuroscience, cell science, immunology, and more. This role operates as the primary owner of data governance and stewardship practices across the Institute, establishing standards, driving adoption, and advancing a centralized approach to data cataloging and lifecycle management.

Working across scientific programs and technology teams, the Principal Data Curator will improve data discoverability and responsible data use, ensuring alignment with institutional and regulatory standards. Through this work, the role will help shape a sustainable data ecosystem that supports open science while balancing governance, security, and operational efficiency.

The mission of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is not only to provide state of the art engineering infrastructure to the Allen Institute as a whole, but to also address high-risk, high-reward questions in biology through AI.

At the Allen Institute, we believe that science is for everyone – and should be open to everyone. We are dedicated to combating biases and reducing barriers to STEM careers more broadly.

We also believe that science is better when it includes different perspectives and voices. We strive to make the Allen Institute a place where everyone feels like they belong and are empowered to do their best work in a supportive environment.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and strongly encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for our open positions.

Essential Functions

• Establish and implement Institute-wide standards and frameworks to improve data discoverability, usability, and consistency across scientific and technology teams, influencing technical direction and decision-making across domains
• Own and advance the Institute’s data governance and stewardship program, including data cataloging, and lifecycle management practices, operating with a high degree of autonomy as a recognized subject matter expert
• Develop guidance and best practices for data ETL, lifecycle management, including creation, storage, archiving, and retirement of datasets aligned with scientific mission
• Drive adoption of data governance practices across programs, ensuring alignment and sustained use of standards and tools, with impact measured through uptake and effectiveness
• Ensure data governance practices align with relevant NIST, HIPAA, and institutional data security standards where applicable. Work with technology, security, and legal teams to help define processes for managing sensitive or restricted datasets and implement appropriate safeguards and compliance practices
• Lead the development and evolution of a centralized data registry and associated metadata frameworks for large-scale, multimodal datasets
• Influence decisions related to data storage, infrastructure, and cost optimization, helping balance scientific priorities with resource constraints
• Serve as a technical and strategic advisor to scientific, engineering, and operational leaders on data management practices, tradeoffs, and long-term sustainability
• Lead high-impact, cross-functional initiatives to improve data accessibility, reuse, and long-term sustainability…