Lead Data Architect

University of Chicago · Chicago · $150,000–$156,600 (stated in the posting)

Department

OPS ITS - Analytics Intelligence Solutions

About the Department

IT Services (ITS) collaborates with campus partners to support the mission of the University of Chicago through the consistent delivery of high-quality solutions and services. We provide secure, stable, and reliable infrastructure and applications that support the mission of the University. ITS supports and enables faculty research and teaching with the effective use of technology, simplifies the technology experience for all users, identifies, manages, and mitigates technology risks for the University.

Job Summary

The Lead Data Architect sets the architecture for how the University’s administrative data is sourced, modeled, integrated, governed, and delivered, from today’s warehouse estate to a modern platform ready for analytics and AI. This role owns the target architecture, the standards and patterns the team builds to, and the roadmap that moves us there; and it leads the technical design of the team’s highest-impact work. It partners closely with infrastructure, information security, privacy, and enterprise application colleagues, who own the hosting, access, and source systems the architecture depends on. While the team moves to its target operating model, the role also owns the health, upgrade, and support roadmap for the current data platforms, working with the colleagues who administer them day to day.

Responsibilities

Defines and maintains the current-state and target-state data architecture for University administrative data, and the multi-year roadmap between them.
Sets architecture standards and reference patterns; designs principles for data modeling, integration, pipelines, and data products, and reviews designs against them.
Leads platform modernization options with the team and IT Services partners, building the technical case, cost, risk, and sequencing for each.
Leads proofs of concept to test platform and architecture options before the team commits.
Designs for AI readiness, including governed metadata, a shared semantic layer, and clear data contracts, so analytics and AI tools reach governed data safely.
Leads the design of enterprise data models, logical, physical, and dimensional, and the integration architecture across source systems.
Owns the technical architecture for master data for identity, so one person resolves consistently across student, employee, alumni, and affiliate records.
Builds data quality checks, lineage, and auditability into pipelines by design rather than adding them afterward.
Designs classification, access, and privacy controls into the architecture, in partnership with Information Security and the Privacy Office.
Supports the data governance program with the technical side of definitions, the data catalog, and stewardship tooling.
Serves as technical lead on the team’s highest-priority initiatives, working with data engineers, BI developers, and analytics and AI engineers.
Partners with the Chief Technology Officer’s infrastructure teams on hosting, operations, and capacity, and with enterprise application teams on source-system integration.
Explains architecture choices in plain language to leaders and partner units, and writes the decision records behind them.
Owns the roadmap for upgrades, version currency, and vendor support of the current data warehouse, data integration, big data, and cloud data platforms, setting direction and priorities while the colleagues and partners who administer them handle day-to-day operations, and steps in hands-on when the team needs it during the transition.
Coordinates architecture-affecting changes through IT Services change management.
Mentors data engineers and developers, raises engineering practice across the team, and grows architecture skills so the team never depends on one person.
Leads the development of Business Intelligence (BI) and other analytical applications. Works to achieve an integrated reporting and analysis environment, effectively leveraging analytical systems and tools.
Provides expertise in planning, testing, and roll-out of patches and upgrades to the BI and analytic software. Solves complex problems in the development and interpretation of BI and analytics system standards and procedures.
Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education: 

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, data science, or a related field.
Master’s degree a plus.

Experience: 

A track record of leading data architecture, not only contributing to it by setting the standards, patterns, and roadmap that other engineers build to.

Designing and leading enterprise data architecture in a complex organization, ideally higher education or another federated environment.

Technical Skills or Knowledge:

Hands-on experience with data warehouse and data integration platforms such as Oracle databases, Oracle Data Integrator, and Hadoop-based platforms, which make up today’s estate.

Modern cloud data platforms and lakehouse patterns, including migrating workloads from an on-premises estate.

Governing cloud data platforms: workspace design, capacity planning, access models, and cost management.

Data modeling for analytics: relational, dimensional, and semantic layers.

Metadata management, data catalogs, and data quality frameworks.

Integrating data from enterprise systems such as ERP, human capital, student information, and CRM platforms.

Enabling AI on enterprise data: semantic layers, governed access patterns, and emerging standards such as the Model Context Protocol.

Preferred Competencies 

Systems thinking, seeing the whole estate and how a change in one place lands in another.

Clear communicator who explains architecture to non-technical leaders and writes it down.

Leads through partnership and influence across teams that own the hosting, access, and source systems.

Sound judgment on build, buy, and retire, with cost and risk in view.

Coaches others and builds capability across the team.

Comfortable with ambiguity and a changing environment.

Working Conditions 

Hybrid work schedule, onsite and remote as determined by business needs.

Application Documents 

Resume/CV (required)

Cover Letter (required)

References Contact Information (3)(required)

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

Individual Contributor

Scheduled Weekly Hours

37.5

Drug Test Required

Health Screen Required

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

Pay Rate Type

Salary

FLSA Status

Exempt

Pay Range

$150,000.00 - $156,600.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook .

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.

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