Master Data Reference Architect
Role Overview: Master Data Reference Architect
We are seeking a senior architect to own master and reference data architecture for the Firm. This is a strategic, hands-on role that defines the canonical model for the Firms core business entities - what each entity means, which system is authoritative for it, and how entities relate - and implements that model in the Firm s MDM platform - Profisee, so that every function depending on those entities works from the same trusted data.
Enterprise Information Architecture
Define and maintain the canonical model for the Firms core business entities, establishing agreed definitions for each entity, its attributes, its identifiers, its lifecycle and its permitted values
Work with business subject matter experts across each domain to document current process and data structures, and model how they align to the canonical model or reveal where it must evolve
Work with source system DBAs and application owners to document physical schemas, keys and constraints, and ground crosswalks and canonical identifiers in how those systems actually store and enforce data
Work with the teams building Fabric semantic models to validate that dimensions and hierarchies function as intended in production reporting, and adjust the canonical model where downstream structure or grain requires it
Model the relationships that cross domain boundaries, where most enterprise data ambiguity originates: timekeeper to matter to client to billing arrangement to revenue attribution matter to practice group to organizational hierarchy person to role to office to cost center
Designate the authoritative source for each entity and attribute, and document the crosswalks that reconcile source system keys and conventions into canonical identifiers
Resolve semantic conflicts between source systems and business functions, driving agreement on a single definition rather than accommodating parallel versions
Master Data Design
Configure the canonical model in Profisee as entity and attribute structures, hierarchies and cross-entity dependencies, in non-production, for engineering promotion
Determine, for each domain, whether the mastered record writes back to source systems or flows one-directionally into OneLake and reporting, and design the Profisee model to match that pattern
Design how cross-domain relationships are implemented and enforced in Profisee cardinality, referential integrity and cascade behavior on merge, update or retirement so relationships stay valid as golden records change
Define match, merge and survivorship logic that produces defensible golden records, and the attribute-level quality expectations that govern them
Design how client and organization master records are matched and enriched against external data sources Bloomberg, S&P, FactSet and comparable providers to strengthen corporate hierarchy and ultimate parent accuracy for conflicts checking and relationship visibility. Define the golden record lifecycle creation, merge, unmerge and retirement and how each state change is communicated to downstream consumers and preserved in history
Design the attribute-level security and visibility model for sensitive master data financial terms, confidential client relationships, restricted personnel information aligned to the Firms ethical wall and information barrier requirements
Advise on stewardship decisions the model requires, for MDM engineering to implement as workflow & Specify the publication contract for mastered data to consuming systems and OneLake
Reference Data Architecture
Establish the reference data architecture for the Firms controlled vocabularies and code sets Matter classification schemes (AOL taxonomies), practice and industry classifications, currencies, locations and geographies, etc.
Design the temporal model for reference data and hierarchies, including effective dating, versioning and as-of semantics, and define whether and how historical reporting restates when a structure changes
Design and maintain the mappings between equivalent code set values across the Firms systems, so that differing local values resolve to a single governed value without requiring every source system to change how it records them
Model multilevel hierarchies and alternate rollups, allowing the same underlying structure to support different views for finance, practice leadership and client reporting without duplicating the source
Design the change control model for reference data: how values are proposed, approved, versioned, deprecated, rather than deleted, and communicated to affected systems and reports
Specify distribution patterns that make governed reference data available to operational systems as well as analytics, so that consuming applications use the authoritative list rather than maintaining private copies
Required Qualifications
More than 10 years in data architecture and data modeling on large-scale enterprise data platforms
Demonstrated ownership of an enterprise or cross-domain information model defining core entities, attributes, relationships and authoritative sources, and driving organizational agreement on those definitions
Strong conceptual and logical modeling capability, including normalized and dimensional modeling, and the ability to translate complex domain hierarchies into clean, durable structures
Hands-on configuration experience with Profisee or a comparable multidomain MDM platform, including entity and attribute modeling, match and merge, survivorship and hierarchy management
Demonstrated design of reference data architecture as a discipline in its own right code set governance, effective dating and versioning, alternate hierarchy rollups, external code set crosswalks and change control
Working knowledge of Microsoft Fabric and OneLake, sufficient to specify publication contracts and analytics-ready structures rather than to engineer the platform
Advanced SQL & Demonstrated ability to operate as a design authority across team boundaries producing specifications engineering teams can build from, and reaching durable decisions with senior business stakeholders
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in a law firm or professional services environment
Experience with Microsoft Purview or a comparable catalog and glossary platform, including glossary design and lineage curation
Experience designing conformed dimensions and hierarchies consumed by Power BI
Experience establishing data ownership in a partnership or federated organization
Desirable Skills:
Keyword:
Skills: Digital : Microsoft Power BIMicrosoft FabricMaster Data Management (MDM)
Experience Required: 8-10
