Associate Director, Lead Data Architect - Databricks

About the Role

Serve as deputy to the Data Workstream Lead and lead day-to-day technical architecture decisions. Define the secure Databricks lakehouse architecture, environments, workspaces, storage patterns, identity and access considerations, and Unity Catalog structure. Establish DataOps, ingestion, transformation, orchestration, integration, API, and consumption patterns. Develop migration architecture, source-to-target design standards, metadata and lineage approach, and data-contract framework. Define architecture standards for security, privacy, quality, observability, performance, testing, deployment, and supportability. Review detailed models, mappings, pipelines, interfaces, and data products for conformance with the target architecture. Facilitate architecture decisions and communicate tradeoffs to technical teams, business stakeholders, and leadership. Mentor architects and engineers and provide technical quality assurance across Prepare, Stabilize, and Operationalize phases.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day technical architecture decisions.
• Define secure Databricks lakehouse architecture, environments, workspaces, storage patterns, identity and access considerations, and Unity Catalog structure.
• Establish canonical HR data models, domain boundaries, curated layers, semantic approaches, and reusable data-product standards.
• Develop migration architecture, source-to-target design standards, metadata and lineage approach, and data-contract framework.
• Define architecture standards for security, privacy, quality, observability, performance, testing, deployment, and supportability.
• Review detailed models, mappings, pipelines, interfaces, and data products for conformance with the target architecture.
• Facilitate architecture decisions and communicate tradeoffs to technical teams, business stakeholders, and leadership.
• Mentor architects and engineers and provide technical quality assurance.

Requirements

• Must be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DHS "PUBLIC TRUST"; candidates must obtain approved adjudication prior to onboarding.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data engineering, information systems, engineering, or a related field.
• EIGHT (8) or more years of experience in enterprise data architecture, data engineering, cloud platforms, or analytics modernization.
• Experience architecting Databricks lakehouse solutions and Unity Catalog security and governance structures.
• Strong knowledge of dimensional, relational, canonical, and data-product modeling patterns.
• Experience with ingestion, API, integration, orchestration, metadata, lineage, data contracts, quality, and DataOps patterns.
• Experience designing migration architectures and guiding source-to-target mapping and conversion decisions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data engineering, information systems, engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in enterprise data architecture, data engineering, cloud platforms, or analytics modernization.

Skills

• Databricks lakehouse architecture and Unity Catalog.
• Dimensional, relational, canonical, and data-product modeling.
• Data ingestion, API, integration, orchestration, metadata, lineage, and DataOps.
• Migration architecture and source-to-target mapping.

Benefits

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
• Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Basic Life & Supplemental Life
• Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Student Loan PayDown
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
• Skills Development & Certifications
• Employee Referral Program
• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
• Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program
• Mobility Stipend

Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus. Travel required up to 25%.

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating a diverse and supportive workplace. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with applicable law. If you require accommodation, contact Guidehouse Recruiting at 1-571-633-1711 or RecruitingAccommodation@guidehouse.com.