Principal Data Architect BlueFlag LLP Pittsburgh, PA Job Details Full-time 13 hours ago Benefits AD&D insurance Paid holidays Health insurance Dental insurance 401(k) matching Life insurance Qualifications Security Authorization Data model design Commercial use (data warehousing systems) Customer communication Cloud analytics services Databricks Content creation for technical audiences Data Integration (Data management)

NIST SP 800-53

Data modeling projects Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Implementing cloud migration projects Spark HIPAA Git Schema design Infrastructure architecture design SQL Azure Synapse Analytics Team development Data Architecture Design (Architecture design skills) Cloud database architecture Managing engineering teams Solution architecture design Bachelor's degree Azure Data Factory Continuous integration Mentoring Health information regulatory compliance Leading team collaboration initiatives Full Job Description BlueFlag is hiring a Principal Data Architect to lead data architecture for a premier data and artificial intelligence (AI) platform at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The platform powers reporting, analytics, and machine learning for Veterans' health and benefits. This remote role is customer-facing every day. You will lead senior data engineers, guide VA leaders through architecture decisions, and help build the platform's future on Azure Commercial with Databricks and Unity Catalog. We're looking for an engineer first: someone who built pipelines and warehouses hands-on, then grew into leading teams and advising customers. You'll join a friendly, collaborative team doing work that makes a real difference for Veterans and their families. What You'll Do Work with customers daily: lead architecture discussions, brief VA stakeholders, and turn their needs into clear designs and decisions. Lead and mentor senior data engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and hands-on problem solving. Set architecture and standards for ingestion, storage, modeling, and serving with Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics, Databricks, and Delta Lake. Architect the platform's move to Azure Commercial, with Databricks as the engineering platform and Unity Catalog governing data, access, lineage, and models. Design metadata-driven frameworks that move thousands of tables through batch, incremental, change data capture (CDC), and streaming patterns. Serve reporting and machine learning workloads through the Synapse Dedicated Pool, Databricks SQL, Power BI, and model training pipelines. Protect PHI and PII through access policy, masking, and Authority to Operate (ATO) support under HIPAA and federal security requirements. Write architecture and technical approach sections for proposals. Why Join BlueFlag At BlueFlag, we're passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technology to make a real difference. You'll be at the forefront of cloud innovation, working on projects that directly impact people's lives. We offer a high-growth, entrepreneurial environment that values fresh ideas and authentic teamwork. If you're ready to take your data engineering career to new heights and contribute to meaningful projects that push the boundaries of technology, we want to hear from you. Join BlueFlag and be part of a team that's shaping the future of AI solutions! Requirements 12+ years in data engineering and data architecture, starting as a hands-on data engineer, with 5+ years as a lead or principal architect Proven leadership of engineering teams, including mentoring senior engineers and setting technical direction A demonstrated history of customer-facing work: leading architecture discussions, briefing executives, and writing for technical and non-technical readers Expert, hands-on cloud data engineering and data warehousing on

Azure:

Azure Data Factory, Synapse Analytics (including Synapse Dedicated Pool), Databricks, Delta Lake, and ADLS Gen2 Hands-on Unity Catalog design: catalogs and grants, attribute-based access control, row filters and column masks, and lineage Design of lakehouse (medallion) architectures, data warehouse models, and metadata-driven frameworks across thousands of tables Strong proficiency in SQL and Python (PySpark) Experience with CDC, streaming, and incremental load patterns (e.g., Oracle GoldenGate, Azure Event Hubs, Apache Kafka) Experience migrating large on-premises data warehouses to the cloud, including parallel runs and reconciliation Experience with Git, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code for data platforms (e.g., Terraform, Databricks Asset Bundles) Working knowledge of

HIPAA, NIST

800-53, and FISMA requirements for PHI and PII Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, or a related field.

US Citizen:

Must be a citizen of the

United States Security Clearance:

Must be able to obtain a public trust clearance. Must be eligible to work in the United States. Desired Experience with VA health data (CDW, VistA, Oracle Health, HL7, FHIR) Experience in Azure Government or other FedRAMP High environments Experience with Immuta, Collibra, or Microsoft Purview Experience with Databricks SQL, serverless compute, Microsoft Fabric, or Power BI semantic models Experience with MLOps and model serving on Databricks Databricks or Azure architect certifications Benefits Competitive salary Generous annual leave and paid holidays Comprehensive group health and dental plans 401(k) with company match Life insurance and AD&D coverage Ongoing training and professional development opportunities