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Director, Data Architecture
Los Angeles, CA Direct-Hire $200000.00 - $245000.00 Onsite
Job Description

Director, Data Architecture

Employment: Direct-Hire/Full-Time

Workplace Environment: Onsite

Location: Century City, CA

Industry: Financial Services

Compensation:

SUMMARY:

The Director, Data Architecture will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining scalable, efficient, and well-documented data models that support analytical, operational, and reporting needs. This role will establish data modeling techniques, develop, document and manage detailed data models that will be deployed across a diverse set of database technologies including relational, NoSQL, and graph-based platforms. The Director, Data Architecture collaborates extensively with business stakeholders, platform engineers, data analysts, data scientists, and database developers to understand data requirements, use cases, and translate them into robust and high-performing data models. The Director, Data Architecture will play a critical role in shaping our enterprise data landscape, supporting analytics, governance, and operational data needs across Azure and modern data ecosystems.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Requirement Gathering: Collaborate extensively with business stakeholders, data analysts, data scientists, and application developers to understand data requirements, use cases, and translate them into robust data models.
  • Data Model Design: Design and develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models for various data initiatives, including data warehouses, data lakes, operational data stores, and transactional systems.
  • Dimensional Modeling:
    • Specialize in designing highly optimized dimensional models (star schemas, snowflake schemas) for analytical reporting and business intelligence applications.
    • Design and optimize data models within a Lakehouse architecture, particularly leveraging Delta Lake and Databricks best practices for performance and scalability.
    • Design and optimize data structures for NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB), considering document structures, indexing, and query patterns for specific application needs.
  • Design and maintain relational database schemas for both operational and analytical workloads within Snowflake and other RDBMS.
  • Performance Optimization: Provide input and recommendations on query optimization, indexing strategies, and data partitioning based on data model design, collaborating with database administrators and data engineers.
  • ETL/ELT Collaboration: Work closely with Data Engineers to ensure that data models are efficiently implemented and align with ETL/ELT processes, providing guidance on data mapping, transformation rules, and data loading strategies.
  • Metadata Management: Contribute to the development and maintenance of a comprehensive data dictionary and Metadata repository.
  • Documentation: Create and maintain detailed data model documentation, including data dictionaries, entity-relationship diagrams (ERDs), data flow diagrams, and data lineage.
  • Data Quality: Contribute to data quality initiatives by identifying potential data quality issues at the modeling stage and collaborating on solutions
  • Data Governance & Standards:
    • Establish and enforce data modeling standards, naming conventions, metadata management, and data governance policies to ensure data integrity and consistency.
    • Champion best practices for data protection, including encryption and access controls, to safeguard sensitive information.
    • Collaborate to define and implement robust data quality standards, ensuring all analytical models are built on a foundation of reliable data.
    • Operate within our compliance framework to ensure ethical data handling, regulatory compliance and consistency across the enterprise.
  • Technology Evaluation: Stay current with emerging data modeling techniques, tools, and database technologies, recommending new approaches where appropriate.

REQUIREMENTS (Skills, Experience, Educations, Certifications):

  • Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
  • 10+ years of dedicated experience as a Data Modeler or Data Architect.
  • Extensive experience with various data modeling techniques: Dimensional Modeling (Kimball), 3NF (Inmon), Data Vault, and NoSQL modeling.
  • Strong expertise in SQL and experience with advanced SQL concepts for data analysis and modeling validation.
  • Proven experience with at least two of the following database technologies for data modeling:
    • Databricks/Delta Lake: Experience modeling data within a data lakehouse environment, understanding Delta Lake features, and optimizing Spark.
    • MongoDB: Hands-on experience designing schemas for NoSQL document databases, including considerations for flexibility, performance, and application-specific access patterns.
    • Snowflake: Experience in designing and optimizing data warehouses and marts in Snowflake, including understanding its unique architecture.
  • Solid understanding of Azure Cloud Platform: Familiarity with Azure data services relevant to data storage, processing, and analytics (e.g., Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Databricks).
  • Experience with Data Ingestion concepts: Understanding how various data ingestion tools and techniques (e.g., Kafka, Azure Event Hubs, CDC, APIs) impact data structure and modeling needs
  • Strong understanding of ETL/ELT processes and their impact on data model design.
  • Proficiency with data modeling tools (e.g., ER/Studio, Erwin, DataGrip, SQL Developer, or similar).
  • Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and conceptual thinking skills
  • Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
  • Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, team-oriented environment.
  • Desirable Certifications:
    • TOGAF® Certification (for enterprise architecture alignment)
    • Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate
    • Microsoft Certified: Azure Enterprise Data Analyst Associate
    • Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate or Professional
    • MongoDB Certified DBA or Developer
    • Snowflake SnowPro Core Certification (if applicable to hybrid environments)

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, age, ancestry, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, or military or veteran status. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance.

Job Reference: JN -022026-415691