Knowledge Architecture Lead / Senior Ontologist

We Are:Accenture is a global professional services and solutions company that helps leading organizations reinvent with digital, cloud, data, and AI capabilities, drawing on its large global workforce, industry expertise, and ecosystem partnerships to create 360 value.By combining hands-on engineering with deep industry context, we help organizations build their digital core, modernize operations, unlock value from data and AI, and deliver tangible business outcomes at speed and scale.You Are:We are seeking a Senior Ontologist and Knowledge Architecture Leadto own the design, governance, and delivery of enterprise knowledge graph initiatives. This role carries the principal responsibilities for developing and implementing semantic modeling strategy, ontology governance frameworks, and the technical direction of a cross-functional team spanning business stakeholders, data engineering, and AI/ML disciplines.Key Responsibilities:Ontology Strategy & Architecture:Own the end-to-end ontology lifecycle: requirements gathering, conceptual modeling, formal specification (OWL 2, RDFS, SKOS), validation, deployment, and long-term stewardshipDefine enterprise ontology architecture: modular design patterns, URI strategy, versioning policy, and alignment with upper ontologies (e.g., BFO, DOLCE, schema.org)Establish T-Box design standards and govern A-Box hydration patterns across structured and unstructured data sourcesMake authoritative decisions on advanced modeling patterns (e.g., reification, n-ary relations, punning, ontology modularization) and document rationale for organizational reuseLead alignment efforts between domain ontologies and enterprise-wide or cross-domain semantic assetsEvaluate and recommend the selection of ontology tooling, triplestore platforms, and semantic middleware to meet project and organizational requirementsOntology Design & Development:Author and review ontologies, taxonomies, and vocabularies using OWL, RDF, RDFS, and SKOS to production-quality standardsDefine and enforce competency question frameworks to scope, drive, and validate ontology design across delivery workstreamsLead mapping of traditional data structures (relational, semi-structured) into semantic frameworks using R2RML, RML, or equivalentOversee knowledge graph hydration, integration testing, and validation pipelinesEnsure ontological models align with business goals, regulatory requirements, and enterprise data governance policiesGovernance & Standards:Establish and own ontology governance standards: version control protocols, change management processes, quality gates (W3C compliance, SHACL/ShEx validation), and deprecation policiesDefine and enforce Definition of Done criteria for all ontology deliverablesLead ontology review and approval processes, including peer review structures and sign-off with business and technical stakeholdersMaintain and evolve governance documentation, modeling guidelines, and pattern libraries for use across the teamStakeholder Leadership:Lead business SME workshops to elicit domain concepts, relationships, business rules, and competency questionsServe as the primary semantic modeling authority for business and technical stakeholders, resolving ambiguity and driving alignmentTranslate complex modeling decisions into accessible rationale for non-technical audiences, including senior business sponsorsRepresent the knowledge modeling function in cross-organizational planning, architecture review boards, and governance forumsTechnical Leadership & NLP/AI Integration:Partner with Entity Extraction and NLP teams to develop ontology-guided pipelines for information extraction from unstructured sourcesAdvise AI/ML teams on ontology-informed feature engineering, embedding strategies, and knowledge-augmented model designDefine integration patterns between the knowledge graph and downstream analytical, search, and AI/ML systemsStay current with advances in semantic web, knowledge representation, and neuro-symbolic AI; translate emerging practices into team standardsTeam Leadership & Delivery Management:Lead, mentor, and develop a team of ontologists and semantic analysts at intermediate and junior levelsConduct structured knowledge transfer, design reviews, and coaching to build team capability and modeling maturityOwn delivery timelines, workstream dependencies, and risk escalation across the ontology programCoordinate across Data Engineering, AI/ML, Product, and Business SME workstreams to ensure coherent deliveryLead roadmap planning, scope definition, and estimation (T-shirt sizing / story pointing) for ontology initiatives across delivery horizons (v1/v2/v3)This role is hybrid in nature and will require time in office and traveling to client locations. Travel can be between 20-80%Here's What You Need:Minimum 12 years years of hands-on experience in ontology engineering, knowledge modeling, or a closely related semantic web or knowledge representation disciplineMinimum 12 years previous experience owning and delivering production-grade domain ontologies in complex enterprise or large-scale consulting environments including working in Agile or iterative delivery environments,Minimum 12 years experience in a lead, principal, or architect-level role with responsibility for technical standards, team development, and roadmap ownership and stakeholder-facing estimation,Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or PhD) in Information Science, Computer Science, Library Science, Linguistics, Philosophy, or a related field.Compensation at Accenture varies depending on a wide array of factors, which may include but are not limited to the specific office location, role, skill set, and level of experience. As required by local law, Accenture provides a reasonable range of compensation for roles that may be hired as set forth below.We anticipate this job posting will be posted until 09/30/2026.Accenture offers a market competitive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability coverage, a 401(k) plan, bonus opportunities, paid holidays, and paid time off. See more information on our benefits here:U.S. Employee Benefits | AccentureRole Location Annual Salary RangeCalifornia $163,000 to $413,600Cleveland $150,900 to $330,900Colorado $163,000 to $357,400District of Columbia $173,500 to $380,500Illinois $150,900 to $357,400Maine $138,800 to $304,400Maryland $163,000 to $357,400Massachusetts $163,000 to $380,500Minnesota $163,000 to $357,400New York $150,900 to $413,600New Jersey $173,500 to $413,600Virginia $150,900 to $380,500Washington $173,500 to $380,500About AccentureAccenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 791,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360 value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360 value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities.Visit us at What We BelieveWe have an unwavering commitment to diversity with the aim that every one of our people has a full sense of belonging within our organization. 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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.Please read Accenture’s Recruiting and Hiring Statement for more information on how we process your data during the Recruiting and Hiring process.SummaryLocation: Seattle, 1191 2nd Avenue, Corp; Mountain View, 650 Castro, CorpType: Full time