Principal Solution Architect

Role Description

We are looking for a Principal Solutions Architect – Managed Services to join our Managed Services team. In this role, you will lead the architecture, operation, and continuous improvement of modern cloud-native data platforms for multiple customers, ensuring they are secure, scalable, and high-performing. You will collaborate closely with clients, engineers, and practice leadership to translate evolving requirements into actionable roadmaps and high-quality outcomes across streaming, data lakes, and analytics workloads.

Key Responsibilities

• Client Delivery
  • Own and drive the design, provisioning, and enhancement of cloud-native data solutions on AWS and/or Azure, leveraging deep expertise in Snowflake and related data services for enterprise-scale platforms.
  • Lead the operation and management of modern data platforms—from streaming and data lakes to analytics—across a progressively evolving technical stack for multiple concurrent customer accounts.
  • Translate business and technical requirements into Epics, Stories, and Tasks that mature and improve customers’ data platforms, ensuring timely and successful delivery of these initiatives.
  • Provide architectural and operational guidance for cloud-native data warehouses (e.g., Snowflake, Redshift) and distributed storage technologies (e.g., S3, ADLS, NoSQL) to support large user bases.
  • Recommend appropriate technologies and approaches to ensure performance, security, scalability, and user satisfaction, including data model design for data warehouses and data lakes.
  • Continually identify and deliver automation and optimization opportunities that expand and harden customers’ data platforms and phData’s managed services offerings.
• Collaboration & Leadership
  • Serve as the technical leader across multiple accounts, providing clear ownership, direction, and decision-making while navigating complex customer environments.
  • Delegate work effectively, coach engineers, and mentor team members, fostering upskilling and continuous learning across evolving technology stacks.
  • Collaborate across technology stacks and organizational silos to integrate disparate functions and technologies into cohesive solutions.
  • Create and deliver detailed technical presentations and recommendations for executive and senior stakeholders, articulating complex concepts clearly and confidently.
  • Demonstrate calm, structured thinking under pressure—quickly assessing situations, formulating plans of action, and following through to successful outcomes.
  • Manage the human side of delivery, engaging respectfully and confidently with teammates and customers, including during challenging conversations.
• Practice & Firm Contribution
  • Create, challenge, and improve processes and procedures to enhance the quality, consistency, and scalability of managed services delivery.
  • Build automated solutions for repetitive administrative and operational tasks using Python or similar tooling to increase efficiency and reliability.
  • Contribute to internal knowledge sharing, training, and upskilling initiatives that raise the technical bar across the team.
  • Help refine and standardize patterns, runbooks, and best practices for modern data platforms, workflows, and CI/CD across the practice.
• Additional Responsibilities
  • Act as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, shaping roadmaps, influencing strategic decisions, and guiding long-term initiatives.
  • Mentor and coach team members, fostering a culture of learning, feedback, and continuous improvement.
  • Help define and refine practice standards, reusable assets, and delivery frameworks.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience architecting, operating, and optimizing modern cloud-based data platforms and data warehouses in enterprise environments.
• Advanced data platform expertise in Snowflake and at least one major cloud platform (AWS and/or Azure), with experience in Databricks or similar technologies.
• Hands-on experience with cloud and distributed data storage technologies such as S3, ADLS, Cassandra, or other NoSQL systems.
• Strong background in data integration technologies, including Spark, Kafka, event/streaming platforms, and tools such as Matillion, Fivetran, HVR, AWS Data Migration Services, and Azure Data Factory.
• Production experience with workflow management and orchestration tools such as Airflow, AWS Managed Airflow, and Luigi.
• Strong SQL skills, including the ability to write, debug, and optimize complex queries for performance and reliability.
• Extensive experience with Infrastructure as Code using Terraform or CloudFormation.
• Experience building automated solutions for repetitive administrative or operational tasks using Python or a similar language.
• Familiarity with CI/CD and deployment frameworks, including tools like Bitbucket, GitHub, Flyway, and Liquibase.
• Active daily use of AI coding tools (Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, or equivalent) with demonstrated judgment about when to trust, verify, and correct AI-generated output.
• Ability to describe specific engineering tasks completed with AI assistance.
• Experience delivering projects and managed services for external or internal clients in a professional services, consulting, or complex enterprise environment.
• Ability to break down complex, multifaceted data challenges into structured, actionable steps and drive them through to completion.
• Proven experience as a technical team lead and mentor, providing direction, coaching, and quality oversight for engineers.
• Strong client-facing written and verbal communication skills, including comfort presenting detailed technical content to executive audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with distributed, cross-functional teams across platforms, applications, and organizational boundaries.
• Professional track record of creating, challenging, and improving processes and procedures to enhance delivery quality and efficiency.
• Unmatched troubleshooting and performance tuning skills, with a strong sense of ownership and follow-through.
• Presence and poise to manage the human side of delivery, including difficult conversations, while upholding a respectful and collaborative culture.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Snowflake SnowPro Core certification.
• One or more Snowflake advanced certifications.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Experience in managed services, operations-focused roles, or similar environments supporting multiple customers simultaneously.
• Prior experience working in global or remote teams and partnering across US, LATAM, and/or India.
• Contributions to open source, technical communities, speaking, writing, or internal accelerators are a plus.

Location & Time Zone Expectations

• This role is based in US and operates primarily in Central and/or Eastern time zones with significant overlap to US Central Time.
• We are a remote-first company, and you should be comfortable working with a distributed global team.
• Some flexibility may be required to collaborate across time zones with colleagues and clients.
• Client needs may occasionally require flexibility in working hours to support key milestones or workshops.

Benefits

• Remote-First Work Environment
• 401k plan with company match
• Medical, Dental and Vision insurance
• Home Office Equipment Stipend
• Annual stipend for Learning and Development
• Competitive compensation, excellent benefits, 4 weeks PTO plan plus 10 Holidays (and other cool perks)