Azure Data Architect

Job Description

We are seeking an experienced Azure Data Architect with strong expertise in Master Data Management (MDM), ETL/ELT, and enterprise data architecture to design and lead scalable data solutions on Microsoft Azure. The ideal candidate will have deep hands-on experience with Azure Data Factory, Databricks, Synapse Analytics, data warehousing, data lakes, data governance, and MDM implementations.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and architect enterprise-scale MDM, ETL/ELT, data warehouse, and data lake solutions on Azure.
• Define enterprise data integration strategies and architecture patterns using Azure Data Factory, Databricks, and Synapse Analytics.
• Lead Master Data Management (MDM) initiatives, including master data modeling, data quality, reference data, governance, and stewardship.
• Design scalable and optimized data warehouses, data lakes, lakehouse, and analytical platforms.
• Architect integrations across diverse source systems, including ERP, CRM, APIs, databases, and third-party applications.
• Establish standards and best practices for data modeling, metadata management, master data, data lineage, and data governance.
• Develop and enforce architectural patterns for batch and real-time data integration.
• Drive performance tuning, scalability, security, availability, and reliability of Azure data platforms.
• Evaluate existing data platforms and recommend modernization and optimization strategies.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, data engineers, application teams, analytics teams, and enterprise architects to define data architecture roadmaps.
• Translate business and technical requirements into scalable, secure, and maintainable data architectures.
• Define data architecture standards, design principles, reusable frameworks, and governance processes.
• Provide architectural oversight and technical governance across multiple data projects.
• Mentor data engineers and technical teams and provide guidance on architecture, design, and implementation.
• Ensure solutions follow Azure security, compliance, governance, and enterprise architecture standards.

Required Skills

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or enterprise data platforms.
• Strong expertise in Microsoft Azure data services.
• Hands-on experience with:
  • Azure Data Factory (ADF)
  • Azure Databricks
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS)
• Strong experience designing ETL/ELT frameworks and data integration pipelines.
• Proven experience with Master Data Management (MDM) and reference data management.
• Strong understanding of data governance, data quality, metadata, lineage, and stewardship.
• Strong knowledge of data modeling, including conceptual, logical, and physical data models.
• Experience designing data warehouses, data lakes, and lakehouse architectures.
• Strong SQL skills and experience with relational and cloud databases.
• Experience integrating data from ERP, CRM, APIs, and third-party systems.
• Strong understanding of enterprise data architecture patterns and best practices.
• Experience with performance optimization, security, scalability, and high availability of data platforms.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with MDM platforms such as Informatica MDM, Microsoft Purview, Reltio, or similar technologies.
• Experience with Azure Purview / Microsoft Purview for data catalog, governance, and lineage.
• Knowledge of Power BI and modern analytics architectures.
• Experience with streaming/event-driven data architectures such as Kafka or Azure Event Hubs.
• Experience with CI/CD, DevOps, and Infrastructure as Code for Azure data platforms.
• Azure certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure Data Engineer Associate are a plus.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is an enterprise-level Azure Data Architect, not simply an Azure Data Engineer. They should be able to define the architecture, make technology/design decisions, establish MDM and governance standards, and provide technical leadership while still understanding the underlying Azure data technologies deeply.