Principal Architect, AI-Native Data Platform

About the Role

We are looking for a hands-on Principal Architect, AI-Native Data Platform to lead the architecture and scaling of our AI-first Data Analytics Platform (DAP). This is a high-impact role where you will design and evolve a next-generation, AI-native MDM and Data Governance system that operates across multiple enterprise data sources, with SAP master data as a core focus.

You will work on a platform that:

• Imports data from SAP, HubSpot, SAGE, Excel, and other systems
• Applies AI-native data quality and governance workflows
• Enables AI-assisted data fixing and automation
• Exports governed and enriched data back to enterprise systems

This role requires deep architectural thinking, strong execution, and the ability to transform a scaling constraint solution into a robust, AI-first enterprise platform.

What You’ll Do

Architect an AI-First Data Platform

• Design and evolve an AI-native MDM and Data Governance architecture
• Build scalable systems for intelligent data ingestion, processing, and export
• Define AI-assisted workflows for data cleansing, deduplication, and golden record creation
• Architect AI copilots and automation layers for enterprise data operations

Drive Platform Scalability & Reliability

• Re-architect existing systems to handle millions of master data records
• Identify and fix performance bottlenecks, architectural debt, and scaling issues
• Design high-availability, fault-tolerant, and horizontally scalable systems
• Optimize backend services, metadata layers, and data processing pipelines

Own Enterprise Data Integrations

• Architect robust connectors for SAP and other enterprise systems
• Enable cross-platform master data harmonization and governance
• Design schema mapping, data lineage, and auditability frameworks
• Ensure secure, compliant, and resilient data exchange pipelines

Lead AI-Native Innovation

• Embed AI-first thinking into every layer of the platform
• Design intelligent rule engines augmented with AI decisioning
• Enable natural-language-driven data operations and automation
• Build architecture for AI agents interacting with structured enterprise data

Provide Technical Leadership

• Define long-term architectural vision and technical roadmap
• Conduct design reviews and enforce engineering best practices
• Mentor senior engineers and raise the engineering bar
• Collaborate closely with product, data, and enterprise stakeholders

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in backend or platform architecture
• Proven experience designing large-scale, data-intensive systems
• Strong expertise in distributed systems and scalable architectures
• Hands-on experience with Java-based backend systems
• Experience with NoSQL databases such as MongoDB (or similar)
• Strong understanding of data pipelines, ETL, and data processing systems
• Experience handling high-volume datasets (millions of records)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building or architecting MDM, Data Governance, or Data Quality platforms
• Exposure to SAP master data integrations or enterprise ERP systems
• Experience with AI-native or AI-first platform design
• Familiarity with AI copilots, LLM integrations, or intelligent automation systems
• Experience in SaaS platform architecture
• Background in enterprise data platforms or analytics systems

What Makes This Role Unique

• Build a truly AI-native MDM and Data Governance platform (not a legacy rule-only system)
• Solve complex enterprise-scale data problems across multiple source systems
• High ownership and architectural decision-making authority
• Opportunity to design AI-first data workflows from the ground up
• Work on real-world enterprise datasets, not experimental prototypes

What Success Looks Like (First 6 Months)

• Stabilize and re-architect key parts of the existing platform
• Deliver a scalable AI-first architecture blueprint
• Improve performance, reliability, and data processing scalability
• Establish robust SAP and multi-source data integration patterns
• Embed AI-native automation into core data governance workflows

Key skills/competency

• AI-Native Architecture
• Master Data Management (MDM)
• Data Governance
• Distributed Systems
• SAP Integration
• Java Backend Development
• NoSQL Databases (MongoDB)
• Data Pipelines / ETL
• Scalable System Design
• AI/ML Integrations