Data Governance Lead

Systems Engineering Solutions Corporation•Washington, DC

14h

About The Position

We are seeking a Data Governance Lead to join an expanded analytics requirements, solutioning, and development team supporting VA. This role will serve as the program’s lead for data governance strategy and execution, with a specific focus on maintaining and expanding the Collibra data catalog, related documentation, and adoption of additional Collibra capabilities. You will establish and maintain a scalable data governance framework used by program teams, working closely with data owners and stewards across the organization to strengthen data definitions, data lineage, and data quality transparency, helping stakeholders trust and confidently use data. In addition, you will design and develop conceptual, logical, and solution data models to support modern operational and analytics systems, and guide data modernization by assessing legacy datasets and schemas.

Requirements

5+ years of experience
Bachelor’s degree
5+ years of experience in data governance, data management, metadata management, and/or data stewardship in complex organizations.
Demonstrated ability to define and operationalize governance processes (e.g., ownership, stewardship, approvals, issue management).
Hands-on experience supporting or implementing Collibra (catalog/business glossary/metadata workflows), including onboarding datasets and maintaining documentation.
Strong understanding of metadata, including business metadata, technical metadata, and lineage concepts.
Proven experience creating conceptual, logical, and physical/solution data models.
Strong proficiency with SQL and ability to assess schemas, relationships, and data quality issues.
Ability to analyze and document legacy data structures to inform modernization and migration strategies.
Experience producing clear, standardized documentation for both technical and business audiences.
Ability to facilitate workshops/interviews with SMEs to capture definitions, rules, and lineage.

Nice To Haves

Experience with regulated environments (e.g., public sector, healthcare, financial, or other compliance-heavy domains).
Familiarity with data governance frameworks and best practices (e.g., DAMA-DMBOK concepts, domain-oriented governance approaches).
Experience integrating Collibra with data platforms/tools to automate metadata ingestion and lineage capture.
Knowledge of data quality tooling/practices (profiling, rules, scoring, remediation workflows).
Experience supporting data migration programs and modernization of legacy applications/services.
Certifications (optional): Collibra, CDMP, or comparable data management credentials.
Influential leadership: Drives adoption of governance standards across teams without relying on authority alone.
Facilitation & communication: Able to translate between business and technical stakeholders; runs effective working sessions.
Organizational skills: Manages multiple workstreams (catalog expansion, documentation, governance rollout) with strong prioritization.
Analytical mindset: Investigates data issues thoroughly; balances pragmatism with governance rigor.
Customer/stakeholder focus: Builds trusted relationships with data owners, SMEs, and delivery teams; responds quickly and thoughtfully.
Change management: Comfortable guiding organizations through process and behavior change to improve data trust and usability.

Responsibilities

Establish, implement, and continuously improve a data governance framework (policies, standards, roles, processes, decision rights) for program teams.
Define governance operating model components such as data ownership, stewardship, and domain/accountability structures.
Create and manage governance artifacts (e.g., glossary standards, naming conventions, documentation templates, lineage standards).
Lead program efforts to maintain and expand the Collibra data catalog, including onboarding new datasets, domains, and business terms.
Configure and promote use of Collibra capabilities such as business glossary, data dictionary/metadata, lineage, workflow, and certification/curation.
Develop documentation and enablement materials to drive consistent catalog usage by technical and non-technical users.
Partner with data owners and SMEs to enhance data dictionary, business definitions, and technical metadata.
Capture and maintain end-to-end data lineage across pipelines and systems to improve transparency, auditability, and trust.
Establish processes for metadata quality checks and periodic review/certification of critical data assets.
Design and develop conceptual, logical, and solution data models supporting operational systems and analytics platforms.
Translate business requirements into robust data structures, relationships, and workflows to support reporting, operational use, and analytics.
Analyze existing datasets and legacy schemas to guide data migration, rationalization, and application/service modernization efforts.
Collaborate with product owners, developers, DevSecOps engineers, business analysts, and data engineers to ensure governance is embedded in delivery.
Support solutioning efforts by aligning data modeling and governance practices to delivery roadmaps and release plans.
Communicate governance decisions, standards, and progress to stakeholders, including leadership audiences.