Big Data Architect

Summary

Leads the design, development, testing, documentation, and maintenance of critical software solutions within specialized technical domains. Provides deep expertise in niche technologies, drives architecture and engineering best practices, and delivers scalable, secure, and high-quality software components that support business and technology objectives.

About this role

Wells Fargo is seeking a Lead Specialty Software Engineer to join the Google Cloud Platform Data Platform organization. This role will provide technical leadership for the design, development, implementation, and operation of foundational data platform products that enable enterprise-scale data management, analytics, and cloud adoption. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in cloud-based data platforms, software engineering, and large-scale distributed systems, with a proven track record of leading complex technology initiatives from concept through production deployment.

In this role, you will:

• Lead the technical design, architecture, development, testing, and deployment of strategic data platform products and services hosted in Google Cloud Platform (Google Cloud Platform).
• Drive end-to-end delivery of complex software engineering initiatives, ensuring solutions are scalable, secure, resilient, and aligned with enterprise standards.
• Partner with Product Management, Architecture, Platform Engineering, Cyber Security, and Operations teams to deliver innovative cloud-native solutions.
• Define technical roadmaps, engineering standards, and best practices for data platform capabilities.
• Lead design reviews and provide technical governance to ensure high-quality and maintainable solutions.
• Design and implement data ingestion, data processing, data movement, metadata management, and analytics solutions supporting enterprise-scale workloads.
• Resolve highly complex technical challenges involving cloud infrastructure, distributed computing, data processing, performance optimization, and operational stability.
• Drive automation, observability, reliability, resiliency, and disaster recovery capabilities across the platform.
• Lead root cause analysis and remediation efforts for production incidents and platform issues.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend innovative approaches to improve platform capabilities and operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with development teams to implement secure software development practices and ensure compliance with regulatory, risk, and security requirements.
• Mentor and guide software engineers, fostering technical excellence and engineering best practices.
• Influence technology strategy, architecture decisions, and engineering direction across multiple teams and stakeholders.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 15+ years of Software Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through one or a combination of the following: work experience, training, military experience, education.
• 5+ years leading large-scale software development projects and engineering teams.
• Experience delivering enterprise applications and platform capabilities from requirements through production deployment and operational support.
• Experience designing and implementing cloud-native solutions in public cloud environments (Google Cloud Platform preferred).

Desired Qualifications

• 10-15 years of hands-on experience in software engineering, platform engineering, data engineering, or cloud engineering.
• Strong experience with Google Cloud Platform or comparable cloud platforms (AWS/Azure), with expertise in cloud-based data engineering, data platforms, analytics, distributed computing, and large-scale data processing solutions.
• Expertise in designing large-scale data platforms, data lakes, analytics solutions, and distributed systems.
• Strong programming skills in Java, Python, Scala, or similar languages.
• Experience developing APIs, microservices, and event-driven architectures.
• Experience with data integration, ETL/ELT frameworks, CDC solutions, and batch/streaming data processing.
• Strong understanding of data architecture, metadata management, data governance, and data security principles.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred) and CI/CD implementation.
• Experience implementing resiliency, disaster recovery, monitoring, observability, and operational excellence practices.
• Strong understanding of software engineering principles, design patterns, and secure development lifecycle practices.
• Ability to influence senior leaders, architects, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong communication, leadership, and mentoring skills.

Job Expectations

• Act as a technical lead for one or more foundational products within the Google Cloud Platform Data Platform.
• Provide architectural guidance and engineering leadership across multiple product teams.
• Participate in production support, incident management, and operational reviews as needed.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives focused on scalability, reliability, automation, and cost optimization.
• Partner closely with product owners and stakeholders to prioritize and deliver business outcomes.
• Champion engineering excellence and foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous learning.