Cloud Data Architect

Cloud Data ArchitectLocation: West Lake, CA or Carrolton, TX (Onsite) FulltimeMust Have Technical/Functional Skills8+ years in data engineering/architecture; 3+ years in cloud-native architectures.Hands-on expertise in at least one major cloud:AWS (S3, Redshift, EMR, Glue, Athena, Lake Formation)Azure (Synapse, Data Lake, ADF, Databricks)GCP (BigQuery, Dataflow, Dataproc)Strong experience with:Distributed data processing (Spark, Databricks)SQL/NoSQL designEvent streaming (Kafka, Kinesis, Pub/Sub)Data modeling (Star/Snowflake, Data Vault)Proficiency in Python, PySpark, SQL.Knowledge of data governance, security, metadata management.Preferred QualificationsCloud Architect certifications (AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Architect Expert, GCP Professional Data Engineer).Experience with BI/visualization tools (Power BI, Tableau, Looker).Familiarity with ML/AI platforms (Azure ML, SageMaker, Vertex AI).Experience in regulated industries (BFSI, healthcare).Key ResponsibilitiesArchitecture & DesignDesign end to end cloud data architectures, including ingestion, processing, storage, governance, and consumption layers.Define modern data platform patterns such as lakehouse, data mesh, and real time streaming architectures.Select appropriate cloud-native services (e.g., AWS Redshift/S3/Glue, Azure Synapse/ADF/Databricks, GCP BigQuery/Dataflow).Data Engineering & IntegrationArchitect pipelines for batch and real time data ingestion.Enable scalable data processing using Spark, Databricks, Kafka, Flink, or cloud-native tools.Define ETL/ELT frameworks and best practices.Cloud Platform ExpertiseBuild secure and scalable cloud data ecosystems.Optimize data storage, compute performance, cost, and operational efficiency.Implement Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, ARM, CloudFormation).Data Governance & SecurityDevelop data cataloging, lineage, classification, and DQ frameworks.Implement cloud IAM, role-based access, encryption, and compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, PCI-DSS if BFSI).Stakeholder CollaborationWork with business stakeholders to translate requirements into technical architectures.Partner with security, platform engineering, and product teams.Provide thought leadership in cloud data strategy and modernization.Documentation & Best PracticesCreate reference architectures, standards, and reusable frameworks.Conduct architectural reviews and capacity planning.