This is a 6 month contract-to-hire and needs to meet Client full-time conversion policies. Those dependent on a work permit sponsor now or anytime in the future (ie H1B, OPT, CPT, etc) do not meet Client requirements for this opening.
**MUST BE HYBRID in Richmond, VA
**MUST BE W2; No Corp-to-Corp**
The Lead Data Architect provides strategic and hands-on leadership across divisional data initiatives, guiding delivery teams in building scalable data solutions within a modern cloud-based data ecosystem. This role balances high-level architecture with practical execution, ensuring data solutions align with business needs, performance requirements, and long-term architecture goals.
Key Responsibilities
- As part of a data architecture organization, provide architectural guidance to two or three concurrent data delivery teams (typically 4 5 engineers per team) across data initiatives
- Design and evolve data architecture across a Databricks-first lakehouse in a broader Azure ecosystem, understanding both target state and appropriate trade-offs
- Partner with engineering teams to support their detailed solutions and implementation through design reviews, guidance, and targeted hands-on contribution where needed
- Specify data solutions that meet non-functional requirements (NFRs) such as scalability, performance, and reliability
- Perform technology evaluations in support of the teams, with appropriate recommendations and reasoning
- Assess technical challenges and problems, provide options, and make recommendations
- Guide ingestion and integration strategies, including API-based data exchange
- Lead without direct reporting authority, influencing teams through expertise and collaboration
Required Experience & Qualifications
- ~7 10 years of progressive experience in data engineering, pipeline development, and data architecture roles developing Data Lakes and Data Warehouses
- Background progressing from developer through at least team lead
- Strong experience designing and working with the full lifecycle of data-centric architectures
- Hands-on experience with cloud development in Databricks
- Experience with structured and unstructured data (e.g., JSON, files, media)
- Understanding of both relational and non-relational solutions
- Understanding of APIs and data integration patterns
- Strong communication and stakeholder influence skills (written + verbal)
- Know when to make independent decisions and when to circle back to the broader team with appropriate questions
- Work within a new domain by identifying gaps in knowledge and actively seeking answers
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Guidewire Insurance Suite data
- Azure Solutions Architect certification (nice-to-have)
- Experience working in Property & Casualty insurance data domains
- An understanding of London and international markets would be a plus