Principal IT Data Architect

Careers that change lives start here. Medtronic is a global leader in healthcare technology with a Mission to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life. Our 95,000 employees work across more than 150 countries to put patients first - developing innovative medical technologies that improve the lives of 72+ million patients each year. Your unique talents will help shape the future of healthcare while building a career grounded in purpose, growth, and impact.

A Day in the Life

The Principal IT Data Architect is responsible for defining and leading the organization's data architecture strategy to ensure data is secure, reliable, scalable, and accessible for business operations, analytics, and AI initiatives. This role designs enterprise data solutions, establishes data standards and governance practices, and works closely with business and technology teams to enable data-driven decision-making. The Principal IT Data Architect provides technical leadership, drives innovation in data platforms and integrations, and ensures alignment between data architecture and business goals.

Responsibilities may include the following and other duties may be assigned.

ENTERPRISE DATA ARCHITECTURE & STRATEGY

• Define and maintain the enterprise data architecture vision, strategy, standards, and roadmap for Commercial.
• Develop scalable data architecture solutions aligned with Commercial business objectives and revenue outcomes.
• Design conceptual, logical, and physical data models across CRM, CPQ, pricing, marketing, and sales analytics systems.
• Establish architecture principles, patterns, and best practices that accelerate delivery and reduce technical debt.
• Serve as the architecture authority within the Architecture Review Board - reviewing and approving solution designs for alignment with enterprise standards.

DATA PLATFORM & SNOWFLAKE LEADERSHIP

• Lead the design and implementation of the Snowflake-based data platform, including data lakehouse patterns, semantic layers, and consumption zones.
• Architect and govern Snowflake features: Cortex AI functions, Semantic Views, Dynamic Tables, Streams & Tasks, data sharing, and cost optimization.
• Design and operationalize agentic AI solutions (Cortex Agents, tool-use patterns, RAG pipelines) on the Snowflake platform.
• Evaluate emerging platform capabilities and drive adoption where they deliver commercial value.
• Ensure platforms meet performance, scalability, reliability, and cost targets.

DATA INTEGRATION & INTEROPERABILITY

• Design enterprise integration frameworks for structured and unstructured data across Salesforce, SAP, marketing platforms, and third-party data providers.
• Define standards for ETL/ELT pipelines (Informatica Cloud, Coalesce, dbt, Airflow), APIs, event-driven architectures, and real-time streaming.
• Ensure seamless, governed data movement across enterprise applications and cloud platforms.
• Support interoperability requirements and enterprise-wide data sharing initiatives.

DATA GOVERNANCE & QUALITY

• Establish and enforce data governance standards, policies, and processes within the Commercial domain.
• Partner with governance teams to define data ownership, stewardship, metadata management, and master data management (MDM) practices.
• Ensure data quality, consistency, lineage, and traceability - leveraging Snowflake-native governance features (tagging, masking, access policies, lineage).
• Drive compliance with data privacy, security, and regulatory requirements across global operations.

ANALYTICS, AI & COMMERCIAL ENABLEMENT

• Enable enterprise analytics, BI, and AI/ML initiatives through robust, consumption-ready data architecture.
• Partner with analytics, data science, and commercial teams to ensure data availability and usability for dashboards, predictive models, and AI-driven solutions.
• Define architecture patterns that support Generative AI, agentic workflows, and advanced analytics workloads.
• Translate commercial KPIs (pipeline velocity, win rates, pricing effectiveness) into data products that drive action.

SECURITY & COMPLIANCE

• Ensure data architectures comply with Medtronic security standards and regulatory requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOX).
• Design secure data access controls, encryption, auditing, and monitoring capabilities.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity and compliance teams to mitigate data-related risks.

LEADERSHIP & STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT

• Serve as a trusted advisor to business and technology leaders on data strategy and architecture decisions.
• Lead architecture reviews and provide authoritative guidance on complex data initiatives.
• Mentor data architects, engineers, and technical team members - raising the bar on technical excellence.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration across regions, Global IT, and external service providers.
• Contribute to the technical community of practice (templates, standards, execution models).

PROJECT & PROGRAM SUPPORT

• Provide architectural leadership for enterprise programs and digital transformation initiatives.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to estimate effort, identify risks, dependencies, and opportunities.
• Support strategic planning, budgeting, and technology investment decisions.

Required Knowledge and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 14+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or enterprise architecture.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Snowflake (architecture, performance tuning, governance, advanced features etc).
• Strong expertise in data modeling, data warehousing, data lakehouse patterns, and cloud data platforms.
• Experience designing enterprise-scale data integration and analytics solutions.
• Knowledge of data governance, metadata management, data quality, and master data management.
• Experience with cloud technologies (Azure preferred; AWS/GCP acceptable).
• Demonstrated commercial business acumen - ability to understand revenue processes, sales operations, and translate business outcomes into data architecture.
• Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence at Director/VP level.
• Experience working in global, virtual organizations.

Nice to have:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, or related field.
• Experience with Snowflake Cortex AI, Semantic Views, and agentic solution patterns.
• Experience with Databricks, Informatica Cloud, Coalesce, DBT, or Airflow.
• Experience with Salesforce (SFDC), CPQ, and marketing technology data landscapes.
• Experience supporting AI/ML and Generative AI initiatives in a production context.
• Industry experience in healthcare, medical devices, life sciences, or other regulated environments.
• Relevant certifications: Snowflake SnowPro Advanced, Azure Data Engineer, TOGAF, or equivalent.
• High degree of learning agility - ability to rapidly consume and apply new information and technologies.

Physical Job Requirements

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this position, but they are not an exhaustive list of all the required responsibilities and skills of this position.

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Benefits & Compensation

Medtronic offers a competitive Salary and flexible Benefits Package

A commitment to our employees lives at the core of our values. We recognize their contributions. They share in the success they help to create.We offer a wide range of benefits, resources, and competitive compensation plans designed to support you at every career and life stage.

This position is eligible for a short-term incentive called the Medtronic Incentive Plan (MIP).