Principal Architect

Title: Principal Architect
Location: Onsite Bangalore
Experience: 15+ years in software & data platform architecture and technology strategy

Role Overview

We are seeking a Platform & Application Architect to lead the design and implementation of a next-generation, multi-domain data platform and its ecosystem of applications. In this strategic and hands-on role, you will define the overall architecture, select and evolve the technology stack, and establish best practices for governance, scalability, and performance. Your responsibilities will span across the full data lifecycle—ingestion, processing, storage, and analytics—while ensuring the platform is adaptable to diverse and evolving customer needs. This role requires close collaboration with product and business teams to translate strategy into actionable, high-impact platform & products.

Key Responsibilities

1. Architecture & Strategy

• Design the end-to-end architecture for a On-prem / hybrid data platform (data lake/lakehouse, data warehouse, streaming, and analytics components).
• Define and document data blueprints, data domain models, and architectural standards.
• Lead build vs. buy evaluations for platform components and recommend best-fit tools and technologies.

2. Data Ingestion & Processing

• Architect batch and real-time ingestion pipelines using tools like Kafka, Apache NiFi, Flink, or Airbyte.
• Oversee scalable ETL/ELT processes and orchestrators (Airflow, dbt, Dagster).
• Support diverse data sources: IoT, operational databases, APIs, flat files, unstructured data.

3. Storage & Modeling

• Define strategies for data storage and partitioning (data lakes, warehouses, Delta Lake, Iceberg, or Hudi).
• Develop efficient data strategies for both OLAP and OLTP workloads.
• Guide schema evolution, data versioning, and performance tuning.

4. Governance, Security, and Compliance

• Establish data governance, cataloging, and lineage tracking frameworks.
• Implement access controls, encryption, and audit trails to ensure compliance with DPDPA, GDPR, HIPAA, etc.
• Promote standardization and best practices across business units.

5. Platform Engineering & DevOps

• Collaborate with infrastructure and DevOps teams to define CI/CD, monitoring, and DataOps pipelines.
• Ensure observability, reliability, and cost efficiency of the platform.
• Define SLAs, capacity planning, and disaster recovery plans.

6. Collaboration & Mentorship

• Work closely with data engineers, scientists, analysts, and product owners to align platform capabilities with business goals.
• Mentor teams on architecture principles, technology choices, and operational excellence.

Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, including 5+ years in architectural leadership roles.
• Proven expertise in designing and scaling distributed systems, microservices, APIs, and event-driven architectures using Java, Python, or Node.js.
• Strong hands-on experience with building scalable data platforms on premise/Hybrid/cloud environments.
• Deep knowledge of modern data lake and warehouse technologies (e.g., Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift) and table formats like Delta Lake or Iceberg.
• Familiarity with data mesh, data fabric, and lakehouse paradigms.
• Strong understanding of system reliability, observability, DevSecOps practices, and platform engineering principles.
• Demonstrated success in leading large-scale architectural initiatives across enterprise-grade or consumer-facing platforms.
• Excellent communication, documentation, and presentation skills, with the ability to simplify complex concepts and influence at executive levels.
• Certifications such as TOGAF or AWS Solutions Architect (Professional) and experience in regulated domains (e.g., finance, healthcare, aviation) are desirable.