Lead Data Architect

POSITION TITLE: Lead Data Architect

This role is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship

POSITION LOCATION

This position is available to Virginia residents as Richmond or Lynchburg, VA hybrid in-office applicants or remote applicants residing in states/locations in the following states: Virginia, North Carolina, Washington DC and Maryland.

*Hybrid in-office would be required if you reside within 50 miles of our Richmond or Lynchburg, VA office. Required in-office days are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

YOUR ROLE

You will be influencing and communicating to business stakeholders how the proposed solution architecture implements the data architecture and balances time and cost to build the solution with business value.

You will be acting as a change agent as business and IT stakeholders have not used a data architecture in the past, and you will need to create awareness and desire to implement the data architecture.

Because the reference architecture and core technologies are already established, this solution architect position focuses on applying the data architecture to projects and data products to create solution architecture diagrams and patterns, defining and leading the creation of reusable frameworks and standards across projects, and mentoring teams on how to implement solutions effectively.

What you will be doing

• Evaluate proposed project and data product scope, including delivery timeline, functional trade-offs, cost considerations, and expected business value.
• Translate business requirements into solution architectures aligned to the reference architecture, including infrastructure, data modeling, integration, and coding design considerations.
• Build alignment on proposed solution architectures and define phased implementation approaches that deliver early business value.
• Guide data engineering leads, data modelers, infrastructure specialists, and other team members on what must be designed, built, and tested to implement the solution successfully.
• Lead or support proofs of concept to validate new design patterns, technical approaches, or product features before broader implementation.
• Participate throughout the SDLC to help teams implement solution designs and meet business requirements and architecture objectives.
• Use feedback from delivery teams and stakeholders to improve future designs, frameworks, and practices that accelerate delivery and business value realization.
• Establish reusable detailed design patterns that can be adopted across multiple projects, including incubating new patterns through POCs or targeted design work.

Deliverables / Results

• Project estimates with assumptions and estimating factors
• Solution architecture diagrams
• Decision trees on what technology or feature to use based on use cases
• High level data model diagrams
• High level data pipeline architecture diagrams
• Alignment on coding standards and re-usable functions that should be built and shared by a project
• Best practices and materials that project teams can use to align their build to the architecture, designs and re-usable frameworks
• Impact / Value Add Business users achieve the business value as a result of the solution design and build
• Solutions align to the architecture so other projects can leverage the solution built by a previous project
• Integration of enterprise data so more insights can be produced
• Ownership Ownership will be assigned to a business unit, function or set of common data products so your influence on driving architect adoption can be measured.

Ownership

Ownership will be assigned to a business unit, function or set of common data products so your influence on driving architect adoption can be measured.

Collaboration

This role collaborates with business stakeholders, program and product leads, architects, data engineering leads, infrastructure and cloud teams, and other delivery partners.

Perspective

Desire to be a change agent in a data transformation program.

Qualities

• Communicate clearly with technical teams, business stakeholders, and leadership to explain architecture decisions, trade-offs, and implementation direction.
• Influence cross-functional stakeholders by building shared understanding, resolving ambiguity, and gaining alignment on solution approaches.
• Provide vision leadership by proactively engaging business leaders, recommending strategic data solutions, and supporting scalable data self-service capabilities.
• Likes to mentor technical resources on how to use the architecture, design patterns and frameworks including the production of written documentation.
• Explain and personalize communication on concepts to others ranging from business to technical audiences.
• Navigate ambiguity by providing clarity, direction, and decision support for teams and partners.

Education

Four year college degree or equivalent experience with Masters preferred Demonstrated on the job learning with certifications relevant to this position

Skills

One or more hands skills from data modeling, coding, CI/CD implementation, and other components of a solution. Using various software programs to produce the deliverables outlined above.

Competencies

Architecture competency including architectural models, principles, levels of architecture, and business relevant application. Strong knowledge of analytical and operational databases, data modeling, data pipeline design, coding frameworks, and programming languages used in modern data platforms. General knowledge of cloud services, networking, security practices, and hardware configurations, and how they are integrated into a solution.

Experience

Five years or more years experience as a data architect and other related roles such as data engineer, data modeler, and other hands on build roles for analytical and operational systems. The role requires both strategic architecture leadership and practical, hands-on data solution experience. Strategic leadership includes identifying the need for a new design pattern, leading alignment to implement new design patterns that improve the solution architecture, and Hands on experience includes participating in POCs and showing others how to use the architecture and technology to implement the solution architecture. Experience designing ingestion solutions that use change data capture, event streaming, and batch processing for structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data sources. Hands-on experience with Databricks, Spark, Kafka, ingestion tools, Lakehouse architectures, and related technologies that enable trusted, consumable business data.

Additional Information

National Range: $120,900 - $187,000 Disclaimer: This role is aligned to a national market-based pay range. Actual compensation will vary based on geographic location, experience, skills, and other job-related factors. In addition to base salary, this role is eligible to participate in a bonus incentive plan. Incentive compensation is based on individual and company performance and is not guaranteed.

Employee Benefits & Well-Being

Genworth employees make a difference in people’s lives every day. We’re committed to making a difference in our employees’ lives.

Competitive Compensation & Total Rewards Incentives Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage Multiple 401(k) Savings Plan Options Auto Enrollment in Employer-Directed Retirement Account Feature (100% employer-funded!) Generous Paid Time Off - Including 12 Paid Holidays, Volunteer Time Off and Paid Family Leave Disability, Life, and Long Term Care Insurance Tuition Reimbursement, Student Loan Repayment and Training & Certification Support Wellness support including gym membership reimbursement and Employee Assistance Program resources (work/life support, financial & legal management) Caregiver and Mental Health Support Services

Genworth Financial, Inc ("Genworth") (NYSE: GNW) is a Fortune 1000 company focused on empowering families to navigate the aging journey with confidence, now and in the future. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Genworth and its CareScout businesses provide guidance, products, and services that help people understand their caregiving options and fund their long-term care needs. Genworth is also the parent company and majority-owner of publicly traded Enact Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACT), a leading U.S. mortgage insurance provider. Genworth Mexico Genworth US We know we can’t deliver on our mission unless we deliver for our employees. That’s why we’re committed to creating a work environment that fosters inclusion, excellence, improvement and connection. We know each employee contributes in their own unique way and we’re dedicated to supporting every one of them to help them reach their full potential. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and all hiring decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and business need. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.