Principal AI Data Architect

Description

The role is a principal-level architect who sets the enterprise data architecture behind the company's AI products, which must be trustworthy, scalable, secure and cost-effective.

You will build systems that link varied data sources to AI agents and make sure the data is clean, easy to reach and ready for advanced analytics. You will also guide the data engineering strategy, define architecture standards and turn complicated business goals into production-grade capabilities. You will work with product managers, AI engineers and security teams so that governance, security and compliance rules apply whenever agents request data.

Responsibilities

• Prepare data for LLM and ML work, including RAG, vector-based retrieval, agentic workflows, AI-assisted reporting and governed data access for agents.
• Build the controls for data trust and responsible AI: quality checks and validation, lineage, metadata, privacy, RBAC and ABAC, audit trails, retention, policy enforcement, and evaluation and monitoring of AI outputs.
• Lead build-versus-buy decisions on cloud data services, AI platforms, frameworks and vendors, weighing performance, resilience, security, operability and total cost of ownership.
• Design the target AI data architecture and a multi-year roadmap covering ingestion, integration, storage, modeling, semantic access and AI consumption. Create reusable reference architectures and engineering standards for all domains.
• Lead architecture reviews, resolve difficult cross-domain design problems, and work with product, engineering, security and executive leaders at the principal level.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, data science, information systems or a related field.
• At least 10 years working as a data architect, data engineer, MLOps engineer or in a similar role on enterprise data systems.
• A record of leading complex technical decisions and influencing senior stakeholders, with strong communication skills and experience setting governance, security, privacy, quality, lineage and operational standards in enterprise or regulated settings.
• Experience delivering data foundations for AI, ML or GenAI solutions, covering one or more of RAG, vector databases, enterprise search, LLM evaluation, agentic workflows, feature or data pipelines and model-serving integration.
• Strong Python and SQL skills, including experience with data processing libraries.
• Hands-on experience with MCP servers and MCP registries.
• Preferred: experience building on AWS Bedrock.
• Preferred: deep Python and SQL skills, plus practical work with data processing and orchestration tools such as Databricks, Redshift, Snowflake, Kafka, Airflow or equivalent cloud-native services.
• Preferred: experience with ontologies and semantic systems.

Conditions

Work from an office in Niskayuna, NY or Cambridge, MA.

Candidates based in Cambridge, MA must complete a three-month onboarding residency, hybrid, at the company's Advanced Research Center in Niskayuna, NY. Travel, housing and a living stipend are provided.

Only candidates legally authorized to work in the United States can be hired for this role.

Any offer is conditional on passing a drug screen where applicable.

For U.S.-based roles, the base pay range is $137,700.00 to $229,600.00. In certain areas the company pays a geographic differential of 110%, 120% or 130% of salary. Actual pay depends on factors such as experience, education and skill set.

The posting is expected to stay open for at least seven days after September 22, 2026.

Benefit plans may be changed, suspended or ended at any time at the company's discretion. No one gains a vested right to them, and this document does not form a contract of employment.

Benefits

• A discretionary annual bonus.
• Relocation assistance is provided.
• Medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage.
• A 24/7 nurse-based health coach service and a 24/7 confidential employee assistance program offering assessment, counseling and referrals.
• A tax-advantaged 401(k) retirement savings plan with company matching and company retirement contributions, plus access to Fidelity resources and financial planning consultants.
• Tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability benefits, life insurance, 12 paid holidays and permissive time off.