AI Data Architect

ECCO Select is a talent acquisition and consulting company specializing in people, process and technology solutions. We provide the talent behind the technology enabling our clients to achieve their goals. For more information about ECCO Select, visit us at www.eccoselect.com. Position Title: AI Data Architect (Contract) Location Information Hybrid - Kansas City metropolitan area (Mon-Thu on-site / Fri remote), or fully remote within the US Position Responsibilities: Join a dynamic Artificial Intelligence (AI) team focused on driving automation, data-driven decision making, and software modernization. As an AI Data Architect, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and governing enterprise-scale data architectures that enable secure, scalable, and compliant adoption of AI technologies. You will play a critical role in bridging advanced data engineering, governance, and the AI/ML model lifecycle, ensuring reliable, ethical, and regulatory-compliant use of data across the organization. • Develop and implement enterprise-wide AI data architecture strategies to enable secure, scalable, and compliant AI/ML adoption. • Design canonical data models, robust metadata frameworks, and data pipelines to facilitate efficient AI/ML model development, training, deployment, and monitoring. • Establish and enforce data quality, lineage, and master data management (MDM) standards, including “golden record” frameworks for consistent and reliable AI outputs. • Collaborate with data governance, compliance, and security teams to define and uphold policies for ethical and responsible AI data usage. • Design, architect, and manage AI-ready data platforms (cloud, hybrid, and on-prem) supporting a variety of structured, unstructured, and streaming data sources. • Implement modern data architectures (such as data mesh, data fabric, Lakehouse, and technologies like Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake) to accelerate AI/ML initiatives. • Optimize AI/ML workloads on cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and manage enterprise data pipelines using tools such as Kafka, Glue, Spark, and Snowflake. • Partner with AI engineers, data scientists, and business leaders to ensure data architecture aligns with business goals in payments, risk management, compliance, and customer experience. • Provide architectural leadership in efforts focused on real-time payments, fraud detection, personalization engines, and regulatory reporting modernization. • Support multiple initiatives as assigned by IT leadership, contributing to a forward-thinking and innovative technology environment. Essential Skills, Experience The ideal candidate will have deep experience with enterprise data architecture and a track record of implementing advanced, scalable data solutions in support of AI/ML projects. You should possess strong technical, leadership, and communication skills, and be familiar with the intricacies of data governance, compliance, and security, particularly in regulated industries such as financial services. • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related discipline and at least 7 years of experience in data architecture, enterprise data management, or large-scale data engineering; or an equivalent combination of education and work experience. • Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise data platforms supporting AI/ML initiatives. • Expert knowledge of enterprise data architecture frameworks, canonical data models, and metadata management. • Strong understanding of data governance, regulatory requirements, and compliance related to financial services or similar regulated environments. • Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver secure, enterprise-grade data solutions. • Proficiency in designing and operationalizing data architectures to support AI/ML development, including data pipelines, model training, validation, and monitoring. • Hands-on expertise with cloud-based data platforms (such as AWS Redshift, Snowflake, Azure Synapse, and GCP BigQuery). • Familiarity with big data and streaming platforms, including Kafka, Spark, Flink, and data integration patterns. • Strong technical skills in SQL, NoSQL, and graph database technologies. • Excellent communication abilities, with a talent for translating complex data concepts to business leaders and technical teams alike. Qualifications: • Master’s degree in Data Science, Information Management, or a related discipline and at least 10 years of experience in financial services or highly regulated industries (preferred but not required). • Certifications such as AWS Certified Data Analytics – Specialty, Google Professional Data Engineer, or DAMA Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) are a plus. • Experience with regulatory reporting, risk data aggregation, and data compliance frameworks. • Strong background in presenting and defending architectural strategies to senior executives and regulatory partners. • Hands-on experience with Lakehouse technologies (such as Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake, or Hudi). • Advanced knowledge of MDM, data mesh, distributed data architectures, and privacy-preserving technologies. • Background working in AI data applications such as fraud detection, personalization, real-time payments, or regulatory reporting in a banking context. • Experience with AI observability and end-to-end monitoring tools for data pipelines is a plus. Applicants must have legal authority to work in the United States. Work Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Application deadline is 45 days from the posting date, or until the position is filled. ECCO Select is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. Our policy is to provide equal opportunity to all people without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, age, disability, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other legally protected category. Veterans of our United States Uniformed Services are specifically encouraged to apply for ECCO Select opportunities. Equal Employment Opportunity is The Law This Organization Participates in E-Verify