Database Architect

McKesson•Columbus, OH

5h•Hybrid

About The Position

McKesson is an impact-driven, Fortune 10 company that touches virtually every aspect of healthcare. We are known for delivering insights, products, and services that make quality care more accessible and affordable. Here, we focus on the health, happiness, and well-being of you and those we serve – we care. What you do at McKesson matters. We foster a culture where you can grow, make an impact, and are empowered to bring new ideas. Together, we thrive as we shape the future of health for patients, our communities, and our people. If you want to be part of tomorrow’s health today, we want to hear from you. Fully competent Data Architect operating independently with limited supervision. Responsible for end-to-end design decisions within their domain, contributing to enterprise standards and modernization initiatives. Work is evaluated based on quality, scalability, and alignment to architectural principles rather than task completion alone. ROLE SUMMARY This role is responsible for designing and evolving the organization’s cloud data architecture as applications are migrated and re-architected from on-premises systems to Azure. The Data Architect will define scalable and secure data solutions leveraging Azure-managed database services (PostgreSQL Flexible Server, Azure SQL) and drive best practices in data modeling, integration, automation, and interoperability (including FHIR where applicable).

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
4+ years of experience in data architecture, database design, or data engineering
Strong knowledge (4+ years) of cloud-native database platforms (Azure preferred)
Hands-on experience (4+ years) with: Azure PostgreSQL (Flexible Server strongly preferred), Azure SQL / SQL Server
Experience (4+ years) with database migration strategies, including: Data synchronization, Low/zero-downtime migration patterns
Proficiency (4+ years) in: Terraform or equivalent Infrastructure-as-Code tools, CI/CD pipeline integration for database deployments
Solid understanding of: Data modeling (relational and NoSQL), Distributed data patterns (sharding, CQRS, event-driven architectures)
Experience documenting data architecture standards and procedures

Nice To Haves

Experience with Azure ecosystem services (ADF, Synapse, Data Lake, Cosmos DB)
Familiarity with FHIR and healthcare data interoperability standards
Experience with: Liquibase or similar schema/versioning tools, ArgoCD or GitOps deployment models
Exposure to domain-driven design and microservices-based data architecture

Responsibilities

Define reference architectures and reusable patterns that enable consistent adoption across multiple application teams
Design and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models for modernized applications
Define standards for data structures, naming conventions, and data lifecycle management
Ensure alignment between application architecture and data design (transactional + domain-driven patterns)
Design and guide implementation of solutions using: Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server, Azure SQL / SQL Server, Supporting Azure data services (ADF, Event Hubs, etc.)
Establish architecture patterns for high availability, scalability, and disaster recovery
Provide guidance on database selection across relational and NoSQL options
Lead data architecture for on-prem to Azure migration and re-platforming efforts
Define strategies for: Data migration (including near-zero downtime approaches), Data synchronization and cutover, Schema modernization and decomposition of legacy designs
Design integration patterns for batch and real-time data movement
Support implementation of FHIR-based data structures and interoperability patterns
Ensure consistency and quality across distributed data systems
Establish standards for: Data security and access controls (AAD, RBAC), Data classification and protection, Audit and compliance requirements (including healthcare considerations if FHIR is used)
Ensure architecture aligns with enterprise governance models
Partner with application teams, DBAs, engineers, and business stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable data solutions
Act as a consultative architect, influencing design decisions without creating delivery bottlenecks
Produce and maintain architecture documentation, standards, and reference patterns