Data Architect - Senior Manager

Ascendion is a leader in AI-powered software engineering, helping businesses innovate faster, smarter, and with greater impact. We partner with Global 2000 clients across North America, UK, Europe, and APAC to solve complex challenges in data, experience design, software product engineering, and workforce transformation. Powered by expert engineers, thousands of AI agents, and our Engineering to the Power of AI™ (EngineeringAI) method, we deliver measurable outcomes that build trust, unlock value, and accelerate growth. Learn more at ascendion.com Ascendion | Engineering to elevate life

We have a culture built on opportunity, inclusion, and a spirit of partnership. Come, change the world with us:

· Build the coolest tech for world’s leading brands

· Solve complex problems - and learn new skills

· Experience the power of transforming digital engineering for Fortune 500 clients

· Master your craft with leading training programs and hands-on experience

Experience a community of change makers!

Join a culture of high-performing innovators with endless ideas and a passion for tech. Our culture is the fabric of our company, and it is what makes us unique and diverse. The way we share ideas, learning, experiences, successes, and joy allows everyone to be their best at Ascendion.

Job Description: Enterprise Data & AI Architect

Department: Data & Insights, Ascendion Location: Gurgaon and Pune, India (On-site at Customer Office) Role Type: Full-Time, Hands-On Architect Headcount: 2

About the Role

Highly seasoned, hands-on Enterprise Data & AI Architects to join our Data & Insights practice. In this strategic role, candidate will be deployed at our key customer's office in Gurgaon, working directly alongside their senior partners to drive technical excellence and business growth.

You will act as a trusted technical advisor and hands-on enabler across two primary workstreams: driving architectural rigor and code quality for enterprise delivery programs, and rapid prototyping/POC development to support aggressive presales activities. This role requires a hyperscaler-agnostic mindset, deep expertise in modern data architectures, and a strong understanding of how to leverage Agentic AI to accelerate development and win deals.

Core Responsibilities

Architecture Review, Optimization & Delivery Excellence

• Conduct comprehensive architectural and code reviews across ongoing programs to identify gaps, technical debt, and anti-patterns.
• Perform deep-dive performance tuning, specifically targeting slow SQL queries, suboptimal data pipelines, and legacy data architectures.
• Establish and enforce stringent coding standards, best practices, and CI/CD pipelines across the engineering teams.
• Act as a hands-on "fixer" to resolve complex architectural bottlenecks in real-time.

Agentic AI & Engineering Productivity

• Champion the adoption of Agentic AI and developer-assist tools natively available within existing hyperscalers (e.g., AWS Q, GitHub Copilot, Google Cloud Gemini, Azure AI).
• Train and mentor delivery teams on utilizing AI to automate code generation, optimize SQL, and improve overall code quality and speed-to-market.

Agile Presales & Rapid POC Development

• Partner directly with customer stakeholders during presales cycles to understand end-client (e.g., Life Sciences/Pharma) business problems.
• Architect, build, and deploy rapid, agile Proof of Concepts (POCs) focused on data modernization, advanced analytics, and Generative AI.
• Translate complex technical architectures into compelling business value propositions to help the customer win net-new deals.

Technical Requirements & Qualifications

• Experience: 12+ years of total IT experience, with at least 4+ years acting as a hands-on Data Architect or Enterprise Architect.
• Hyperscaler Agnostic: Proven, hands-on architectural experience across multiple major cloud platforms: AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Modern Data Stack: Deep expertise in designing and optimizing solutions on Snowflake and Databricks. Comprehensive understanding of Data Warehousing, Data Lakes, and Data Lakehouse architectures.
• Performance Engineering: Master-level proficiency in SQL. Strong ability to optimize complex queries, manage indexing, partition strategies, and compute-warehouse scaling.
• AI/GenAI Acumen: Practical experience with Large Language Models (LLMs), Generative AI, and Agentic workflows. Ability to build quick AI POCs (e.g., RAG architectures, prompt engineering, integrating cloud AI services).
• Coding Proficiency: Must be genuinely hands-on. Strong proficiency in Python, PySpark, and SQL.
• Consulting DNA: Exceptional stakeholder management and communication skills. Ability to push back gracefully, advise senior partners, and thrive in an ambiguous, fast-paced presales environment.

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