Data Architect

GreenStone Farm Credit Services•East Lansing, MI

About The Position

GreenStone Farm Credit Services is seeking a Data Architect to lead the vision, design, and governance of our enterprise data architecture. This role is instrumental in shaping the long‑term data strategy that supports scalable, secure, and compliant data platforms, analytics, and business intelligence capabilities across the organization. Operating within a SAFe Agile Release Train (ART), the Data Architect provides architectural direction, establishes standards, and ensures alignment between business priorities, regulatory requirements, and technical execution. This position partners closely with Product Managers, Product Owners, Data Leaders, and ART leadership to guide solution design, manage dependencies, and maintain a sustainable architectural runway. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with deep technical expertise, strong communication skills, and a passion for building data ecosystems that are interoperable, governed, and built for long‑term success. This role also plays a critical part in safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of enterprise‑sensitive data Get to know GreenStone Our $15 billion portfolio of customers, ranging from rural homeowners to global agriculture and food businesses, provides our employees with a unique opportunity to maintain a local presence while working for a top workplace. Our diverse business structure provides exciting opportunities for passionate, talented professionals in many areas. Additionally, many of our team members are highly respected in their area of expertise at both the state and national level making GreenStone one of the top Farm Credit associations in the country. Culture Core Four values steer everything we do at GreenStone. Customer First, Delivery Quality, Get involved, Do the right thing. Employees work as a team to create a company fueled by the desire to best serve each other and our customers every day. Greenstone culture promotes innovative thinking, professional development, health and wellness, and a relaxed work environment with flexible schedules. What can we offer you? GreenStone trusts the people we hire. We empower employees to make the best decisions for the customer and the company.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; Degree in computer science, math, economics, statistics, business, data engineering, information services or related field preferred
10+ years of experience in data engineering, data architecture, quantitative analytics, or a similar technical role is required
3+ years of experience using Databricks or similar platform is required
Strong expertise in data modeling (conceptual, logical, physical, dimensional)
Deep understanding of modern data architectures, including cloud platforms, lakehouse patterns, streaming, and integrations
Familiarity with data governance, security, privacy, and regulatory frameworks
Experience working in Agile or SAFe environments

Nice To Haves

5+ years of experience in a regulated industry (e.g., banking, healthcare) is preferred

Responsibilities

Define and maintain the enterprise data architecture vision and multi‑year roadmap
Establish architectural direction for data platforms, integrations, analytics, and BI solutions
Align data architecture strategy with business priorities, regulatory requirements, and enterprise technology direction
Serve as a strategic partner to Product Owners and ART leadership to ensure architectural alignment with delivery plans
Stay current with emerging data technologies, trends, and best practices
Translate architectural strategy into executable initiatives in partnership with Data Platform, Analytics, and Insights leaders
Participate in PI planning, backlog refinement, and architectural runway development
Review and guide solution designs to ensure adherence to architectural standards and principles
Identify and manage architectural dependencies and cross‑team impacts within the ART
Define and maintain data architecture standards, patterns, and reference architectures
Ensure solutions meet confidentiality, integrity, and availability requirements for sensitive data
Collaborate with governance, security, and compliance teams to ensure architectural alignment
Promote consistency, reuse, and long-term sustainability of data solutions across the enterprise
Serve as a trusted advisor to business and technology stakeholders
Communicate architectural decisions, tradeoffs, and impacts in a clear and accessible manner
Mentor teams on architectural best practices without direct people‑management responsibilities
Drive continuous improvement through learning, feedback, and architectural evolution