Data Architect / Quality Assurance Engineer

City of Philadelphia • Philadelphia, PA

10d • Onsite

About The Position

The Data Architect / Quality Assurance Engineer will help define, document, and improve the data models, standards, validation frameworks, and quality assurance practices that support the City’s enterprise data integration ecosystem. This position will work across departments, programs, systems, and technical teams to understand business processes, source-system behavior, data definitions, data quality issues, and integration needs. The role will help translate that understanding into enterprise data models, data contracts, validation rules, metadata, quality checks, and architectural guardrails that make City data more consistent, trustworthy, reusable, and scalable. The Data Architect / Quality Assurance Engineer will play a key role in reducing downstream errors, improving API and integration design, supporting data governance, and ensuring that enterprise data products are designed with quality and reuse in mind from the beginning. The position will support priority departmental and enterprise modernization efforts, while also contributing to broader enterprise data architecture and data quality work across CityGeo’s portfolio. We are looking for a candidate who can bridge business process analysis, data architecture, quality assurance, and practical implementation. This role is well suited for someone who enjoys working with stakeholders to understand how data is produced and used, while also creating the standards, models, and validation practices that make data more reliable across the enterprise. Some prominent services the team is responsible for include DataBridge, OIT’s enterprise data warehouse, AIS, the City’s custom address information systems which supports public address search and internal geocoding, and Databridge-Airflow, a custom workflow generator and orchestrator for departmental integrations (https://metadata.phila.gov/) and open data publishing. Some examples of OIT’s commitment to serving the public through the effective and innovative integration of City open data include: https://Atlas.phila.gov https://property.phila.gov https://Openmaps.phila.gov https://streetsmartphl.phila.gov/ www.phila.gov/solarmap www.phila.gov/stressmap

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Data Analytics, GIS, Public Policy, Engineering, or a related field. Equivalent work experience may be considered.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in data architecture, data engineering, data quality assurance, data governance, business intelligence, systems analysis, database design, or a related role.
• Demonstrated experience designing data models, documenting data definitions, analyzing source systems, or creating validation frameworks.
• Proven experience working with SQL and relational databases.
• Experience working with technical teams and business stakeholders to define requirements, data rules, data models, or quality standards.
• Experience supporting enterprise integrations, APIs, data warehouses, reporting systems, analytics platforms, or operational data products.
• Dedication to making Philadelphia municipal government more robust, efficient, equitable, and data-informed.
• The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with spatial datasets, addressing data, permitting, property, service request, inspection, or other municipal datasets is a plus.
• Experience working in a public-sector, civic technology, or large enterprise environment is a plus.
• Previous work in a public-sector or large-organization setting is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead data discovery and requirements-gathering sessions with departments, programs, vendors, and technical teams to understand business processes, source systems, data flows, data definitions, and data quality concerns.
• Design conceptual, logical, and physical data models that support enterprise integrations, APIs, reporting, analytics, open data, and operational systems.
• Define reusable data architecture patterns, naming conventions, entity relationships, identifiers, reference data standards, and master data concepts.
• Develop data contracts, schema standards, field definitions, validation rules, and acceptance criteria for new and existing integrations.
• Establish systematic data quality checks for completeness, accuracy, consistency, validity, uniqueness, timeliness, referential integrity, and business-rule compliance.
• Work with data engineers to implement automated validation and quality assurance workflows using SQL, Python, DBT tests, metadata tools, or similar approaches.
• Review integration designs, pipeline logic, API structures, and data models to ensure they align with enterprise standards and long-term reuse needs.
• Identify and document data quality issues, root causes, source-system constraints, transformation risks, and downstream impacts.
• Develop quality assurance processes for integration releases, schema changes, source-system changes, API changes, and data product updates.
• Support metadata management, data lineage, data dictionaries, data inventories, and governance documentation for enterprise data assets.
• Partner with data stewards and department stakeholders to clarify definitions, ownership, update frequency, quality expectations, and appropriate use of data.
• Partner with security, privacy, legal, and program teams to ensure sensitive or restricted data is handled according to appropriate rules and expectations.
• Contribute to enterprise data governance, data sharing, API development, open data, and integration standards.
• Produce clear documentation, diagrams, validation reports, data quality scorecards, and technical guidance for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Help establish a culture of quality, reuse, and accountability across City data integration work.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available
• As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
• Eligible City employees will no longer have to worry about paying for SEPTA public transportation. Whether you're a full-time, part-time, or provisional employee, you can seize the opportunity to sign up for the SEPTA Key Advantage Program and receive free Key cards for free rides on SEPTA buses, trains, trolleys, and regional rails.
• The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level