Principal, Data Architecture & Engineering

Job Description:

Be a part of our success story. Launch offers talented and motivated people the opportunity to do the best work of their lives in a dynamic and growing company. Through competitive salaries, outstanding benefits, internal advancement opportunities, and recognized community involvement, you will have the chance to create a career you can be proud of. Your new trajectory starts here at Launch!

The Role

Launch is seeking an experienced and driven Principal, Data Architecture & Engineering to join our dynamic and growing Data & AI discipline! Our ideal candidate will lead the design and implementation of scalable data architectures, oversee high-impact engineering initiatives, contribute to strategic sales pursuits, and provide both technical and thought leadership across key accounts. This role also involves guiding and mentoring data engineers, collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, and ensuring the delivery of high-quality, cloud-agnostic data solutions.

Responsibilities:

Project Leadership:

• Oversee the execution of complex data architecture and engineering projects, ensuring timely and cost-effective delivery.

• Define data operating models, engineering standards, and best practices.

• Partner with cross-functional teams to translate business needs into robust data solutions.

Sales Support:

• Collaborate on sales pursuits, including client calls, RFP responses, and proposal writing.

• Drive the development of reusable sales and technical accelerators.

• Actively contribute to external brand awareness and thought leadership.

Data Architecture & Engineering:

• Design and implement enterprise-scale data architectures across cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP) with a cloud-agnostic approach.

• Architect and build modern data platforms, including data lakes, data warehouses, and lakehouse solutions.

• Leverage Microsoft Fabric and other cutting-edge technologies to design integrated data and analytics environments.

• Ensure alignment of data architecture with business goals, compliance standards, and security requirements.

• Develop scalable, reliable ETL/ELT pipelines using best-in-class tools and practices.

Data Governance & Quality:

• Implement data governance, security, and compliance frameworks.

• Develop data quality assurance processes and ensure integrity across systems.

Performance Tuning & Optimization:

• Conduct performance tuning of data platforms, pipelines, and queries.

• Optimize storage and compute costs across multi-cloud environments.

Strategy & Innovation:

• Contribute to Launch’s data and AI strategy, identifying new opportunities for data-driven transformation.

• Lead data modernization initiatives and cloud migration strategies.

• Design and implement data centers of excellence (CoEs) and delivery frameworks.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Work closely with business and technology stakeholders, translating complex technical concepts into actionable insights.

• Present technical designs and recommendations to executive leadership and non-technical stakeholders.

Skill Development:

• Promote continuous learning and innovation within the team.

• Stay current with industry trends and emerging data technologies.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture and engineering, with a proven track record of leading technical teams.

• Strong expertise in designing and implementing cloud-agnostic data solutions across Azure, AWS, and GCP.

• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Fabric and its data integration, analytics, and governance capabilities.

• Deep understanding of modern data architecture patterns (data lakes, lakehouse, data mesh, etc.).

• Proficiency in cloud data warehousing platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Synapse).

• Strong knowledge of ETL/ELT pipelines, data integration, and transformation tools (e.g., ADF, dbt, Apache Airflow).

• Proficiency in programming and scripting languages (SQL, Python, Scala, etc.).

• Solid understanding of data governance, privacy, and security best practices.

• Experience designing data platform operating models and delivery accelerators.

• Experience supporting sales pursuits and building reusable architectural frameworks.

• Familiarity with DevOps, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, ARM, etc.).

• Problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Experience with project management and agile methodologies.

Benefits & Compensation:

As an employee at Launch, you will grow your skills and experience through a variety of exciting project work (across industries and technologies) with some of the top companies in the world! Our employees receive full benefits—medical, dental, vision, short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, and matched 401k. We also have an uncapped, take-what-you-need PTO policy. The anticipated wage range for this role is $170,000–$190,000. Education and experience will be highly considered, and we are happy to discuss your wage expectations in more detail throughout our internal interview process.

Employee Type: