At Accenture Federal Services, nothing matters more than helping the US federal government make the nation stronger and safer and life better for people. Our 13,000+ people are united in a shared purpose to pursue the limitless potential of technology and ingenuity for clients across defense, national security, public safety, civilian, and military health organizations.

Join Accenture Federal Services, a technology company within global Accenture. Recognized as a Glassdoor Top 100 Best Place to Work, we offer a collaborative and caring community where you feel like you belong and are empowered to grow, learn and thrive through hands-on experience, certifications, industry training and more.

Join us to drive positive, lasting change that moves missions and the government forward!

Position Summary

The Data Modernization Lead will guide the Defense programs through the design, implementation, and sustainment of a modern, scalable data ecosystem. This leader will define the data modernization strategy, stand up the modernization team, direct multi‑workstream execution, and serve as a trusted advisor to Defense client programs delivering rapid technical recommendations and an integrated cost, schedule, and performance plan for transforming the enterprise data environment.

This individual must possess strong technical depth across data architecture, cloud ecosystems, governance, migration, and modern engineering practices, but will operate primarily as a technical orchestrator. In most cases, they will hire, mobilize, or bring in the right specialists to deliver modernization components—but must also be capable of hands‑on contribution when needed to accelerate progress or validate complex solution elements.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Development & Leadership

Define and maintain a comprehensive Data Modernization Strategy for Defense client programs, aligned to program mission priorities and modernization initiatives.
Establish and lead the Data Modernization Team, including architecture, engineering, migration, governance, and operational SMEs.
Develop a phased modernization roadmap using best‑practice federal data modernization playbooks.

Advisory & Client Engagement

Serve as Defense client programs primary data advisor, providing rapid technical recommendations and solution options based on evolving needs
Conduct workshops, technical discovery sessions, and architecture reviews to guide decision‑making.
Coordinate with Defense program leadership, program teams, and partner vendors (Databricks, Palantir, Vantage, etc.).

Program Planning – Cost, Schedule & Performance

Build and maintain the data modernization implementation plan, including cost models, staffing plans, dependencies, risks, and sequencing.
Define KPIs and integrate quality, monitoring, and governance approaches consistent with program standards.

Data Governance

Establish and operationalize a data governance framework inclusive of roles, policies, stewardship, metadata, lineage, privacy, and security controls.
Build processes to ensure ongoing data quality, compliance, and risk‑based data management.

Data Architecture & Migration

Lead design of the target data architecture supporting multi‑cloud, data mesh, and analytics/AI workloads.
Direct data migration planning and execution, including legacy assessments, mapping, transformation rules, quality remediation, and phased migrations.
Evaluate platform strategies and recommend the target-state environment (Databricks, WDP, Palantir/Vantage).

Training & Change Management

Develop and deliver training, onboarding materials, and capability‑building resources for Defense client programs personnel and program users.
Support organizational change and adoption of new governance models, tools, and workflows.

Operations & Sustainment

Define the operating model for ongoing data ecosystem support, including SLAs, monitoring, support workflows, and continuous improvement cycles.
Establish and oversee the Data Support Team responsible for daily operations, troubleshooting, and enhancements.

Technical Leadership & Team Orchestration

Apply strong technical expertise across data strategy, architecture, governance, cloud platforms, and migration to guide solution direction and validate technical decisions.
Recruit, hire, mobilize, and direct cross‑functional technical experts (architects, data engineers, governance SMEs, migration specialists) to deliver modernization workstreams.
Determine when technical deliverables require direct involvement and contribute hands‑on when necessary to accelerate delivery or resolve complex issues.
Provide ongoing coaching, oversight, and quality assurance across technical work products.
Ensure all technical outputs meet federal security, interoperability, and performance standards.

Required Qualifications

Deep expertise in data modernization, cloud architecture, data governance, migration, and enterprise data platforms.
Ability to lead technical teams without personally producing every deliverable, including hiring and managing specialized technical resources.
Experience advising federal or DoD organizations on data modernization.
Strong communication skills, able to translate technical concepts to senior stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working with Armed Forces or DoD mission data environments.
Familiarity with multi‑cloud data ecosystems (Azure, AWS), Databricks, Palantir, Vantage, and data mesh architectures.
Experience in RFI/RFP solutioning, ROM development, or multi‑workstream program leadership.

As required by local law, Accenture Federal Services provides reasonable ranges of compensation for hired roles based on labor costs in the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, and the city of Cleveland. The base pay range for this position in these locations is shown below. Compensation for roles at Accenture Federal Services varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to office location, role, skill set, and level of experience. Accenture Federal Services offers a wide variety of benefits. You can find more information on benefits here. We accept applications on an on-going basis and there is no fixed deadline to apply.

The pay range for the states of California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia, and the city of Cleveland is:

$148,800—$306,500 USD

What We Believe

As a company wholly dedicated to serving the US federal government, we bring together the best talent to help reinvent how federal agencies operate and deliver greater value for their mission and the American people. We have an unwavering commitment to creating a culture in which all our people are respected, feel a sense of belonging, and have equal opportunity. As a business imperative, every person at Accenture Federal Services has the responsibility to create and sustain a culture where everyone feels welcomed and included. This is grounded in our core values and our experience that hiring and developing great people who reflect different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds is key to driving innovation and delivering the results that our clients and the country count on.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law. Our rich diversity makes us more innovative, more competitive, and more creative, which helps us better serve our clients and our communities. For details, view a copy of the Accenture Federal Services Equal Opportunity Policy Statement.

Accenture Federal Services is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Additionally, as an Affirmative Action Employer for Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities, Accenture Federal Services is committed to providing veteran employment opportunities to our service men and women.

Requesting An Accommodation

Accenture Federal Services is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities or religious observances, including reasonable accommodation when needed. If you are hired by Accenture Federal Services and require accommodation to perform the essential functions of your role, you will be asked to participate in our reasonable accommodation process. Accommodations made to facilitate the recruiting process are not a guarantee of future or continued accommodations once hired.

If you are being considered for employment opportunities with Accenture Federal Services and need an accommodation for a disability or religious observance during the interview process or for the job you are interviewing for, please speak with your recruiter.

Other Employment Statements

Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.

Candidates who are currently employed by a client of Accenture Federal Services or an affiliated Accenture business may not be eligible for consideration.

Job candidates will not be obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrest as part of the hiring process.

The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. Additionally, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the Company's legal duty to furnish information.

California requires additional notifications for applicants and employees. If you are a California resident, live in or plan to work from Los Angeles County upon being hired for this position, please click here for additional important information.

Data Modernization Lead

What the job really is

Similar roles