Data Architect

Great Plains Communications•Little Rock, AR

5d•$90,000 - $120,000•Remote

About The Position

The Data Architect defines and maintains enterprise data architecture to support business operations, integration, reporting, and analytics. The role establishes data models, architecture standards, and roadmaps aligned with business priorities, and provides technical direction and design oversight in partnership with implementation teams, Data Governance, and Security. The architecture will also support approved artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics use cases. This is a remote position. The Data Architect works with business stakeholders and technical teams to translate requirements into architecture and design specifications, guide data modeling and platform-specific designs, and establish standards for data integration, quality, governance, security, retention, metadata, and lineage. The role also reviews solution designs and vendor proposals, manages the architectural impact of data changes, maintains documentation, supports audits, and provides technical leadership and knowledge transfer. For applicants in Colorado, the stated pay scale is $90,000–$120,000, depending on experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of relevant education, training, and experience.
At least 5 years of experience in data architecture, data modeling, and database management.

Nice To Haves

Certifications in data architecture, database management, or related fields.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to evaluate complex issues and recommend practical solutions.
Ability to assess architecture tradeoffs and explain their business impact, cost, and long-term support implications.
Strong facilitation and negotiation skills; ability to build agreement across teams and influence decisions without direct supervisory authority.
Ability to work through ambiguity, identify gaps in requirements, and make recommendations with clearly documented assumptions.
Strong organizational skills and ability to prioritize competing demands and manage dependencies across initiatives.
Experience in the telecommunications sector.

Responsibilities

Define and maintain enterprise data architecture and roadmaps aligned with business priorities, enterprise architecture principles, and technical requirements.
Collaborate with business stakeholders, Business Analysts, Software Engineering, and other technical teams to translate requirements into data architecture and design specifications.
Develop and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models, including entity-relationship diagrams, documenting business entities, attributes, and relationships.
Define authoritative data sources and cross-system identifier strategies with application owners and business data owners.
Design data integration patterns for movement, transformation, and synchronization across systems, including batch processing and event-driven integration where appropriate.
Define the architecture of the Snowflake data platform, including data organization, workload design, performance, and cost optimization.
Establish PostgreSQL data design standards and provide architectural guidance on database structures, query performance, and operational requirements.
Define standards for schemas, naming conventions, and data organization across supported platforms.
Guide translation of logical data models into platform-specific physical designs, working with developers and database administrators to support data integrity, performance, and efficient storage.
Define source-to-target mapping and transformation requirements and review implementation designs for alignment with approved data models and business rules.
Partner with Data Governance and business data owners to incorporate approved data definitions, ownership, and governance policies into data solutions.
Define data quality rules, validation, and reconciliation requirements; collaborate with implementation teams and business stakeholders to measure quality and resolve recurring data issues.
Define metadata and data lineage requirements for data discovery, traceability, and change impact analysis.
Maintain technical data definitions and partner with business data owners and Data Governance to establish consistent business terminology.
Partner with Security, Data Governance, and platform administrators to apply approved data classifications and design appropriate access controls, encryption, and data handling requirements.
Translate approved data retention, archival, and disposal policies into architecture requirements and implementation standards.
Collaborate with DevOps and Infrastructure teams to define architectural requirements for version control, deployment, monitoring, and recovery of data services.
Review solution designs and vendor proposals for alignment with enterprise data architecture standards and document material risks, dependencies, and exceptions.
Assess proposed data changes and guide model and schema evolution while managing downstream dependencies.
Create and maintain data architecture documentation, standards, and design decisions, including diagrams and implementation guidance.
Provide technical leadership and knowledge transfer to developers, data teams, and other stakeholders; communicate architecture concepts to technical and nontechnical audiences.
Support audits and compliance reviews by providing architecture documentation and evidence of alignment with approved data controls.
Design data architecture for approved AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics use cases, including requirements for data quality, lineage, and controlled access.
Evaluate emerging data technologies and practices and recommend adoption based on business value, compatibility, cost, and supportability.
Perform other related duties as assigned by management.