Data Architect

Position: Senior Technical Business Analyst / Data Architect Location: Chicago, IL Duration: 6+ Months PURPOSE: We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Technical Business Analyst / Data Architect with a strong background in customer loyalty systems to lead the design, integration, and optimization of data and business solutions across our loyalty platform ecosystem. This hybrid role demands a unique blend of business acumen, systems thinking, and deep technical expertise in data modeling and architecture, particularly within loyalty or customer engagement environments. This role will serve as a critical link between business stakeholders, technical teams, and data infrastructure, ensuring loyalty program requirements are translated into scalable, secure, and high-performance data solutions. POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES: BUSINESS ANALYSIS RESPONSIBILITIES • Partner with stakeholders across product, marketing, CRM, and IT to gather, analyze, and prioritize business requirements related to loyalty program capabilities (e.g., accrual, redemption, tiering, member lifecycle). • Translate business needs into detailed technical specifications and solution designs. • Document system and process flows, data mappings, and interface specifications for loyalty system integrations. • Analyze loyalty program performance, customer data, and behavioral metrics to inform system design and enhancements. • Support stakeholder alignment by leading workshops and presenting solution designs. DATA ARCHITECTURE RESPONSIBILITIES: • Lead the design and implementation of end-to-end data architectures supporting loyalty programs, including customer profiles, transactional history, engagement metrics, and campaign data. • Design and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models for loyalty ecosystems. • Define data integration strategies and oversee data flow design between loyalty platforms, CRM, POS, mobile apps, and enterprise data warehouses. • Ensure alignment of loyalty data models with enterprise architecture and data governance standards. • Collaborate with data engineers, developers, and DevOps teams to ensure solutions are robust, scalable, and optimized for performance. • Evaluate new loyalty platforms or enhancements and provide architectural recommendations. OVERALL RESPONSIBILITIES: • Effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a fast-paced environment • Work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment • Flexible and adaptable to learning and understanding new technologies • Highly self-motivated and directed • Demonstrate a commitment to clients core values EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS: REQUIRED SKILLS: • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field. • 6+ years of experience in business analysis and data architecture roles, with significant focus on customer loyalty systems or CRM platforms. • Deep experience with loyalty business processes: point accrual/redemption, member tiers, campaign targeting, personalization, breakage analysis, etc. • Strong SQL skills and experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery, Azure Synapse, AWS Redshift). • Proficiency in data modeling tools (e.g., ER/Studio, Lucidchart, dbt, ERwin). • Experience working with API integrations, event-based data pipelines, and microservices architecture. • Familiarity with enterprise loyalty platforms (e.g., Salesforce Loyalty, Oracle Loyalty Cloud, Comarch, SessionM, Annex Cloud, Kobie, etc.). • Experience with tools like Airbyte, dbt, Airflow, Fivetran, or Talend for data orchestration. • Proven ability to act as a bridge between technical teams and business stakeholders. • Strong documentation, communication, and presentation skills. PREFERRED SKILLS: • Experience in high-volume, customer-centric industries (retail, travel, hospitality, QSR). • Familiarity with customer identity resolution, real-time personalization, or CDPs (Customer Data Platforms). • Understanding of data privacy and compliance regulations (GDPR, CCPA). • Knowledge of A/B testing, attribution modeling, and predictive analytics in loyalty contexts. EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field required and 6+ years of experience in business analysis and data architecture roles.