The Data Architect is responsible for contributing to the strategic design and development of the data architecture that shapes how the university’s data is collected, stored, processed, integrated, and used. Under the direction of the Lead Data Architect, this role will assist in the definition of data architecture and data modeling standards, guidelines, and techniques. Additionally, this role will be involved in translating business needs into technical requirements and functional designs, and provide input into strategies for prototyping, testing, and training. This position also contributes to the creation and maintenance of a data catalog, designs data models to empower analytics, participates in the evaluation of various internal and external sources, engages on data quality initiatives, and advises on the optimization of data-driven applications.

About the Team:

Vanderbilt University Information Technology is a human-centric organization that advances our university by delivering innovative solutions and frictionless experiences through collaboration.

IT Data Engineering & Operations is dedicated to delivering innovative and leading-edge solutions in the areas of data engineering, management, and operations. This group is comprised of three distinct work teams, broken down as:

• Database Administration

• Data Engineering and Warehouse Infrastructure, and

• Data Architecture and Analytics

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Design scalable, robust, and maintainable data architecture solutions to support the university’s data needs and enterprise data strategy.

• Provide input into data-related issues, including data modeling, data warehousing, data lake design, data integration, and data management.

• Create data architecture designs, translating business requirements, and developing prototypes, testing, and training.

• Optimize data architecture for performance, scalability, and security, adhering to best practices and industry standards.

• Participate in the assessment and design of data integration, migration, and transformation processes to assure the seamless flow of data across various systems and platforms.

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including data engineers, data scientists, and business analysts, to gather requirements, define data models, and translate business needs into technical specifications.

• Through collaboration with our partners, gain insight into customer challenges and data requirements and seek to deliver quality solutions, collaborating with system and business owners to create problem-prevention strategies.

• Designs conceptual, logical, and physical data models, and supports the creation of data strategies by building roadmaps and creating processes to meet current and future needs.

• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve data-related issues in collaboration with other IT teams, campus partners, and the broader community.

• Support the establishment and enforcement of data governance policies, procedures, and standards to assure data quality, accuracy, and consistency across the organization.

• Assist in the creation and management of a repository of documentation related to data architecture standards, protocols, and frameworks, and regularly evaluate for improvement opportunities.

• Create and maintain documentation, including data models, data dictionaries, architecture diagrams, and process flows, to assure effective communication and understanding of data architecture throughout the organization.

• Maintain currency with emerging technologies, leveraging industry knowledge and expertise to implement continuous improvement and innovation efforts in data architecture and related areas (e.g., application programming interfaces).

• Stay current on industry trends and emerging technologies, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance the organization’s data capabilities.

• Provide informed recommendations on innovative data tools and services in support of the university’s enterprise data strategy.

Expected Performance:

• Successfully design data architecture solutions that meet or exceed the university’s data needs and strategic objectives.

• Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies, proactively identifying opportunities to enhance the university’s data capabilities.

• Continuously improve data quality, accuracy, and consistency by enforcing data governance policies and best practices.

• Collaborate with team members, promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

• Demonstrate effective communication and collaboration skills, contributing to a positive and inclusive work environment.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position does not have supervisory responsibility, the position reports administratively and functionally to the Lead Data Architect.

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, information systems, or a related technical field necessary.

• Relevant data architecture certifications (e.g., Certified Data Management Professional) preferred.

Qualifications:

• 3 years of progressive experience in data architecture, with a strong focus on Snowflake and Oracle platforms necessary.

• 3 years of transferrable experience with data & analytics, cloud computing, cloud data and data management solutions (e.g., Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Informatica) and system engineering necessary.

• 3 years of experience with one or more database technologies (Snowflake, Oracle, MSSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL) necessary.

• 3 years of experience designing complex integration data flow architectures necessary.

• Knowledge of and experience in database development, developing and delivering data architecture solutions and strategies.

• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing large-scale data solutions, including data warehouses, data lakes, and real-time data pipelines.

• Firm understanding of data modeling, master data management, data quality, enterprise data warehousing, ETL, reporting, querying, requirements analysis, and data integration techniques and associated tools.

• Experience working on projects solutioning large-scale data architecture for real-time and batch data processing, application enablement, business intelligence, operationalizing and modernizing data warehouses, data lakes, analytics platforms and introducing new capabilities and services.

• Strong knowledge of data warehousing concepts, including star schema, snowflake schema, and dimensional modeling.

• Experience configuring and tuning, reporting, analytics applications, to optimize end-user experiences.

• Experience with data management and data processing on multiple platforms.

• Familiarity with big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark) and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Snowflake).

• Familiarity with AWS services such as Athena, Lambda, S3, DynamoDB NoSQL, Relational Database Service (RDS), SageMaker, QuickSight, Kinesis, OpenSearch, Deep Learning AMIs, Lake Formation.

• Extensive hands-on expertise with SQL, reporting, and data modeling tools.

• Familiarity with software code in one or more programming languages (Python, Java, etc.).

• Experience in DevOps (CI/CD) pipeline facilitating automated deployment and testing.

• Experience with agile development methodologies.

• Experience with Data Governance and Data Cataloging planning and implementation.

• Exemplary communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present the business side of technical topics to non-technical audiences, and persuasively and effectively interact with various stakeholders and diverse individuals and groups.

• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to translate complex data requirements into actionable solutions.

• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Please note that this position requires work in the office 2 to 3 days a week. Times may vary depending on business needs. At this time remote work is not an option for this position.

This position does not have the support sponsorship and requires that a candidate be authorized to work in the U.S. at

Information Technology’s Guiding Principles:

• Trust and Respect- VUIT cultivates a community built on trust, mutual respect, and inclusivity, where all members feel valued and supported. We prioritize honesty, dignity, empathy, and a willingness to listen and understand.

• Professionalism- VUIT strives to maintain a culture of maturity, accountability, and integrity to best represent the University and self. Have a sense of humility and poise in your work and daily interactions.

• Collaborate- VUIT commits to being inclusive in solution design where we value sharing within and partnering across the university. We are intentional about including our colleagues and preventing silos.

• Bias-to-Action- VUIT is seen as a changemaker by exhibiting a decisive, self-starter, take-action approach with a willingness to make decisions without excessive deliberation. Personal initiative is recognized as a key part of the creative process.

• Communicate- Communication (written, verbal and non-verbal), within and outside VUIT, is open, thoughtful, welcoming, clear, proactive, concise yet complete, always honest, and delivered kindly.

• Innovate- VUIT pledges to be bold and challenge the status quo by inspiring a culture of creativity that promotes growth and advancement for the university.

• Celebrate Each Other- We are intentional in showing appreciation for the work of others by valuing and acknowledging meaningful contributions at all levels of the organization.

• Optimize- VUIT will practice continuous and thoughtful optimization of our solutions and services to increase our human and technological capacity. Capacity drives innovation.

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

At Vanderbilt University, we are intentional about and assume accountability for fostering advancement and respect for equity, diversity, and inclusion for all students, faculty, and staff. Our commitment to diversity makes us who we are. We have created a community that celebrates differences and lets individuality thrive. As part of this commitment, we actively value diversity in our workplace and learning environments as we seek to take advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of everyone. The diverse voices of Vanderbilt represent an invaluable resource for the University in its efforts to fulfill its mission and strive to be an example of excellence in higher education.

Vanderbilt University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Please note, all candidates selected for an offer of employment are subject to pre-employment background checks, which may include but are not limited to, based on the role for which they have been selected: criminal history, education verification, social media review, motor vehicle records, credit history, and professional license verification.