Job Opportunity: BHSI is modernizing its data ecosystem, moving from a monolithic, reporting-centric infrastructure to a Lakehouse platform that supports insight-driven decisions and AI-enabled outcomes at the speed of business. We are seeking a Principal Data Architect to set the technical direction for that platform.
You will own the architecture of our Databricks-based Lakehouse across data engineering, analytics, and AI/ML, ensuring it is secure, performant, cost-efficient, and ready for Generative AI. This is a hands-on, senior individual-contributor role for a technologist and strategic thinker, not a people-management position. You will report to the Global Head of Data Analytics Solutions and partner with Enterprise Technology portfolio leaders and business stakeholders.
Responsibilities:- Platform Architecture & Strategy: Define and evolve the enterprise Lakehouse reference architecture on Databricks, supporting batch, streaming, and AI workloads at scale across AWS or Azure.
- AI & Generative AI Enablement: Lead the design and rollout of Databricks AI capabilities, including vector search, model serving, and LLM orchestration, so teams can build, fine-tune, and deploy models securely against enterprise data.
- Governance & Security by Design: Implement lineage, access controls, and auditing with Unity Catalog to meet regulatory requirements and ensure data quality across domains.
- MLOps & Engineering Excellence: Establish CI/CD and infrastructure-as-code standards for data pipelines and ML models. Optimize Spark performance, cluster configuration, and compute spend.
- Technical Leadership & Influence: Set architecture standards, run design reviews, and mentor engineers and data scientists. Translate business strategy into a phased technical roadmap and build alignment with engineering and business leaders.
Qualifications, Skills and Experience:- 15+ years in data engineering, data architecture, or software architecture, including 5+ years architecting on the Databricks Lakehouse Platform
- Deep expertise in Apache Spark, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, and MLflow
- Proven experience designing infrastructure for both traditional ML and Generative AI workloads (RAG, fine-tuning, vector search, agentic frameworks)
- Strong proficiency in Python and SQL, infrastructure-as-code (e.g., Terraform), and software design patterns
- Hands-on architecture experience on AWS or Microsoft Azure
- Demonstrated ability to influence senior technical and business stakeholders without direct authority
Preferred Qualifications:- Databricks Professional or Expert-level certification
- Experience with advanced agentic architectures, DSPy, or graph databases
- Background in insurance, financial services, fintech, or other regulated environments
- Track record of optimizing cloud compute costs while improving pipeline throughput
BHSI Offers:- A competitive package and exciting growth opportunities for career-oriented teammates
- A dynamic, action-oriented, and thoughtful environment centered on always doing the right thing for our customers, teammates and our other stakeholders
- A purposely non-bureaucratic organization that embraces simplicity over complexity and emphasizes individual excellence in a team framework
- Benefits that support your life and well-being, which include:
- Comprehensive Health, Dental and Vision benefits
- Disability Insurance (both short-term and long-term)
- Life Insurance (for you and your family)
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance (for you and your family)
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Reimbursement Account
- Employee Assistance Program
- Retirement Savings 401(k) Plan with Company Match
- Generous holiday and Paid Time Off
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Paid Parental Leave
The base salary range for this position in Boston is $200,000 to $240,000, along with annual bonus eligibility; a candidate's salary is determined by their relevant skills and experience. We value our teammates - both their capabilities and character - as demonstrated by our amazing culture.
NOTE: Compensation will be commensurate with experience. This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. Team Member may perform other related duties as negotiated to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.
