Principal GCP Data Architect

Principal GCP Data Architect VLink, founded in 2006, is a leading global provider of software engineering services with next-gen technologies and best-in-class talent. Our headquarters are in the U.S, and we have offices in 7+ countries from North America-Europe to APAC, with expansion plans in the Middle East. With over 1,000 employees working globally, VLink has helped SMBs, and large enterprises achieve their business goals, and gained the trust of Fortune-250 companies. VLink is 'Great Place to Work® CertifiedTM' and has been a consistent winner as- Best Places to Work in CT. Trust, collaboration, and accountability are the three elements that are at the core of VLink's work culture. We value our professionals, providing comprehensive benefits and the opportunity for growth. We are seeking a hands-on Principal GCP Data Architect to lead the design, and implementation of large-scale data ecosystems. The ideal candidate is an architect who has led massive cloud migrations, built self-serve data platforms from the ground up, and maintains a rigorous focus on data governance and security. Technical Requirements: Cloud Expertise: Expert-level mastery of the GCP Data Stack: Storage & Warehouse: BigQuery (including BigLake and Omni), Google Cloud Storage. Processing : Dataflow (Apache Beam), Dataproc (Spark/Hadoop), Cloud Composer (Airflow). Messaging: Pub/Sub and Confluent/Kafka integration . Analytics & AI: Looker, Vertex AI, and BigQuery ML. Certifications: Must hold an active GCP Professional Data Engineer certification. DRP ID Performance: A Data Readiness Placement (DRP) ID with a verified score of 50+ is highly preferable, demonstrating a high level of technical proficiency and architectural maturity. Modern Data Stack: Deep experience with dbt, Airflow, and containerization (GKE/Kubernetes). Experience & Qualifications: Years of Experience: 18–20 years in Data Engineering, Data Warehousing, and Business Intelligence, with at least 6+ years focused specifically on GCP. Migration Track Record: Proven experience leading at least two enterprise-scale migrations (PB-scale) to the cloud. Leadership: Demonstrated experience leading large, cross-functional engineering teams in an Agile/DevOps environment. Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related technical field. Roles & Responsibilities: Strategic Architecture: Define the long-term roadmap for data platforms on GCP, ensuring alignment with global business goals and "North Star" data strategies. Self-Serve Platform Design: Architect and oversee the build-out of modern, self-serve data architectures that empower decentralized teams while maintaining central standards. Large-Scale Migrations: Lead complex end-to-end migration from AWS to GCP. Data Governance & Security: Design and enforce robust data security frameworks including IAM, VPC Service Controls, Data Masking/Encryption, and automated governance using Dataplex. Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Drive automation using Terraform or Pulumi to ensure repeatable, scalable, and version-controlled infrastructure. Executive Stakeholder Management: Act as a trusted advisor to the VP of Data, articulating the ROI of data initiatives and managing technical risk. Benefits: Medical Dental HSA – Health Saving Accounts Life/AD&D Insurance 401k Voluntary Benefits Employment Practices: VLink is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. This job application process may use AI-powered tools to assist in screening and evaluating applications based on objective, job-related qualifications. AI is used solely to support the recruitment process and all final hiring decisions are made exclusively by our human recruitment team. Applicant information will be handled in accordance with VLink's privacy policy. Vlink