Vice President of Enterprise Data Products & Data Architecture

Compass Group•Charlotte, NC

About The Position

Compass Technology is a dedicated internal team for Compass Group delivering enterprise-wide initiatives that support our diverse customer base and enhance our business operations. Our domain encompasses a vast spectrum of opportunities, from hands-on desk support to Cybersecurity, Cloud Engineering, AI, and Modern Application development. We are committed to building robust IT infrastructures, driving digital transformation, and much more. We are looking for a VP of Solutions & Data Architecture to own the vision, standards, and roadmap that connect Compass’ business strategy to scalable, well-governed data products. This leader will drive architectural decisions across application, integration, and data domains — ensuring our platforms are secure, performant, and built to support the company's growth. This is a hands-on leadership role: part strategist, part technologist, part people manager, and a key partner to Engineering, Product, and Data/Analytics leadership.

Requirements

10+ years in software/data engineering roles, with 5+ years in an architecture leadership capacity (Enterprise Architect, Principal Architect, Director/VP of Architecture, or similar).
Proven experience architecting both solutions (application/integration/systems design) and data (warehousing, pipelines, data modeling, governance) at scale.
Deep knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), microservices/API architecture, and modern data stack tools (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, dbt, Kafka, Airflow).
Track record of building and leading high-performing architecture or engineering teams.
Strong stakeholder management skills — comfortable presenting to C-suite and translating technical concepts for business audiences.
Experience establishing architecture governance and design standards in a growing or matrixed organization.
Familiarity with AI/ML infrastructure and MLOps practices.
Relevant certifications (TOGAF, AWS/Azure/GCP Solutions Architect, etc.).
Experience leading digital transformation or major platform modernization initiatives.

Nice To Haves

A clear, adopted data product and supporting architecture roadmap with measurable reduction in technical debt and system fragmentation.
A scalable, governed data platform that reliably supports analytics, reporting, and (where applicable) ML use cases.
An engaged, growing architecture team with clear standards and low attrition.
Strong cross-functional trust — Product and Engineering see Architecture as an enabler, not a bottleneck.

Responsibilities

Define and own the enterprise data product and architecture strategy, aligning technology decisions with business objectives and long-term scalability.
Establish architecture standards, frameworks, and governance processes (design reviews, architecture decision records, technology radar) across engineering teams.
Lead the design of complex, cross-system solutions — including integration patterns, API strategy, cloud infrastructure, and data platform architecture (data lakes/warehouses, pipelines, master data management).
Partner with executive leadership to shape the multi-year technology roadmap, including build-vs-buy decisions and vendor/platform evaluations.
Provide technical leadership on data strategy: data modeling, data quality, data governance, privacy/compliance (e.g., SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA as applicable), and analytics/ML enablement.
Build, mentor, and scale a team of solutions and data architects; set career development paths and technical growth plans.
Act as the primary escalation point for architectural risk, technical debt, and cross-team design conflicts.
Evaluate emerging technologies (cloud services, AI/ML platforms, data tooling) and make recommendations on adoption.
Ensure architecture decisions account for security, scalability, cost efficiency, and maintainability.
Communicate architectural vision and trade-offs clearly to both technical teams and non-technical executive stakeholders.