Data Architect

When it comes to making a meaningful difference in the lives of our customers and employees, USAble Life is always ready.  We are a diverse group of individuals working together to go the extra mile. Through our DEI initiatives, employees feel empowered to bring their talents and voice to our culture. 

Data Architect Overview

The Data Architect is a critical role which leads the modernization of our data ecosystem and shapes the long‑term data strategy that will support organizational growth, improve data quality, and elevate analytics capabilities. This role will design and implement modern data pipelines, build the foundational platforms—including an Operational Data Store (ODS) and Enterprise Data Warehouse (DW)—and ensure our business teams have access to trustworthy, well‑governed, and high‑performing data for reporting and analytics. Additionally, this role will champion data governance best practices, and ensure our business teams have trusted, efficient, and scalable data to power informed decision‑making. This role is highly visible and hands‑on and partners closely across the business and has an enterprise-level impact.

Essential Duties:

Data Strategy & Architecture

• Develop and maintain the enterprise data architecture roadmap aligned with business goals
• Lead the design and implementation of the enterprise Operational Data Store (ODS) and a Data Warehouse (DW), ensuring scalable, governed, secure, and business‑aligned data platforms
• Define & contribute to standards for data modeling, data integration, data quality, and metadata management
• Architect scalable solutions spanning data ingestion, transformation, storage, and consumption
• Partner with IT, analytics, and business stakeholders to align architecture with operational needs and growth plans

Data Pipeline Modernization

• Design and deliver modern, automated, and resilient data pipelines (batch and real‑time) that feed the ODS, DW, and downstream analytics environments
• Evaluate current systems and plan the migration from legacy data processes to modern hybrid and/or cloud-based architectures
• Ensure pipelines are optimized for performance, maintainability, and data quality
• Establish standards and frameworks for orchestration, monitoring, and version control
• Optimize data ingestion and transformation processes to meet SLAs for operational and analytical reporting

Data Governance, Quality & Security

• Embed data governance, security controls, and quality validation rules throughout pipeline and platform designs
• Collaborate with the Data Governance team to implement enterprise data standards, documentation, and stewardship practices
• Contribute to the design of data quality frameworks and ensure validation rules are embedded into pipelines
• Support metadata management, lineage tracking, and cataloging initiatives
• Ensure architectural decisions maintain compliance with regulatory, privacy, and data protection requirements

Business Partnership & Enablement

• Collaborate closely with business leaders, data stewards, and analysts to understand data needs and translate them into scalable technical solutions
• Promote data fluency and best practices across all levels of the organization
• Serve as a trusted advisor on data design, integration, and analytics optimization

Technology & Innovation

• Evaluate and recommend modern data platforms, tools, and architectures aligned with our size and growth trajectory (e.g., cloud data platforms, real‑time streaming solutions)
• Stay current on emerging technologies related to cloud data platforms, AI/ML readiness, and data governance automation
• Lead or support vendor evaluations for data tooling
• Performs other related duties and responsibilities as assigned

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Deep understanding of data architecture and modern data engineering principles, including data modeling, integration patterns, scalable platform design, and data pipeline development, rather than general application‑level software engineering
• Strong understanding of insurance industry practices and enterprise data ecosystems, with the ability to identify how data platforms, analytics, and information architecture enable business value, operational efficiency, and informed decision‑making
• Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, with the ability to clearly communicate complex data and architectural concepts to data engineers, analysts, product owners, business leaders, and technical partners
• Familiarity with automated data platforms and the data lifecycle, including Agile delivery models, data engineering workflows, and integration with broader SDLC practices, ensuring architectural alignment without requiring deep application development ownership
• Ability to quickly understand business processes and the data that supports them, including upstream source systems, downstream analytics and reporting dependencies, and end‑to‑end data flows across the enterprise.
• Proven ability to prioritize architectural initiatives, manage multiple data modernization efforts concurrently, and deliver durable, scalable solutions that meet operational and analytical needs within established timelines
• Strong leadership, collaboration, and influencing skills, with a demonstrated ability to guide data engineering practices, influence platform standards, and mentor technical peers without formal people‑management responsibility
• Experience evaluating and recommending modern data platforms, tools, and architectures, including cloud‑based data ecosystems, integration technologies, and analytics enablement solutions aligned to organizational growth and strategy
• Comfort working in hybrid or remote environments, effectively collaborating across distributed teams and maintaining strong architectural alignment, documentation, and communication standards
• Understanding of regulatory, compliance, and data protection standards, such as HIPAA, SOX, and internal audit controls, and how they influence data architecture, data governance, security design, and platform decisions.
• Strategic thinker with strong architectural discipline
• Hands‑on builder who enjoys creating scalable solutions
• Collaborative partner comfortable working across functions
• Clear, concise communicator capable of simplifying complex topics
• Advocates for data quality, governance, and data‑driven decision‑making

Required Education and Experience:

•  Bachelor’s Degree in related field – or equivalent military experience 
• 5–8+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or related fields 
• Proven experience designing and building cloud‑based data platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP, or Snowflake, etc.) 
• 8+ years of IT experience 
• Proficiency with modern data processing technologies 
• Hands‑on experience designing ODS and/or DW solutions 
• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining ETL/ELT pipelines 
• Solid understanding of data modeling techniques 
• Experience with data governance concepts 
• Ability to translate complex technical topics into clear language 

Preferred Education and Experience:

• Experience with a BlueCross BlueShield Plan or other health and/or life insurance-related company
• Experience in designing new data capabilities from the ground up.
• Knowledge of Master Data Management (MDM) principles and practices.
• Experience supporting analytics, BI tools, and self-service data ecosystems.
• Exposure to regulated data environments.

Working Conditions (Physical Demands):

• Normal, no adverse or hazardous conditions