Principal Data Architect

BlueFlag is hiring a Principal Data Architect to lead data architecture for a premier data and artificial intelligence (AI) platform at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The platform powers reporting, analytics, and machine learning for Veterans' health and benefits. This remote role is customer-facing every day. You will lead senior data engineers, guide VA leaders through architecture decisions, and help build the platform's future on Azure Commercial with Databricks and Unity Catalog.
We're looking for an engineer first: someone who built pipelines and warehouses hands-on, then grew into leading teams and advising customers. You'll join a friendly, collaborative team doing work that makes a real difference for Veterans and their families.
What You'll Do
Work with customers daily: lead architecture discussions, brief VA stakeholders, and turn their needs into clear designs and decisions
Lead and mentor senior data engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and hands-on problem solving
Set architecture and standards for ingestion, storage, modeling, and serving with Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics, Databricks, and Delta Lake
Architect the platform's move to Azure Commercial, with Databricks as the engineering platform and Unity Catalog governing data, access, lineage, and models
Design metadata-driven frameworks that move thousands of tables through batch, incremental, change data capture (CDC), and streaming patterns
Serve reporting and machine learning workloads through the Synapse Dedicated Pool, Databricks SQL, Power BI, and model training pipelines
Protect PHI and PII through access policy, masking, and Authority to Operate (ATO) support under HIPAA and federal security requirements
Write architecture and technical approach sections for proposals
Why Join BlueFlag
At BlueFlag, we're passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technology to make a real difference. You'll be at the forefront of cloud innovation, working on projects that directly impact people's lives. We offer a high-growth, entrepreneurial environment that values fresh ideas and authentic teamwork.
If you're ready to take your data engineering career to new heights and contribute to meaningful projects that push the boundaries of technology, we want to hear from you. Join BlueFlag and be part of a team that's shaping the future of AI solutions!
Requirements
12+ years in data engineering and data architecture, starting as a hands-on data engineer, with 5+ years as a lead or principal architect
Proven leadership of engineering teams, including mentoring senior engineers and setting technical direction
A demonstrated history of customer-facing work: leading architecture discussions, briefing executives, and writing for technical and non-technical readers
Expert, hands-on cloud data engineering and data warehousing on Azure: Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics (including Synapse Dedicated Pool), Databricks, Delta Lake, and ADLS Gen2
Hands-on Unity Catalog design: catalogs and grants, attribute-based access control, row filters and column masks, and lineage
Design of lakehouse (medallion) architectures, data warehouse models, and metadata-driven frameworks across thousands of tables
Strong proficiency in SQL and Python (PySpark)
Experience with CDC, streaming, and incremental load patterns (e.g., Oracle GoldenGate, Azure Event Hubs, Apache Kafka)
Experience migrating large on-premises data warehouses to the cloud, including parallel runs and reconciliation
Experience with Git, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code for data platforms (e.g., Terraform, Databricks Asset Bundles)
Working knowledge of HIPAA, NIST 800-53, and FISMA requirements for PHI and PII
Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field
US Citizen: Must be a citizen of the United States
Security Clearance: Must be able to obtain a public trust clearance. Must be eligible to work in the United States
Desired
Experience with VA health data (CDW, VistA, Oracle Health, HL7, FHIR)
Experience in Azure Government or other FedRAMP High environments
Experience with Immuta, Collibra, or Microsoft Purview
Experience with Databricks SQL, serverless compute, Microsoft Fabric, or Power BI semantic models
Experience with MLOps and model serving on Databricks
Databricks or Azure architect certifications
Benefits
Competitive salary
Generous annual leave and paid holidays
Comprehensive group health and dental plans
401(k) with company match
Life insurance and AD&D coverage
Ongoing training and professional development opportunities

Work arrangement
Yes