Lead Business Analyst

Location: Remote, with paid travel once a month to Ohio Lead Business Analyst – Databricks Migration Overview The Lead Business Analyst will play a pivotal role in driving a large‑scale data platform modernization initiative, leading the analysis, planning, and execution of a migration to Databricks. This role blends strategic thinking, hands‑on analysis, and cross‑functional leadership. The ideal candidate brings deep experience with cloud data platforms, strong business acumen, and a proven track record guiding complex data transformation programs. Key Responsibilities Program Leadership • Serve as the primary liaison between business stakeholders, data engineering teams, architecture, and project leadership throughout the Databricks migration. • Translate business goals into clear requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria aligned with the target Databricks architecture. • Lead discovery workshops to assess current‑state data processes, pain points, and dependencies. • Drive prioritization, roadmap planning, and backlog management for migration workstreams. Business & Data Analysis • Conduct detailed analysis of existing data pipelines, ETL processes, data models, and reporting workflows to determine migration scope and complexity. • Document current‑state and future‑state process flows, data mappings, and functional specifications. • Identify opportunities to optimize data quality, governance, and performance as part of the migration. • Partner with data engineers to validate technical feasibility and ensure requirements are accurately implemented in Databricks. Stakeholder Management • Communicate progress, risks, and decisions to executive sponsors and cross‑functional teams. • Facilitate alignment across business units with differing priorities and data needs. • Support change management activities, including training, documentation, and user adoption planning. Quality Assurance & Delivery • Define test strategies and acceptance criteria for migrated data pipelines and analytics products. • Coordinate UAT cycles, ensuring business validation and sign‑off. • Monitor delivery milestones and proactively address blockers to keep the migration on track. Required Qualifications • 7+ years of experience as a Business Analyst, Product Owner, or similar role in data‑focused environments. • Hands‑on experience supporting or leading a Databricks migration or modernization of a legacy data platform. • Strong understanding of cloud data ecosystems (Azure, AWS, or GCP), including data lakes, ETL/ELT, and analytics workflows. • Ability to interpret complex data flows and translate them into clear business and technical requirements. • Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder‑management skills. • Experience working in Agile environments. Preferred Qualifications • Familiarity with Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, and Databricks notebooks/workflows. • Background in financial services, healthcare, retail, or other data‑intensive industries. • Experience with data governance, data quality frameworks, or MDM. • Certification in Agile, Scrum, or Business Analysis (CBAP, PMI‑PBA)