Data Architect - (Villa Park, IL)

Data Architect

Position Type: Contract Location: Villa Park, IL (Hybrid) Remote Work: Partial Primary Skills: Business Intelligence

The Senior Data Architect is responsible for designing, building, and overseeing the deployment and operation of enterprise data architecture and business intelligence solutions. This role defines the end use of data systems and creates blueprints for developing, testing, and maintaining data platforms. The architect ensures the seamless integration of structured and unstructured data from internal and external sources, enabling advanced analytics, reporting, and decision-making capabilities. This position plays a critical role in establishing data governance frameworks, metadata management practices, and architectural standards that ensure data quality, security, and compliance across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Data Architecture & Engineering
• Design and implement scalable data architectures that support enterprise-wide analytics and reporting needs.
• Lead the transformation of transactional (normalized) data into dimensional models (facts and dimensions) using Kimball methodology.
• Architect and manage the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW), including parent-child relationships and data lineage.
• Develop and maintain data pipelines using Azure Data Factory and Synapse pipelines to move data from Data Lake to Synapse.
• Design and implement Tabular models within Power BI Premium datasets and SSAS.
• Utilize SSIS for data extraction and transformation processes.
• Write efficient and optimized T-SQL and DAX code for data modeling and reporting.

Business Intelligence & Analytics

• Lead the design and development of Power BI reports and dashboards to support business.
• Analyze external data sources and integrate them into the EDW.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate requirements into technical specifications and data models.
• Ensure BI solutions align with business goals and deliver measurable value.

Governance & Standards

• Define, select, and implement data governance and metadata management tools and best practices.
• Establish and enforce design standards, data quality rules, and assurance processes to ensure compatibility and operability of data flows and storage.
• Design and implement a security infrastructure that supports internal and external access while maintaining compliance with data privacy regulations.
• Review internal and external business and product requirements and recommend system upgrades or changes to meet evolving data needs.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead the full system development life cycle from requirements gathering to implementation and support.
• Work independently and collaboratively across cross-functional teams.
• Mentor junior data engineers and analysts on best practices in data architecture and

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in building relational and dimensional data models using Kimball.
• 5+ years of experience in Power BI reporting and dataset development.
• 5+ years of experience working with Enterprise Data Warehouses and writing ETL.
• 2+ years of experience with Azure Synapse pipelines.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL, SSIS, and DAX.
• Experience designing and implementing Tabular models in Power BI Premium.
• Familiarity with Azure development platform and Data Lake architecture.
• Knowledge of Databricks is a plus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong documentation and multi-tasking abilities.
• Proven ability to gather requirements and estimate work effort.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with data governance frameworks such as DAMA-DMBOK.
• Familiarity with data cataloging and metadata management tools (e.g., Azure Purview, Collibra).
• Understanding of regulatory compliance requirements (e.g., HIPAA, GDPR) as they relate to data architecture.