Easy Apply
Easy Apply
Lead strategic data modernization for financial services clients, defining architecture and implementation plans while guiding teams and advising executives on data strategy.
Overview
We’re seeking a Principal Data Architect to lead strategic data modernization advisory and reference architecture engagements for Financial Services clients. You will serve as the principal consultant and executive-facing advisor—partnering with Chief Data & Analytics Officers, CIOs/CTOs, Line-of-Business leaders, and program sponsors to define strategy, validate target-state architecture, and de‑risk implementation.
This role blends billable delivery leadership with pre‑sales solutioning. Expected mix: ~60–70% billable delivery leadership and ~30–40% pre‑sales/solutioning and thought leadership. This person drives discovery/advisory workstreams, define value‑anchored roadmaps, and guide implementation teams across modern data platforms (e.g., Databricks, Snowflake, Azure) and Salesforce (including Data Cloud).
Primary Responsibilities
- Pre-Sales, Solutioning, and Thought Leadership
- Partner with Sales/Accounts to shape opportunities, conduct discovery, craft SOWs and proposals, build estimates/approaches, and present to executives.
- Advisory Leadership & Strategy
- Lead executive advisory engagements that connect business value (growth, efficiency, risk) to a pragmatic data modernization strategy and investment plan.
- Define and validate target-state enterprise data architecture. Produce a phased, value‑anchored roadmap with clear outcomes, success metrics, and FinOps/budget guardrails. Build additional architecture artifacts to describe desired-state architecture.
- Design governance frameworks (policy-driven access, quality, lineage, metadata, ownership/stewardship, regulatory alignment) and connect them to measurable outcomes.
- Architecture, Design, and Delivery Oversight
- Design reference architectures based on Cloud principles, such as the Well-Architected Framework.
- Own the reference architecture across Lakehouse, Warehouse, and Mesh patterns leveraging industry leading technologies.
- Define design patterns for ingestion, transformation, orchestration, and observability (monitoring, logging, alerting) that scale across domains.
Mentor and coach architects, engineers, and analysts.
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years designing and delivering enterprise‑scale data solutions (with at least 5 years in cloud platforms such as Azure, Databricks, Snowflake, and/or AWS/GCP).
- Proven experience working with Cloud Platforms and services.
- Proven experience migrating workloads to Cloud environments.
- Proven track record leading advisory and modernization programs end‑to‑end, from discovery through roadmap and into delivery oversight.
- Deep knowledge of enterprise data reference architecture, including Lakehouse/Medallion patterns, Mesh principles, CDC/streaming, and domain‑oriented data products.
- Expertise in data modeling (dimensional, 3NF, Data Vault), metadata/lineage, data quality, and observability.
- Hands-on governance with Unity Catalog (Databricks) and/or Microsoft Purview; pragmatic implementation of RBAC, lineage, and data masking.
- Strong grasp of governance (policy‑driven access, privacy/security, and regulatory expectations in banking such as GLBA, AML/KYC, BCBS 239), FinOps/cost management, and performance/scalability.
- Executive‑level communication and facilitation skills; trusted advisor to CDAO/CIO/CTO and business leaders.
Preferred Qualifications
- Financial Services experience (banking/credit union/wealth) strongly preferred; familiarity with common cores/feeds (e.g., FIS, Fiserv, Jack Henry) and regulatory context is a plus.
- Certifications and/or deep hands‑on experience with Databricks, Snowflake, and/or Azure data services; Unity Catalog and Purview.
- Salesforce experience (FSC, Data Cloud) including data migration/integration patterns and activation.
- Background with AI/ML enablement (feature engineering, model ops) and GenAI/Agentic data readiness.
- Prior leadership in consulting with measurable sales influence (pipeline creation, close rates) and CSAT results.
Qualities of the Ideal Candidate
- Self-motivated, strong desire to help customers meet their goals
- Consulting experience (ideally leadership)
- FINS experience
- Experience integrating with Salesforce
The full compensation package is based on candidate's experience and certifications.
Zennify pay range
$170,000—$200,000 USD
Rooted in care. Built for what’s next. At Zennify, you help people in regulated industries solve real problems at the intersection of data, AI, and customer experience. You will work across Salesforce, nCino, MuleSoft, Twilio, and Databricks, and you will deliver outcomes that hold up in production. You will join smart, kind, collaborative people who move with urgency and lead with care. We challenge each other, we support each other, and we keep expectations clear. Diverse perspectives make us better partners and better teammates, so we build teams where everyone can do their best work and feel like they belong.
How we work
How we work
- Fully remote, designed for flexibility, focus, and balance
- Paid training and certifications to support your growth
- Unlimited PTO so you can take the time you need
Benefits that support real life. We offer strong medical, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits, plus mental health support. You will also have pet insurance, pawternity and pawreavement leave, and other programs that meet you where you are.
Belonging and equity matter here. We are committed to an inclusive and equitable workplace with equal opportunity, fair pay practices, and respect for every background and identity. Come for the mission. Stay for the people.
Belonging and equity matter here. We are committed to an inclusive and equitable workplace with equal opportunity, fair pay practices, and respect for every background and identity. Come for the mission. Stay for the people.
Pay Transparency. We believe that pay transparency helps to foster trust and open communication between employers and employees. It allows our team members to have a clear understanding of their earning potential and the expectations associated with their roles. We also believe that pay transparency promotes fairness, as everyone is compensated based on their experience and skills, regardless of factors such as gender, race, or ethnicity. We recognize that the skills and experience of our candidates may vary, and we are committed to compensating them accordingly. As such, we will evaluate each candidate's qualifications, experience, and performance to determine the appropriate compensation within the stated salary range. We hope that this transparent approach to compensation will provide our potential candidates with the information they need to make informed decisions about their career paths.
About Zennify. Zennify is a data engineering and customer experience consultancy built for industries where trust and precision matter, including financial services, healthcare, and utilities. We deliver strategy, implementation, and managed services with warmth, speed, and reliability. We have delivered 600+ Salesforce projects and 200+ data projects, with a 4.9/5 CSAT. Our team holds 750+ certifications, and we continue to grow our data and AI work as our fastest-expanding area. While our roots are in Salesforce, today we help clients build modern foundations that connect data, systems, and experiences, so teams can move faster, serve better, and scale with confidence. Zennify is privately owned and backed by Tercera and Salesforce Ventures. We invest in our people, our partnerships, and our purpose.
EEO Posting Statement. It is the policy of Zennify to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. This policy relates to all phases of employment, including, but not limited to, recruiting, employment, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, reduction of workforce and termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, selection for training, the use of all facilities, and participation in all company-sponsored employee activities. Provisions in applicable laws providing for bona fide occupational qualifications, business necessity, or age limitations will be adhered to by the company where appropriate.
Top Skills
AWS
Azure
Databricks
GCP
Salesforce
Snowflake
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