Principal Data Architect - Enterprise AI

Our client is a leading FinTech SaaS organization serving the financial services industry. As the company accelerates its enterprise AI strategy, it is investing in building the foundational data architecture required to support AI, analytics, and next-generation product innovation. This role will be instrumental in transforming more than two decades of fragmented product data into a unified enterprise architecture that enables scalable AI capabilities and future business growth.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Principal Data Architect – Enterprise AI to lead the design and implementation of enterprise-wide data architecture supporting our client's long-term AI strategy. This is not a traditional architecture role focused on maintaining an existing environment. Instead, this individual will build the enterprise data foundation by standardizing data models, establishing governance, and creating architectural consistency across multiple SaaS products that have evolved independently over many years. The ideal candidate has personally designed enterprise data architecture from the ground up, enjoys solving complex business problems through technology, and possesses the executive presence necessary to influence engineering, product, and business leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead Enterprise Data Architecture: Design and implement conceptual, logical, and physical enterprise data models that establish consistency across the organization's product portfolio.
• Standardize Enterprise Data Models: Evaluate existing product architectures, reverse engineer legacy data structures, and develop standardized enterprise-wide data models that improve scalability and interoperability.
• Establish Data Governance: Define enterprise standards, governance processes, metadata strategies, and architectural best practices that improve data quality and consistency.
• Enable Enterprise AI: Build the foundational data architecture necessary to support machine learning, AI, analytics, and future product innovation initiatives.
• Influence Cross-Functional Organizations: Partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, Data Engineering, and executive leadership to drive adoption of enterprise architectural standards without direct organizational authority.
• Drive Business Transformation: Connect architectural decisions directly to measurable business outcomes, reducing technical debt while enabling faster product development and AI adoption.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical discipline. Master's degree preferred.
• 10+ years of enterprise data architecture or enterprise data engineering experience.
• Demonstrated success designing enterprise data models across multiple products or business domains.
• Experience leading enterprise-wide data standardization and governance initiatives.
• Experience working within complex SaaS, FinTech, InsurTech, or similarly regulated technology organizations.
• Proven ability to influence technical direction across engineering organizations without direct authority.

Skills

• Enterprise Data Modeling
• Enterprise Data Architecture
• Data Governance & Standardization
• Azure Databricks
• Delta Lake
• Unity Catalog
• SQL
• PySpark
• Master Data Management
• Data Warehousing
• Cloud Data Platforms
• Enterprise Integration
• Metadata Management
• AI-Ready Data Architecture
• Executive Stakeholder Management

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting enterprise AI or machine learning initiatives through foundational data architecture.
• Experience standardizing architecture following mergers, acquisitions, or multi-product platform growth.
• Background in highly regulated industries such as Financial Services, Banking, Lending, Insurance, Healthcare, or Enterprise SaaS.
• Experience implementing enterprise governance frameworks and data quality initiatives.
• Builder mentality with demonstrated success creating enterprise architecture from the ground up.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary with bonus.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) with company-sponsored retirement benefits.
• Fully remote within the continental United States.
• Flexible work environment.
• Professional development opportunity to build the enterprise data architecture supporting the organization's AI transformation.
• High visibility with executive leadership, including the VP of Data and CTO.
• Opportunity to shape enterprise-wide technical strategy and long-term product direction.

Additional Perks

• Greenfield enterprise architecture initiative with significant executive sponsorship.
• Opportunity to influence the company's AI roadmap and foundational technology strategy.
• Collaborative, innovation-focused culture with significant investment in modern data and AI capabilities.