Solution & Data Architect - SAP HANA to Databricks

About

Accelyst is an innovative AI Consultancy focused on helping organizations leverage AI, automation, and modern technology to transform their business operations. We develop industry-specific AI Agents and leading-edge AI platforms designed to augment and automate workflows while delivering secure, scalable, and ROI-focused solutions.

Why Accelyst?

At Accelyst, you’ll work on modern technology initiatives that combine enterprise software development, cloud technologies, data, and AI. You’ll collaborate with experienced technical and business teams to build scalable solutions that create measurable business value.

Solution & Data Architect - SAP HANA to Databricks

San Diego, CA - Remote

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced Solution & Data Architect to lead the end-to-end architecture and migration strategy for a large-scale enterprise data platform transformation from SAP HANA to Databricks. This role will serve as the technical authority responsible for defining the target-state architecture, establishing data platform standards, and ensuring successful delivery of scalable, secure, and governed analytics solutions.

The architect will collaborate closely with business stakeholders, engineering teams, and university leadership to design and govern the migration roadmap while enabling future-state reporting, analytics, and AI/ML capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

Architecture Leadership

• Own the end-to-end target architecture for the migration from SAP HANA to Databricks.
• Define and govern the overall data platform architecture, ensuring alignment with business, security, and reporting requirements.
• Serve as the primary technical authority for architecture decisions, design reviews, and technical governance.

Databricks Platform Design

• Design and implement the Medallion Architecture (Bronze, Silver, Gold) framework for scalable and maintainable data processing.
• Establish the Unity Catalog governance model, including data domains, access controls, lineage, and metadata management.
• Define Databricks workspace architecture, cluster topology, compute strategies, and environment segregation.
• Develop standards and best practices for data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and performance optimization.

Migration Strategy & Delivery

• Define migration patterns, reference architectures, and technical standards for the delivery team.
• Lead architectural assessment and migration planning activities for SAP HANA workloads.
• Provide guidance on data model modernization, workload optimization, and platform rationalization.
• Ensure successful integration with downstream enterprise and campus reporting systems.
• Mitigate technical risks and drive resolution of complex architectural challenges.

Governance & Stakeholder Engagement

• Conduct architecture reviews and provide technical leadership throughout the project lifecycle.
• Partner with business stakeholders, project leadership, and technical teams to align solutions with organizational objectives.
• Present architectural decisions, recommendations, and roadmaps to executive and technical audiences.
• Ensure compliance with enterprise security, governance, and data management standards.

Analytics & AI Enablement

• Design architectures that support advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI initiatives.
• Enable scalable data products that support self-service analytics and future innovation programs.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.
• Master's degree preferred.

Experience

• 10+ years of experience in enterprise data architecture and solution architecture.
• Proven experience leading at least two large-scale data warehouse or analytics platform migrations.
• Strong hands-on experience with Databricks Lakehouse Platform.
• Deep expertise in data warehousing, data lakes, cloud data platforms, and modern analytics architectures.
• Experience migrating from SAP HANA or equivalent enterprise data platforms.
• Strong understanding of data governance, security, metadata management, and enterprise integration patterns.
• Experience working with large, complex organizations and multiple stakeholder groups.
• Higher education industry experience preferred.

Technical Skills

• Databricks Lakehouse Architecture
• Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, and Medallion Architecture
• Data Modeling (Dimensional and Modern Lakehouse approaches)
• Data Integration, ETL/ELT Design
• Cloud Architecture (AWS and/or Azure)
• Data Governance and Security Frameworks
• Analytics, Reporting, and BI Integration
• Performance Tuning and Scalability Optimization
• AI/ML Enablement Architectures

Certifications Required

• Databricks Certified Data Engineer Professional
• Databricks Certified Data Analyst Associate or Databricks Machine Learning Associate
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional or Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert
• Additional cloud, data architecture, or governance certifications are advantageous.

Key Competencies

• Enterprise Architecture Leadership
• Strategic Thinking and Problem Solving
• Stakeholder Management
• Technical Governance
• Solution Design Excellence
• Data Platform Modernization
• Communication and Executive Presentation Skills
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Risk Management and Decision Making

Engagement Model

The Solution & Data Architect will act as the primary architectural lead, working closely with UC San Diego stakeholders, project leadership, data engineering teams, and reporting/analytics teams to ensure a successful migration and long-term platform sustainability.