At CI&T, we help large enterprises transform the potential of AI into real business impact with AI Deployment, AI-native execution, and tech-integrated business solutions.
With 30 years of experience in technological transformation, we accelerate innovation with expertise in Agentic SDLC, Application modernization, Data & AI, Martech and Business strategy.
We are 8,000 CI&Ters across more than 25 countries, collaborating to build solutions with real impact. AI is already part of how we work, evolve, and innovate every day. CI&T is expanding its data capabilities to support a strategic, end-to-end technology engagement with a US-based client in the Education Technology (EdTech) sector — a company that partners with hundreds of universities and higher education institutions through digital learning solutions. To lead this data initiative, we are looking for a Data Architect Senior who combines deep technical expertise with the ability to guide a team and communicate clearly with client stakeholders.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role — not a traditional management position. The Data Architect Senior will be the technical reference for the data team, responsible for architectural decisions, solution design, and day-to-day technical direction. The role spans the full lifecycle of data products, from ingestion and lakehouse design through modeling, governance, and serving, and operates in a nearshore model with strong overlap with US business hours.
Responsibilities
Lead the data team technically, providing hands-on guidance to database specialists and developers on the design, development, and maintenance of data products and pipelines.
Define and evolve the target data architecture — covering ingestion, lakehouse design, data modeling, governance, and serving layers — aligned with security, performance, and cost standards.
Drive solution design by translating business and technical requirements into workable solutions, selecting appropriate frameworks, patterns, and modeling approaches for each context.
Collaborate directly with the client's architects and business leaders to present architectural options and trade-offs; record decisions clearly so the team builds from a shared, agreed foundation.
Establish and enforce standards for data quality, access control, data lineage, and privacy in an environment that handles regulated and sensitive data.
Maintain a stable and productive development environment by incorporating CI/CD and DataOps practices that support consistent, reliable delivery.
Lead current-state data assessments and knowledge transfer processes during transitions, identifying priorities that deliver measurable business value incrementally.
Develop proofs of concept and prototypes to validate architectural approaches and demonstrate value to client stakeholders.
Stay actively connected to CI&T's data practice, contributing to and drawing on shared methodologies and expertise across engagements.
Requirements
Advanced English proficiency (C1 level or above) — mandatory for direct, daily engagement with North American stakeholders
Proven experience in data architecture design and hands-on technical leadership of multidisciplinary data teams
Solid experience designing, building, and deploying data pipelines, lakehouse architectures, and data products at scale
Hands-on experience with Databricks — including Delta Lake and Unity Catalog — or equivalent depth on AWS data services
Strong data modeling skills across dimensional (Kimball) and relational approaches, with advanced SQL
Experience with pipeline orchestration and workflow automation (e.g., dbt, Databricks Workflows, or Apache Airflow)
Demonstrated ability to translate business problems into practical data solutions and communicate trade-offs to both technical and non-technical audiences
Ability to work in a nearshore delivery model with consistent overlap with US Central business hours
Nice to Have
Databricks certification
Experience with Snowflake or similar cloud data warehouse platforms
Knowledge of data governance and privacy principles in regulated industries
Experience with CI/CD and MLOps pipeline practices
Familiarity with AI solutions and agentic coding workflows
Experience leading consultative data assessments and data modernization engagements
Spanish or Portuguese language skills #LI-JP3