Principal Data Architect

Committee for Children•Seattle, WA

2d•Remote

About The Position

Committee for Children (CFC) is seeking a purpose-driven Principal Data Architect to serve as the strategic lead and working architect for their organization-wide data architecture. This role involves setting the vision, standards, and governance practices for data structure, integration, security, and usage. The Principal Data Architect will also directly design and refine data models, schemas, and integration patterns in collaboration with delivery teams, ensuring data across platforms, business systems, and programs is consistent, well-documented, and accessible for analytics, reporting, research, and AI use cases. Data at CFC includes operational system data (CRM, ERP, marketing automation, licensing, learning platforms), product usage data, and research and evaluation data. The role requires collaboration with engineering, business systems, research, IT, and business stakeholders to translate organizational needs into scalable data structures and integration patterns, embedding security, privacy, and compliance into the architecture. The team is described as collaborative, creative, and passionate about their work, offering an opportunity to make an impact daily and influence how client success transforms children's lives.

Requirements

10+ years of experience designing and delivering data solutions, with at least 5 years in a data architecture role.
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience
Extensive experience with relational databases and SQL
2+ years' experience with Lakehouse architectures, including Delta Lake technologies and medallion layer data modeling
Demonstrated experience designing and maintaining enterprise-scale data models and source schemas
Experience with data integration, transformation, and cleansing technologies
Strong understanding of data security, privacy, and compliance principles
Experience with cloud-based platforms (Azure preferred)
Experience with custom-built data systems, semi-structured data, data quality issues, and data optimization.
Ability to analyze undocumented data structures, identify source-to-target mappings, and uncover hidden data dependencies

Responsibilities

Define and evolve CFC-wide data architecture across all major systems and platforms
Establish clear data domains, system boundaries, and integration patterns
Assess current and future organizational data needs and translate them into architectural direction
Develop long-term data architecture patterns that balance scalability, maintainability, and delivery constraints
Design and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models representing CFC’s core entities, relationships, and measures
Define, document, and govern source system schemas including canonical fields, data types, naming standards, and versioning approaches
Establish systems of record and systems of reference for key domains such as accounts, licenses, users, and programs
Ensure consistent implementation of data models across operational systems
Create clear documentation that enables shared understanding across technical and non-technical stakeholders
Architect and guide data flows between CFC systems to support operations, analytics, research, and decision-making
Design integration and transformation approaches that preserve semantic meaning
Oversee large-scale data integration, transformation, and storage patterns for reliable analytics
Monitor and evolve data flows to reduce duplication, fragility, and unnecessary complexity
Embed privacy, security, and compliance requirements directly into data models and integrations
Partner with IT, security, and legal teams to align architecture with regulatory and policy requirements
Ensure privacy and security protocols, including field-level encryption, role-based access control, deletion, and auditing are architected into and consistently supported across CFC’s data architecture
Define data quality standards and validation strategies, including management of schema drift over time
Work closely with engineers, analysts, researchers, data stewards, and business partners
Serve as a subject-matter expert on CFC’s data architecture
Communicate complex data concepts clearly to diverse audiences

Benefits

100% premium coverage for medical, dental, and vision coverage
50% premium coverage for dependent’s medical and dental premiums
Retirement plan + company match up to 3%
$100 per month flexible work subsidy for phone/internet costs, office supplies, or commuting costs
16 paid holidays (including winter break and 1 floating holiday)
3 weeks' vacation in your first year
Separate sick leave accrual
Monthly contribution to childcare and/or dependent expenses
FSA account
Parental leave
Sabbatical leave
Employee assistance program
Annual wellness reimbursement
Growth and development opportunities
Disability and life insurance