Data Architect (SME)

Company: Ariel Partners
Location: Washington
Posted on: May 2, 2025

Job Description:

We are seeking a highly skilled Data Architect (SME) to design and implement enterprise-level data solutions supporting mission-critical systems. The ideal candidate will have deep experience architecting data platforms, including data lakes, data warehouses, and modern data mesh frameworks, in both on-premise and cloud environments. This position plays a key role in driving data strategy, enabling secure, scalable, and high-performance data ecosystems.

Increase your chances of an interview by reading the following overview of this role before making an application.

Key Responsibilities:

Participates in planning, definition, and high-level design of data solutions, exploring alternatives and evaluating new technologies.
Develops and maintains scalable cloud-based data infrastructure, ensuring alignment with the organization's decentralized data management strategy.
Designs and implements ETL pipelines using AWS services (e.g., S3, Redshift, Glue, Lake Formation, Lambda) to support data domain requirements and self-service analytics.
Collaborates with data domain teams to design and deploy domain-specific data products, adhering to organizational standards for schema design, data transformations, and storage solutions.
Establishes and enforces data governance practices, including compliance with data privacy, access controls, and lineage requirements, across the organization's data assets.
Maintains a comprehensive data catalog and governance tools, automating workflows to uphold data integrity and ensure discoverability across all domains.
Leads the implementation and ongoing support of data mesh architecture, ensuring seamless integration and data flow across multiple domains.
Ensures the availability and reliability of the organization's Data Mesh software, managing operations and maintenance of the framework.
Provides guidance and leadership on the cultural adoption of data mesh principles, including organizational training initiatives for data stewards and users.
Communicates effectively with stakeholders to align technical data architecture with business goals, ensuring long-term support for analytics, insights, and innovation.
Experience working in an Agile organization using Scrum, Kanban, Jira, Confluence, and SAFe.
Provide team specific training as needed.



Required Skills and Qualifications:

Minimum of 8 years of experience designing and implementing data architectures, including large-scale data environments such as data lakes, data warehouses, and data mesh frameworks.
Minimum of 5 years of experience working with cloud-based data platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), particularly for data storage, processing, and analytics.
Demonstrated 2 years of experience leading and mentoring data engineering teams, fostering collaboration, and ensuring successful project execution.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills for engaging cross-functional teams and executive stakeholders.
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related technical discipline (preferred).
Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance is required.



Preferred Qualifications:

Certifications in cloud platforms (e.g., AWS Certified Data Analytics, Azure Data Engineer Associate).
Experience working in federal government, defense, or intelligence environments.
Familiarity with data cataloging, lineage, and metadata management tools (e.g., Collibra, Alation, Informatica).




If you are interested in getting more information about this opportunity, please contact Irina Rozenberg Recruiting@arielpartners.com at your earliest convenience.



At Ariel Partners, we solve the most difficult problems that inhibit technology from enabling our customers to achieve their goals. Our vision is to be recognized by our stakeholders as an elite provider of IT solutions, so when they have their biggest challenges, we are on their short list. We are looking for team members who share our values of: Integrity to do the right thing even when it hurts; Commitment to the long-term success and happiness of our customers, our people, and our partners; Courage to take on difficult challenges, accept new ideas, and accept incremental failure; and the constant pursuit of Excellence. Ariel Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer in accordance with federal, state, and local laws.

Keywords: Ariel Partners, Towson , Data Architect (SME), Other , Washington, Maryland