Lead Data Architect
CACI International· Defense· Oct 13, 2026 · 15d ago
Arlington, VA, US
In office
Full-time
Lead/Staff
$121K–$266K
10+ years exp
Job description
Job Title: Lead Data Architect
Job Category: Information Technology
Time Type: Full time
Minimum Clearance Required to Start: Secret
Employee Type: Regular
Percentage of Travel Required: Up to 10%
Type of Travel: Local
* * *
The Opportunity:
CACI is seeking a Lead Data Architect to serve as the trusted advisor to the Chief Data and AI Officer (BCDAO) at Diplomatic Security (DS) and to own the technical vision, strategy, roadmap, and implementation of the DS data platform. The environment is built on Microsoft Azure, with future expansion to AWS planned.
In this role, you will translate BCDAO and DS data and AI priorities into a secure, scalable, and cost-effective Azure data platform, shaping its architecture across ingestion, integration, storage, transformation, and analytics. You will work with engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and mission teams to turn requirements into supportable solutions, and lead the data engineering team in delivering them from design through operations across unclassified and classified environments.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as the trusted advisor to the BCDAO and DS leadership on data architecture, technical options, risks, and trade-offs.
- Own the technical vision, strategy, standards, and roadmap for the DS data platform, including data warehouse, data lake, lakehouse, analytics, and AI/ML solutions.
- Lead implementation of the data platform through the data engineering team, providing direction, design reviews, proof-of-concept work, and troubleshooting.
- Architect secure data management and movement across security domains, including unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret environments, in coordination with cybersecurity and cross-domain teams.
- Lead data integration and ETL/ELT design across diverse and disparate source systems, and drive migration of legacy on-premises and IaaS solutions to Azure PaaS and SaaS services.
- Establish data governance, data quality, metadata, lineage, and access control practices that drive data standardization across DS and prepare data for analytics and AI/ML use.
- Embed security and compliance requirements into the architecture, including identity, network isolation, encryption, auditability, and automated compliance controls.
- Evaluate solutions for reliability, performance, scalability, resilience, maintainability, and cost, and document key designs and architecture decisions.
Qualifications:
Required:
- Active Secret clearance required to start.
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, data management, or another technical discipline.
10 years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, data warehousing, BI, or data platform delivery, including 3 years in an architect or technical lead role.
- Extensive hands-on experience architecting and delivering Microsoft Azure data solutions, including Azure Data Factory, ADLS Gen2, Synapse Analytics, Databricks, and Azure SQL.
- Expert knowledge of data architecture, integration, ETL/ELT, data modeling, data warehousing, and data lifecycle management.
- Experience with classified/restricted environments and data management across Unclassified, Secret, and Top Secret domains, including cross-domain solution (CDS) concepts.
- Proven experience owning a data platform roadmap, leading implementation, and driving cloud migration/modernization.
- Demonstrated ability to advise senior executives and lead technical teams.
Desired:
- Experience supporting U.S. federal, law enforcement, diplomatic, or national security missions, particularly in Azure Government or classified Azure environments.
- Experience designing data platforms that support AI/ML, advanced analytics, or real-time data processing.
- Experience with Microsoft Purview, Event Hubs, Cosmos DB, Power BI, Azure DevOps/CI/CD, and infrastructure as code.
- Experience with data platform monitoring, performance optimization, disaster recovery, and cloud cost management.
- Familiarity with AWS data services and multi-cloud architectures.
- Relevant certifications such as Azure Solutions Architect Expert or DAMA CDMP.
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What You Can Expect:
A culture of integrity.
At CACI, we place character and innovation at the center of everything we do. As a valued team member, you’ll be part of a high-performing group dedicated to our customer’s missions and driven by a higher purpose – to ensure the safety of our nation.
An environment of trust.
CACI values the unique contributions that every employee brings to our company and our customers - every day. You’ll have the autonomy to take the time you need through a unique flexible time off benefit and have access to robust learning resources to make your ambitions a reality.
A focus on continuous growth.
Together, we will advance our nation s most critical missions, build on our lengthy track record of business success, and find opportunities to break new ground — in your career and in our legacy.
Pay Range :
There are a host of factors that can influence final salary including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories and contract wage rates, relevant prior work experience, specific skills and competencies, education, and certifications. Our employees value the flexibility at CACI that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives. We offer competitive compensation, benefits and learning and development opportunities. Our broad and competitive mix of benefits options is designed to support and protect employees and their families. At CACI, you will receive comprehensive benefits such as; healthcare, wellness, financial, retirement, family support, continuing education, and time off benefits.
The proposed salary range for this position is:
$120,800 - $265,800
CACI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic.
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