Principal Data Architect – Modern Data Platforms (Snowflake / dbt / Python)

Title: Principal Data Architect – Modern Data Platforms (Snowflake / dbt / Python)Location: Dallas, Texas, United StatesUS Citizens onlyAbout the RoleRockwoods is hiring a senior-level Data Architect with deep hands-on experience designing and building modern cloud data platforms in real production environments.This is not a strategy-only or documentation-heavy architecture role.We are looking for someone who can own architecture decisions end-to-end while still being technically hands-on when needed someone who has actually built scalable platforms, solved performance problems, optimized costs, and handled messy enterprise data at scale.The ideal candidate understands both architecture and execution.You should be comfortable:designing scalable data ecosystemsbuilding production-grade pipelinessolving Snowflake performance challengesenabling AI-ready data foundationsworking directly with engineering teams to drive deliveryWhat You’ll Work OnOwn end-to-end architecture across modern cloud data platformsDesign and build scalable ingestion, transformation, and data modeling frameworksLead Snowflake architecture including performance tuning, storage optimization, workload scaling, and cost managementBuild API and event-driven ingestion frameworks for real-time and batch processingDesign reliable orchestration and pipeline monitoring strategiesEstablish enterprise-grade governance, security, access controls, and data quality frameworksSupport AI/ML and advanced analytics initiatives through AI-ready data architectureHelp define modern engineering standards, reusable frameworks, and platform best practicesStrong Match If You Have8–12+ years of Data Engineering / Data Architecture experienceStrong hands-on expertise with Python, Snowflake, SQL, and dbtExperience building modern cloud-native data platforms from the ground upDeep experience with data modeling, transformation strategies, orchestration, and pipeline scalabilityStrong understanding of Snowflake optimization, compute/storage strategy, and query performance tuningExperience with API-driven and event-driven architecturesExperience handling large-scale enterprise data environmentsAbility to move between architecture discussions and hands-on technical execution comfortablyStrong communication and problem-solving skills in fast-moving environmentsBig PlusExperience supporting AI/ML or LLM-related data ecosystemsExperience with real-time streaming architecturesFinancial services or regulated industry experienceExposure to platform engineering or reusable data framework designExperience with observability and data reliability toolingWhat This Role Is NOTThis is NOT:a support-only architect rolea governance-only rolea reporting/dashboard-focused positiona role for candidates with only POC/project exposurean environment where architecture decisions stay on slidesWe are looking for architects who build.Why Engineers Like Working With UsModern cloud data initiativesStrong technical ownershipLean teams with direct impactFast-moving engineering environmentMinimal bureaucracyOpportunity to influence platform direction and architecture standardsLeadership team that values execution and technical depthImportantPlease apply only if you have significant hands-on experience building and scaling production-grade modern data platforms.Candidates with primarily support, maintenance, or documentation-heavy backgrounds will likely not be a fit.