Data Architect Lead

Overview

TISTA is seeking a Data Architect Lead to support the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supply Chain Management DevSecOps program. This Key Personnel role will lead enterprise data architecture, data governance, master data management, data migration, and analytics across the VA supply chain and logistics product portfolio.

The Data Architect Lead will partner with VA stakeholders and Agile delivery teams to establish trusted data standards, modernize legacy data, design enterprise data platforms, and support secure, responsible use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

At TISTA, you’ll do meaningful, mission‑driven work that improves lives alongside teammates you trust and leaders who are transparent and supportive. We invest in your learning and internal mobility so you can build a career that keeps advancing. We’re proud to serve and hire Veterans, and we put people first in everything we do.

TISTA associates enjoy above Industry Healthcare Benefits, Remote Working Options, Paid Time Off, Training/Certification opportunities, Healthcare Savings Account & Flexible Savings Account, Paid Life Insurance, Short-term & Long-term Disability, 401K Match, Tuition Reimbursement, Employee Assistance Program, Paid Holidays, Military Leave, and much more!

Responsibilities

• Lead data architecture, governance, migration, data quality, and analytics activities across the product line.
• Design and govern enterprise data models, master data, data platforms, and data integration standards.
• Lead legacy data profiling, cleansing, mapping, transformation, validation, reconciliation, and migration.
• Establish data quality, lineage, security, privacy, and governance standards.
• Design and oversee enterprise data platforms supporting reporting, analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
• Lead development and validation of forecasting, anomaly detection, and decision-support solutions.
• Collaborate with VA stakeholders, architects, engineers, cybersecurity teams, and Agile delivery teams to integrate data architecture into solution planning and delivery.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data engineers, migration specialists, analysts, and AI/ML engineers.
• Contribute to TISTA data practice, business growth, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of data architecture and engineering experience, including 5+ years as a lead data architect on large federal IT programs.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience architecting enterprise lakehouse or comparable data platforms.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale data migrations, including profiling, cleansing, mapping, transformation, testing, validation, and reconciliation.
• Experience designing enterprise data models and master data management solutions using DoDAF, UAF, or comparable architecture frameworks, including experience working in SAFe environments.
• Experience with Databricks or comparable modern data platforms, SQL, Python, ETL/ELT, data lineage, and governance.
• Experience developing or governing AI/ML solutions for forecasting, anomaly detection, analytics, or decision support.
• Experience with VA OIT data governance, federal health, supply chain/logistics, or related enterprise data environments strongly preferred.

Certifications:

• Databricks Certified Data Engineer, Associate or Professional, required.
• Certified SAFe Architect (ARCH) required, or SAFe Agilist (SA) with ARCH obtained within 12 months of hire.
• Databricks Certified Generative AI Engineer required or must be obtained within 12 months of hire.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field.
• Master's degree preferred.

Clearance:

• Tier 2 / Moderate Risk Background Investigation; ability to obtain a VA PIV credential.

Location:

• Rockville, MD / Remote (CONUS).
• Up to 15% CONUS travel.

Pay Range:

• The suggested pay for this position ranges from $170,546 to $188,875.
• The actual salary offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
• Also, certain positions are eligible for additional forms of compensation, such as bonuses.
• TISTA associates are eligible to participate in our comprehensive benefits plan! More information can be found here: https://tistatech.com/working-at-tista/