Data Architect
Employment Status: Permanent Full Time
Location: Waterloo; Ontario
The Data Architect’s role is to expand the company’s use of data as a strategic enabler of corporate goals and objectives. The Data Architect coordinates and collaborates with project teams on database and data repository modelling and design related activities across a wide range of technical and non-technical team members. This individual is responsible for collaborating on data standards and governance initiatives for data architecture. The Data Architect identifies opportunities to position MCAP for advanced analytics, machine learning and AI, based on experience, knowledge and evaluation of emerging tools, techniques and methodologies.
Strategy and Planning
Assess and cultivate long-term strategic goals and capabilities for data architecture in conjunction with data users, department managers, clients, and other key stakeholders.
Establish new data standards and processes to support the company's needs.
Research, promote and develop data architecture best practices.
Establish, maintain, adhere to, and enforce Enterprise Data Modeling and Data Integration standards.
Design and implement policies and standards to ensure effective availability, scalability, security, and integrity of data assets.
Drive innovation by keeping current on relevant data trends via researching, presenting, and accurately articulating the benefits and goals of data architecture related technologies, such as Big Data, Hadoop, NoSQL, data virtualization and data services.
Acquisition and Deployment
Ensure the success of enterprise-level application rollouts.
Liaise with vendors and service providers to research, execute or provide guidance on POCs, and recommend the products or services that best meet company goals.
Operational Management
Serve as the business modeler / data analyst for data projects and initiatives, creating conceptual and logical business models used to generate physical data models and database schema, or modify existing ones.
Work closely with business and IT teams to clarify and refine functional data requirement specifications.
Collaborate with various departments, architects, project managers and technical leads to provide estimates, develop overall implementation solution plan and serve as a lead, when required, to implement solutions.
Act as a leader and advocate of data management, including coaching, training, and career development to staff.
Create effective data models to support both RDBMS and NoSQL based databases and data repositories.
Effectively present / communicate data models to the business, IT and the project teams.
Create and maintain a metadata management capability to integrate data dictionaries with the enterprise business glossary.
Identify and document current and future state of data architecture.
Identify inefficiencies and gaps in current data management and develop solutions.
Identify data discrepancies and data quality issues, and work to ensure data consistency and integrity.
Develop, implement, and maintain change control and testing processes for modifications to data systems.
Identify and develop opportunities for data reuse, migration, or retirement.
What You Bring To The Team
Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, computer engineering, system analysis, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
At least 10 years’ experience in data modeling, systems analysis and design.
Must have basic understanding or working knowledge of at least one of the following Data Management disciplines: Data Vault, SOA, Microservices Architecture, XML, JSON, Web Services, or Hadoop or similar Big Data methodology.
Worked on one or more of the following technologies: MS SQL Server, DB2, MongoDB, or the Elastic Stack
Experience with Microsoft SSIS, SSRS, SSAS
Must have moderate to strong experience in Relational Database Design, Data Vault Modeling Design, Multi-Dimensional (Star Schema) Design, Data Repository Design.
Demonstrated experience in creating medium to large-scale enterprise logical data models using normalization techniques.
Experience building enterprise data warehouse and business intelligence solutions.
Experience using data modeling tools.
Experience with cloud-based BI and reporting solutions considered an asset.
Preferred background experience in Application Development, ETL Development, Report Development and/or other Data Warehouse Projects.
Experience positioning data models for machine learning and AI
Knowledge of the residential, commercial mortgage business and/or securitization considered an asset.
Ability to facilitate discovery, learning, and brain storming sessions.
Effective business analysis skills to identify and draw out key facts and develop proficient business knowledge to form the basis of data models.
Ability to manage and work with external parties.
Proven ability to coach, mentor and train staff
Ability to conduct research into data trends, issues, standards, and products as required.
Ability to adapt a methodology that fits the situation