Principal Data Architect

Job Description

Job Description

About ParetoHealth

ParetoHealth is redefining the way employers fund healthcare. As the largest and fastest-growing benefits captive in the United States, we help thousands of small and midsize employers take control of healthcare costs through a smarter, more sustainable model.

Our mission is simple: give small and midsize employers the scale and protection they need to eliminate volatility and lower healthcare costs.

By combining data-driven insights, innovative risk management, and the collective purchasing power of our community, we enable employers to reduce volatility, improve long-term outcomes, and reinvest savings into their businesses and their people.

Headquartered in Philadelphia, ParetoHealth is growing rapidly and transforming one of the country's largest industries. Our success is fueled by talented people who are united by our four core values: Fire in the Belly, For the Greater Good, See the Field, and Get It Done Right. These values shape how we innovate, collaborate, make decisions, and deliver exceptional results for our clients and one another.

If you're energized by solving complex challenges, thrive in a high-growth environment, and want to help reshape the future of healthcare, we'd love to meet you.

Please note that ParetoHealth does not provide employment visa sponsorship for this position. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship both now or in the future.

Position Summary:

As Principal Data Architect, you will define and drive the enterprise data architecture strategy across ParetoHealth, enabling trusted, connected, secure, and AI-ready data products that power business intelligence, advanced analytics, and intelligent automation.

You will work across business, product, engineering, analytics, and AI teams to translate complex business needs into scalable data platforms and architectures. You will bring deep expertise in modern data architecture, strong technical judgment, and the ability to navigate complex data ecosystems, ideally within healthcare, health insurance, employee benefits, or financial services.

This is a hands-on architecture leadership role for someone who can think strategically, influence across the organization, and drive implementation from vision to execution.

Key Responsbilities:

Enterprise Data Architecture & Strategy

• Define and evolve the enterprise data architecture, data models, integration patterns, and technology standards to support ParetoHealth's business and technology strategy.
• Design scalable, resilient, and cost-effective data architectures across operational systems, analytical platforms, and data products.
• Establish canonical data models and shared business entities across domains, enabling consistent definitions and reliable data exchange.
• Drive architectural decisions that balance immediate business needs with long-term scalability, flexibility, and maintainability.

Modern Data Platforms & Engineering

• Architect modern cloud-based data platforms and lakehouse or warehouse solutions that support batch, streaming, and near-real-time data processing.
• Establish patterns for data ingestion, transformation, orchestration, data quality, metadata management, lineage, and observability.
• Enable interoperable data products and APIs that make trusted data accessible to applications, analytics, and AI systems.
• Partner with engineering teams to establish best practices for data modeling, platform reliability, performance, security, and cost optimization.

Healthcare & Insurance Data

• Design data architectures that integrate complex, fragmented data across healthcare, health insurance, employee benefits, employer groups, claims, eligibility, provider networks, and financial systems, as applicable.
• Develop a strong understanding of healthcare benefits and insurance business processes, data entities, and industry-specific interoperability requirements.
• Enable secure and governed access to sensitive healthcare and personally identifiable information, incorporating HIPAA and other applicable regulatory and privacy requirements.
• Translate complex healthcare and insurance data into consistent, usable models that support business operations, financial analysis, cost transparency, and better decision-making.

AI, Analytics & Data Products

• Build an AI-ready data foundation that enables machine learning, generative AI, agentic workflows, and intelligent automation.
• Define architectures for high-quality, contextual, discoverable, and governed data that can be safely consumed by AI applications.
• Partner with data science, analytics, product, and engineering teams to enable predictive insights, operational intelligence, and data-driven product innovation.
• Establish data product principles that emphasize business ownership, trusted metrics, reusability, and measurable business outcomes.

Technical Leadership & Governance

• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to engineering, product, business, security, and executive stakeholders.
• Define architectural standards, reference architectures, design principles, and technical roadmaps.
• Drive alignment across teams and influence decisions without relying solely on formal authority.
• Mentor senior engineers and data architects, raise the bar for technical excellence, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

Required Qualifications / Skills: 

• 12+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, data platforms, or related technical disciplines, with demonstrated experience leading enterprise-scale architecture.
• Proven track record designing and implementing modern cloud data platforms and complex data integration architectures.
• Strong expertise in data modeling, dimensional and relational modeling, distributed data processing, data pipelines, and data platform design.
• Experience with modern data technologies such as Snowflake, Databricks, cloud-native data services, Kafka or equivalent streaming technologies, dbt, and contemporary orchestration tools.
• Strong understanding of data governance, metadata, lineage, data quality, access controls, privacy, and security.
• Experience architecting data platforms that support enterprise analytics, operational applications, and AI/ML use cases.
• Ability to communicate complex technical concepts clearly and influence senior technical and business stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to move from architecture strategy to practical implementation and measurable outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in healthcare, health insurance, employee benefits, healthcare technology, or payer/provider ecosystems.
• Familiarity with healthcare data standards and interoperability frameworks such as FHIR, HL7, X12, and relevant claims and eligibility data formats.
• Experience working with sensitive healthcare or insurance data in regulated environments, including HIPAA compliance requirements.
• Knowledge of healthcare economics, medical and pharmacy claims, stop-loss insurance, self-funded employer health plans, or benefits administration.
• Experience building governed data products and AI-ready platforms that enable advanced analytics and intelligent automation.
• Experience modernizing legacy data ecosystems and integrating data across acquisitions, multiple platforms, or fragmented enterprise systems.

Perks & Benefits:

• Fully paid medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• Flexible PTO
• 401k company contribution
• Tuition reimbursement
• Professional development allowance
• Transportation allowance and daily parking reimbursement 
• Engaging hybrid work environment

We are guided by our values:

Fire in the belly

The drive to learn, to improve, and to deliver outstanding value every day.

See the field

The ability to see the big picture and prepare to meet tomorrow's needs.

Get it done right

The passion to produce at higher rates and to the highest standards.

For the greater good

A united community creating better health benefit solutions for all.

Please note that any communication from our recruiters and hiring managers at ParetoHealth about a job opportunity will only be made by a ParetoHealth employee with an @paretohealth.com address. ParetoHealth does not conduct text message or chat-based interviews. Any other email addresses, agencies, or forums may be phishing scams designed to obtain your personal information. We will not ask you to provide personal or financial information, including, but not limited to, your social security number, online account passwords, credit card numbers, passport information, and other related banking information until we begin onboarding activities, which will be coordinated by a member of the ParetoHealth People Ops Team with an @paretohealth.com email address. Disclosures: ParetoHealth is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. California Applicants : See Pareto's CCPA Notice of Collection for California Employees and Applicants for information about how Pareto Captive Services, LLC, Pareto Health, LLC, and Pareto Underwriting Partners, LLC, together with their respective subsidiaries (collectively, "Pareto") collects and uses personal information submitted by employment applicants.