Principal Data Architect

Adastra Corporation•Toronto, ON

23d•Hybrid

About The Position

Adastra is looking for a senior, hands-on Principal Data Architect to lead the evolution of a modern AWS-based data platform from a federated data products layer into a scalable semantic layer powered by a Knowledge Graph. This role plays a critical part in shaping the architecture and technical direction of a next-generation data portal that enables advanced analytics, semantic search, and intuitive business-facing data experiences. You will act as both a technical leader and architect, working closely with engineering and product teams to bring proven concepts into production while helping build and guide a high-performing architecture team. Adastra is a global leader in AI and data-driven transformation, helping organizations lead with artificial intelligence—responsibly, strategically, and at scale. With over 25 years of experience, Adastra empowers enterprise clients to unlock business value through data innovation, operational excellence, and smart customer engagement. Trusted by some of the world’s most prominent brands, Adastra delivers end-to-end solutions grounded in thoughtful strategy, robust governance, and deep technical expertise. From defining vision to ensuring execution, Adastra guides organizations through every stage of their AI, data and cloud journey—building future-ready capabilities and delivering measurable, lasting impact. Adastra serves clients across key industries including financial services, automotive, manufacturing, technology, media and telecom (TMT), healthcare, retail, and professional services. The company employs more than 2,000 professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Requirements

Extensive experience in data architecture and platform design within large-scale, cloud-based environments
Strong hands-on experience designing and implementing semantic layers or knowledge graph–based architectures
Deep expertise with AWS data and analytics services
Experience designing architectures that support advanced analytics, data discovery, and semantic search use cases
Proven ability to work across PoC and production environments, translating concepts into operational solutions
Strong leadership skills with experience guiding teams through complex architectural transformations
Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Nice To Haves

Experience with agent-based or agentic architectures for data interaction and insight generation
Familiarity with conversational analytics or chat-based business intelligence tools
Experience working with explainable or transparent analytics solutions
Background supporting business-facing data products or self-service analytics platforms

Responsibilities

Define and own the architecture vision for expanding the data platform from federated data products to a semantic layer powered by a Knowledge Graph
Lead the design and implementation of semantic and context graphs to support advanced analytics, data discovery, and insight generation
Architect agentic systems layered on top of the data platform to enable semantic search, comprehension, and conversational data interactions
Guide the productionization of a completed Proof of Concept into a scalable, enterprise-ready solution
Provide hands-on technical leadership while helping build and mentor a high-performing data architecture team
Collaborate with engineering, analytics, and product partners to align architecture decisions with business outcomes
Ensure solutions are transparent, explainable, and accessible through business-facing interfaces