Data & AI Solutions Architect

Orangepeople•Plano, KY

About The Position

We are seeking a highly experienced Data & AI Solutions Architect to support a strategic enterprise initiative focused on identifying, evaluating, and enabling data- and AI-driven solutions within a manufacturing environment. This role is not a traditional delivery-focused data engineering position. The successful candidate must be comfortable operating in an evolving and ambiguous environment where business requirements, use cases, and platform capabilities are still being defined. The ideal candidate will bring a blend of technical expertise, architectural thinking, business acumen, and strong stakeholder engagement skills. They will work closely with business leaders, architects, engineers, and manufacturing stakeholders to identify high-value opportunities, define solution approaches, create conceptual architectures, and guide future implementation efforts.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in Data Engineering, Data Architecture, Analytics Architecture, or related roles.
Strong experience with SQL and Python.
Experience designing enterprise-scale data platforms and data architectures.
Proven ability to operate successfully in ambiguous, early-stage programs.
Experience leading discovery and requirements gathering efforts.
Demonstrated ability to translate business challenges into technical solutions.
Experience creating solution architectures, technical roadmaps, and implementation strategies.
Strong understanding of data modeling, data governance, and enterprise integration patterns.
Experience supporting cloud-based data ecosystems (AWS preferred).
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting AI, Advanced Analytics, or Digital Transformation programs.
Experience developing AI and Generative AI use cases.
Experience with Databricks, Snowflake, Redshift, or similar modern data platforms.
Experience with Industrial IoT, manufacturing systems, MES, ERP, SCADA, or telemetry platforms.
Experience with proof-of-concept planning and execution.
Experience presenting to executive leadership and steering committees.
Background in automotive, battery manufacturing, or industrial environments.

Responsibilities

Lead data discovery activities across manufacturing and enterprise business domains.
Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand operational challenges, opportunities, and objectives.
Identify, evaluate, and prioritize AI, analytics, and digital transformation use cases.
Translate business needs into technical solution concepts and implementation roadmaps.
Drive requirements gathering, stakeholder interviews, and workshop sessions.
Design conceptual and logical data architectures supporting AI and analytics initiatives.
Assess existing enterprise data ecosystems and identify integration opportunities.
Define data requirements, source system dependencies, and solution approaches.
Create architecture recommendations, proof-of-concept strategies, and technical roadmaps.
Collaborate with enterprise architecture, application, and platform teams.
Design and support scalable data ingestion, transformation, and processing frameworks.
Define data modeling strategies for operational, analytical, and AI consumption.
Support architecture decisions involving cloud platforms, data lakes, and enterprise data hubs.
Provide technical guidance for future implementation and production deployment activities.
Act as a trusted advisor across business and technical teams.
Facilitate discussions between manufacturing, operations, engineering, and IT stakeholders.
Present findings, recommendations, and progress updates to leadership and steering committees.
Guide teams through ambiguity and help establish strategic direction.
Participate in OP monthly team meetings and participate in team-building efforts.
Contribute to OP technical discussions, peer reviews, etc.
Contribute content and collaborate via the OP-Wiki/Knowledge Base.
Provide status reports to OP Account Management as requested.