Data Platform Architect

About the role

This role defines the technical architecture of Happen Bank's data and AI platform, which powers various business domains including origination, marketing, credit decisioning, analytics, and AI capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain the reference architecture for Happen Bank's modern data and AI platform, ensuring it meets enterprise security, compliance, and scalability requirements.
• Design architectural patterns for data pipelines, storage, compute, and integration that balance performance, cost, and resilience.
• Develop and enforce standards for platform adoption, including data modeling patterns, integration contracts, and security guardrails.
• Lead proofs of concept and technical evaluations for emerging technologies, including AI/ML infrastructure, GenAI integration patterns, and automation platforms.
• Drive architecture governance in partnership with the enterprise architecture team, ensuring data platform decisions align with broader technology strategy and regulatory requirements.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI to improve architecture workflows, from automated impact analysis and capacity planning to intelligent design pattern recommendation and architecture compliance checking.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in data engineering, data architecture, or platform engineering; bachelor's degree or higher, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience designing and delivering modern, cloud-based data platforms at scale (Databricks, Snowflake, or equivalent).
• Operates as a technical authority across teams, grounded in deep expertise, operational awareness, and clear trade-off accounting.
• Designs for production, not for diagrams, accounting for failover, scalability, security, and operational burden on teams.
• Understands how to apply AI to complex, high-stakes platform architecture, setting a high bar for responsible use, including data integrity, model limitations, and compliance considerations.
• Collaborates naturally across organizational boundaries, working with infrastructure, security, integration, DevOps, and governance teams as a connector, not a gatekeeper.
• Communicates architecture decisions in business terms, making complex trade-offs understandable to engineering leaders, compliance stakeholders, and executive sponsors.

Qualifications

• Deep experience with the Databricks ecosystem, including Unity Catalog, Delta Lake optimization, and workspace governance at enterprise scale.
• Background in enterprise architecture governance at a regulated financial institution (SOX, GLBA, fair lending data requirements).
• Experience with ML/AI platform architecture, including MLOps patterns, model serving infrastructure, evaluation frameworks, and feature stores.
• Familiarity with data mesh or domain-oriented data architecture patterns in large, multi-team organizations.

Skills

• Strong understanding of AI and its application to platform architecture.
• Ability to lead and influence across multiple teams.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision plans for employees and their families.
• 401(k) match.
• Health and wellness programs.
• Flexible time off policies for salaried employees.
• Up to 16 weeks paid parental leave.

Pay

The target base salary range for this position is $210,000 - $245,000. The base salary of the role will be determined by job-related knowledge, experience, education, skills, and location.

Schedule

The position is eligible for a hybrid work model, with teams in-office Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. In-person attendance is essential for this role's success, and remote placement will not be considered.

Location

San Francisco. The locations have been determined to foster in-person collaboration with this role’s team or the related business lines.

Travel

As needed travel to Happen Bank offices and/or other locations, as needed.