Cloud - Principal Architect

Solution Architecture-Principal Solution ArchitectEXL Service is seeking an accomplished Lead Solution Cloud Architect with 1215 years of progressive experience in designing, implementing, and governing enterprise cloud and data architectures. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in AWS and Databricks, with strong architectural leadership capabilities. Exposure to Azure cloud services is a significant advantage. This is a senior/lead role responsible for shaping cloud strategy, guiding engineering teams, and ensuring that solutions meet enterprise standards for scalability, security, performance, and cost-efficiency. Key responsibilities include: Architect and design enterprise-grade cloud solutions leveraging AWS services (EC2, S3, Glue, Lambda, Kinesis, IAM, Redshift, EMR). Design Databricks Lakehouse solutions including Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Spark optimization, governance, and MLOps patterns. Build scalable ETL/ELT pipelines, real-time streaming architectures, and reusable data integration frameworks. Develop high-level and low-level architecture blueprints ensuring security, compliance, cost efficiency, reliability, and performance. Architect cloud/on-prem hybrid data platforms using Azure services such as Azure Data Lake, ADF, Azure Databricks, Synapse, etc. (Preferred) Solution design & delivery includes: Lead requirement discovery, translate business needs into robust architectural designs and roadmaps. Create high-level designs, low-level designs, data flow diagrams, integration patterns, deployment models, and security reference architectures. Oversee end-to-end delivery, guiding engineering and DevOps teams through implementation and optimization. Perform architecture assessments and recommend improvements for scalability, resilience, and cost savings. Technical leadership includes: Provide thought leadership and hands-on direction to data engineering, analytics, DevOps, and platform teams. Establish best practices for coding, data governance, CI/CD, infrastructure automation, and environment management. Introduce and evaluate emerging cloud technologies, tools, and frameworks relevant to analytics and modern data platforms. Stakeholder & client management includes: Act as technical SME for client conversations, workshops, and executive presentations. Communicate complex architectural concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. Partner closely with business stakeholders to define solution vision, roadmap, and success metrics. Required skills & experience include: 1215 years of overall IT experience with strong focus on cloud, data engineering, and enterprise architecture. 5+ years of hands-on experience architecting production solutions on AWS. 3+ years' strong experience in Databricks (Spark, Delta Lake, MLflow, Unity Catalog). Proficiency in Python, SQL, PySpark, and distributed data processing frameworks. Deep understanding of data modeling, data governance, metadata management, and modern security practices. Experience with CI/CD pipelines, Terraform / CloudFormation, GitOps, and end-to-end automation. Strong knowledge of cloud networking, VPCs, IAM, encryption, identity governance, and security frameworks (NIST, CIS benchmarks). Experience with Azure cloud architecture, including Azure Databricks, ADF, ADLS, Synapse, and Azure DevOps (Preferred) About us: EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS) is a leading data analytics and digital operations and solutions company. We partner with clients using a data and AI-led approach to reinvent business models, drive better business outcomes and unlock growth with speed. EXL harnesses the power of data, analytics, AI, and deep industry knowledge to transform operations for the world's leading corporations in industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, media and retail, among others. EXL was founded in 1999 with the core values of innovation, collaboration, excellence, integrity and respect. We are headquartered in New York and have more than 54,000 employees spanning six continents.