Lead Data Architect

job summary:

General Experience Expectations:

A minimum of seven (7) years of experience with large and complex database management systems.

Description/Deliverables

The Department's OIT is seeking the services of an experienced Data Architect under the working title of

Lead Data Architect.

Scope of Work/Job Characteristics

The Lead Data Architect provides strategic, technical, and personnel leadership for the enterprise data

architecture function. This role oversees a team of Data Architects responsible for enterprise modeling,

source-to-target mapping, data quality, and governance initiatives across the organization. The Lead Data Architect defines the long-term vision for enterprise data design, ensures rigorous application of

architecture standards, and drives strategic alignment between business objectives, technical solutions,

and the broader enterprise information strategy. The role requires a balance of high-level architectural

expertise and proven leadership in guiding project teams, mentoring technical staff, and ensuring that

all enterprise data assets are well-governed, high-quality, and trusted. The duties and responsibilities of

this position are as follows:

Enterprise Data Architecture Leadership

- Lead the design, evolution, and roadmap of enterprise-wide data architectures, including operational

data stores, data warehouses, and data marts;

- Provide guidance to ensure all models, schemas, and structures align with enterprise standards and

modernization objectives;

- Oversee development and maintenance of logical and physical data models, ensuring coherent

structures across programs and platforms; and

- Direct the creation and review of source-to-target mappings across all integration and transformation

projects.

Team Leadership and Oversight

- Manage and mentor a team of Data Architects, providing coaching, work direction, and quality

assurance of deliverables;

- Allocate architectural resources to projects and ensure effective prioritization in partnership with

program and project managers;

- Establish best practices, enforce modeling standards, and ensure consistency in documentation,

design approaches, and governance activities; and

- Oversee skills development and support professional growth of team members to align with the

enterprise data strategy.

Data Standards, Quality, and Governance

- Define, maintain, and enforce data architecture standards, policies, and procedures governing

metadata, naming conventions, modeling principles, and lineage documentation;

- Lead the creation and validation of data quality rules; ensure business and technical stakeholders

align on expected data behavior;

- Oversee data lineage documentation, ensuring end-to-end traceability of data flow, business rules,

and transformation logic; and

- Ensure compliance with enterprise governance frameworks and contribute to continuous

improvement of data policies.

Technical Strategy and Solution Guidance

- Partner with engineering, analytics, and application teams to design scalable, performant data

pipelines and storage solutions;

- Provide expert-level guidance on database optimization, recovery strategies, and data loading

methodologies;

- Ensure effective data acquisition strategies and influence platform architecture decisions to support

long-term scalability and modernization efforts; and

- Evaluate emerging technologies, tools, and architectural patterns to enhance the enterprise data

ecosystem.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Collaborate with business leaders, solution architects, and program teams to align data architecture

to organizational priorities and program roadmaps;

- Participate in project intake, solution sessions, and design reviews to ensure data implications are

fully accounted for; and

- Champion a data-driven culture by promoting the value of high-quality data, strong governance, and

forward-looking architecture.

Documentation, Standards, and Review

- Ensure all architectural documents-including models, mappings, lineage, governance artifacts, and

migration strategies-are accurate, accessible, and maintained to enterprise standards; and

- Review and approve team outputs to ensure consistency, quality, and alignment with enterprise

architecture.

Requirements/Qualifications

The Department is seeking a full-time, on-site Lead Data Architect.

Required Qualifications

A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Computer Science, Information Systems,

or other related field, or equivalent work experience in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Azure

Cloud Solutions will be considered.

The Department requires the following experience, skills, and knowledge for this position:

- A minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience managing large-scale, complex database

management systems;

- Strong leadership experience managing data architects or similar technical teams;

- Strong communication skills for engaging technical and business stakeholders;

- Expertise in database platforms, data modeling tools, cloud data ecosystems, and modern data

engineering patterns;

- A minimum of seven (7) years of professional experience in Extract, Transform, Load (ETL)

development and data engineering, with at least three (3) years of hands-on experience working with

Azure Data Factory (ADF), Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Azure Purview;

- Proven ability to build and optimize large-scale ETL pipelines for high-performance, high-availability

environments;

- Deep expertise in Spark, Python, or Scala for large-scale data transformations;

- Strong Structured Query Language (SQL) proficiency and experience working with complex data

structures;

- Comprehensive knowledge of data governance, security protocols, and Role-Based Access Control

(RBAC) within the Azure ecosystem; and

- Ability to design ETL processes that are resilient, efficient, and fully compliant with regulatory

standards.

NOTE: In addition to the above list, the selected Candidate must successfully complete a Level II

Background Check.

Preferred Qualifications

The Department prefers the Candidate to have the following experience, skills, and/or knowledge for this

position:

- Experience managing Amazon Web Services (AWS) warehouse, AWS S3, and Data Sync

processes;

- Comprehensive understanding of Criminal Justice Information (CJI), Health Insurance Portability

and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) compliance knowledge;

- Possesses Microsoft Certifications in Azure Data Engineer Associate, Azure Solutions Architect

Expert, and Azure Fundamentals; and

- Possesses a Databricks Certification as a Data Engineer Associate.

location: Tallahassee, Florida

job type: Contract

salary: $85 - 95 per hour

work hours: 8am to 5pm

education: No Degree Required



responsibilities:

Scope of Work/Job Characteristics

The Lead Data Architect provides strategic, technical, and personnel leadership for the enterprise data

architecture function. This role oversees a team of Data Architects responsible for enterprise modeling,

source-to-target mapping, data quality, and governance initiatives across the organization. The Lead Data Architect defines the long-term vision for enterprise data design, ensures rigorous application of

architecture standards, and drives strategic alignment between business objectives, technical solutions,

and the broader enterprise information strategy. The role requires a balance of high-level architectural

expertise and proven leadership in guiding project teams, mentoring technical staff, and ensuring that

all enterprise data assets are well-governed, high-quality, and trusted. The duties and responsibilities of

this position are as follows:

Enterprise Data Architecture Leadership

- Lead the design, evolution, and roadmap of enterprise-wide data architectures, including operational

data stores, data warehouses, and data marts;

- Provide guidance to ensure all models, schemas, and structures align with enterprise standards and

modernization objectives;

- Oversee development and maintenance of logical and physical data models, ensuring coherent

structures across programs and platforms; and

- Direct the creation and review of source-to-target mappings across all integration and transformation

projects.

Team Leadership and Oversight

-