Director - Data Architect (Microsoft Data & AI)

We are seeking an experienced Director - Data Architect to provide architecture leadership across our Microsoft Data & AI practice.

This role will translate client business and technology priorities into scalable, secure, governed, and AI-ready data architectures using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Fabric, and Azure Databricks.

The ideal candidate combines deep Microsoft Data & AI architecture expertise, hands-on technical depth, and strong client-facing skills. This individual will lead architecture from discovery and solution design through implementation while helping clients modernize their data environments and enable Analytics, Generative AI, and Agentic AI capabilities.

What You'll Be Doing

Client & Technology Leadership

• Serve as a trusted Data & AI architecture advisor to client business and technology stakeholders.
• Lead client discovery and architecture workshops, translating business needs into executable Microsoft Data & AI architectures and modernization roadmaps.
• Guide architecture decisions across Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, or integrated Fabric + Databricks architectures based on client requirements and architectural fit.
• Communicate architecture alternatives, trade-offs, risks, costs, and recommendations to executive and technical audiences.
• Support presales activities including solution shaping, architecture development, technical presentations, estimation, proposals, and statements of work.
• Collaborate with Microsoft architects, account teams, and technology specialists on strategic opportunities.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to architects and engineering teams while maintaining sufficient hands-on depth to validate designs and guide implementation.

Data Architecture & Modernization

• Define target-state Data & AI architectures, solution architectures, standards, and reusable design patterns leveraging the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Lead architecture for data modernization, cloud migration, analytics, and AI initiatives.
• Architect modern lakehouse and data platform solutions using Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, Azure Databricks, ADLS, Delta Lake, and Power BI.
• Define and implement Medallion Architecture (Bronze, Silver, Gold) patterns for scalable ingestion, transformation, data quality, governance, and consumption.
• Design architectures spanning batch and streaming ingestion, data transformation, integration, storage, semantic models, APIs, analytics, and AI consumption.
• Establish strategies for data products, enterprise data models, semantic layers, metadata, lineage, data quality, and master/reference data.
• Develop architecture patterns that balance scalability, security, performance, cost, maintainability, and speed-to-value.
• Embed data governance, security, privacy, metadata, lineage, and data quality into architecture and solution designs.
• Define governance patterns leveraging Microsoft Purview, Fabric governance capabilities, or Databricks Unity Catalog.
• Promote governed and reusable enterprise data products rather than isolated project-specific datasets.

AI, Data Agents & Generative AI

• Architect AI-ready data platforms supporting Generative AI, Agentic AI, and enterprise AI applications.
• Design solutions leveraging Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Microsoft Fabric Data Agents, LLMs, RAG, embeddings, vector search, and AI agents.
• Define patterns connecting governed enterprise data, semantic models, unstructured knowledge, AI models, and agents.
• Establish approaches for grounding, AI evaluation, observability, security, MLOps/LLMOps, and production readiness.
• Evaluate emerging Microsoft Data & AI capabilities and define practical enterprise adoption patterns.

What You'll Bring to the Role

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems, or a related discipline.
• 12+ years of technology experience, including significant experience in enterprise data platforms, cloud, analytics, and architecture.
• 5+ years of architecture or senior technical leadership experience delivering large-scale enterprise data solutions.
• Deep experience architecting Data & Analytics solutions on Microsoft Azure and defining target-state architectures and modernization roadmaps.
• Strong experience with Microsoft Fabric and/or Azure Databricks, including OneLake, lakehouse architecture, Delta Lake, data engineering, semantic models, and analytics.
• Strong understanding of Medallion Architecture, data products, semantic layers, batch/streaming architectures, APIs, and event-driven integration.
• Strong technical foundation in SQL, Python, Spark, distributed processing, data modeling, integration patterns, and APIs.
• Strong understanding of Azure AI Foundry, Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Fabric Data Agents, Generative AI, RAG, vector search, and Agentic AI architectures.
• Experience designing architectures supporting enterprise analytics, Power BI, AI/ML, Generative AI, and conversational access to enterprise data.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Purview, Unity Catalog, data governance, security, privacy, metadata, lineage, and data quality.
• Strong understanding of Azure security including Entra ID, RBAC, managed identities, Key Vault, VNets, and Private Link/private endpoints.
• Demonstrated ability to translate business requirements into architecture decisions, solution designs, and implementation roadmaps.
• Experience with client discovery, presales solution architecture, estimation, technical presentations, and proposal development.
• Strong executive communication and presentation skills with the ability to engage client leaders, Microsoft stakeholders, architects, and engineering teams.
• Relevant Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Fabric, and/or Databricks certifications preferred.