I&T Systems Architect

City of Charlotte•Charlotte, NC

5d•$108,851 - $156,474

About The Position

The City of Charlotte Innovation & Technology Services Department is seeking a strategic and technically proficient Data Architect to lead the design, governance, and optimization of enterprise data architecture. The role enables data-driven decision-making and digital transformation while ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. The architect aligns data initiatives with citywide goals across areas including public safety, public works, finance, transportation, and permitting, and works to improve trust in City data through stronger quality, consistency, documentation, and accountability. The position supports reliable reporting, analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital services by making data accessible, trusted, governed, secure, reusable, and aligned with business needs. It develops architecture standards and documentation, maps data flows, designs integrations among legacy systems, cloud platforms, and SaaS products, and works with departments and technology teams to improve data practices. The role also supports cybersecurity efforts to identify where restricted data is stored, how it moves, who owns it, and how it is used. It advises leadership on data risks, opportunities, and investment priorities. The listed salary range to hire is $108,851–$119,800, commensurate with experience. The broader salary range listed in the posting is $108,851.00–$156,473.59, commensurate with experience.

Requirements

Experience designing, documenting, or supporting data architecture, data models, databases, data integrations, or enterprise reporting environments.
Experience working with relational databases, data warehouses, APIs, ETL/ELT processes, and business intelligence platforms.
Experience analyzing how data moves between systems, applications, reports, and business processes.
Experience developing or applying data standards, governance practices, data quality rules, or documentation.
Experience working with technical teams, business users, vendors, and leadership to translate business needs into data solutions.
Experience creating technical documentation such as data flow diagrams, source-to-target mappings, system inventories, or architecture recommendations.
Understanding of enterprise data architecture, data modeling, data integration, and data governance principles.
Ability to apply experience with relational databases, data warehouses, data lakes, APIs, ETL/ELT processes, and cloud data platforms such as AWS, Snowflake, or similar technologies to support secure, reliable, scalable enterprise data architecture.
Understanding of enterprise architecture concepts and how data architecture supports business applications and technology planning.
Knowledge of data security, privacy, records retention, access control, and regulatory compliance, including CJIS, HIPAA, FERPA, and NIST.
Knowledge of metadata management, data lineage, master data management, and data quality practices, including establishing visibility into where data resides, how it moves, and how it is used.
Knowledge of business intelligence, analytics, reporting tools, and common public-sector data needs such as CRM, MDM, addressing, and asset management.
Knowledge of modern integration patterns, including APIs, file transfers, middleware, and event-based data movement.
Ability to analyze complex systems to understand data sources, dependencies, duplication, and integration needs, and to create data models, data flow diagrams, architecture documentation, and technical standards.
Ability to translate business needs into practical data architecture recommendations.
Ability to evaluate technology solutions for data storage, integration, reporting, security, and governance impacts.
Ability to identify long-term impacts of technology and data decisions, identify data risks, and recommend practical improvements.
Ability to develop standards that balance governance, usability, security, and operational practicality.
Ability to work across organizational boundaries, build consensus around shared data practices, and communicate technical data concepts clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to explain risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations to support executive decision-making and organize complex information into clear documentation, roadmaps, and decision materials.
Bachelor’s degree and five years of related experience in data architecture, database administration, data engineering, business intelligence, systems integration, enterprise architecture, or data governance; or a master’s degree and three years of related experience in data architecture, data engineering, enterprise data management, analytics, information systems, computer science, public administration, or a closely related field; or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination; candidates may also be asked to take a skills test or participate in other assessments.

Nice To Haves

Experience in a large public-sector, utility, transportation, public safety, finance, or similarly complex enterprise environment.
Experience supporting enterprise architecture, technology governance, application modernization, or major system implementation projects.
Experience with cloud data platforms such as AWS, data lakes, SQL Server, or similar tools.
Experience with metadata management, master data management, data lineage, data catalogs, or data stewardship programs.
Experience reviewing vendor systems or SaaS solutions for data storage, integration, reporting, security, and long-term support impacts.
Experience supporting open data, geospatial data, artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, or digital service initiatives.
Experience helping establish a new data governance, data architecture, or enterprise data management function.

Responsibilities

Strengthen the City’s ability to deliver reliable reporting, analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital services by ensuring data is accessible, trusted, governed, secure, reusable, and aligned with business needs.
Develop and maintain enterprise data architecture standards, models, and documentation.
Map data flows across major City systems, applications, databases, integrations, and reporting tools.
Architect integrations between legacy systems, cloud platforms, and SaaS solutions, including Workday, GIS products such as Esri, permitting systems, case management, Work and Asset Management, and public safety tools.
Support Cyber Security in identifying and validating where restricted data is stored, how it moves, who owns it, and how it is used.
Partner with departments, application teams, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and analytics teams to improve data management practices.
Support I&T partners in assessing technology initiatives for data architecture, integration, reporting, security, and long-term sustainability impacts.
Recommend improvements to reduce duplicate data, manual data movement, inconsistent reporting, and unmanaged integrations.
Support data governance, including data definitions, stewardship, quality standards, retention, and access controls.
Document source systems, data lineage, integration patterns, metadata, and data dependencies.
Advise leadership on data risks, opportunities, and investment priorities.
Collaborate on problem-solving involving data.