Data Architect
Accenture Federal Services· enterprise· Defense & Federal IT Services· Oct 6, 2026 · 22d ago
Washington, DC
Remote
Full-time
Principal
$147K–$221K est.
8+ years exp
Job description
At Accenture Federal Services, nothing matters more than helping the US federal government make the nation stronger and safer and life better for people. Our 13,000+ people are united in a shared purpose to pursue the limitless potential of technology and ingenuity for clients across defense, national security, public safety, civilian, and military health organizations.
Join Accenture Federal Services, a technology company within global Accenture. Recognized as a Glassdoor Top 100 Best Place to Work, we offer a collaborative and caring community where you feel like you belong and are empowered to grow, learn and thrive through hands-on experience, certifications, industry training and more.
Join us to drive positive, lasting change that moves missions and the government forward!
Key Responsibilities
Enterprise Architecture (GCP)
Define target‑state data lake/lakehouse, warehouse, and streaming architectures on GCP.
Establish data zones (raw/bronze, curated/silver, semantic/gold) and standards for ingestion, ELT/ETL, and consumption.
Select and architect use of BigQuery, GCS, Dataproc, and Dataflow for scalable analytics and AI workloads.
Data Modeling & Design
Develop canonical data models (3NF, star schema, Data Vault 2.0, wide tables).
Apply BigQuery optimization techniques including partitioning, clustering, and materialized views.
Security, Compliance & Governance
Implement least‑privilege IAM, CMEK, VPC Service Controls, encryption, DLP, and private networking.
Establish governance frameworks using Dataplex and Data Catalog with metadata, lineage, and data‑quality controls.
Ensure compliance with frameworks such as NIST 800‑53, FedRAMP, HIPAA, PCI, and SOC 2.
Pipeline Architecture & Integration
Design scalable batch and streaming pipelines leveraging Dataflow, Dataproc, Pub/Sub, and Composer.
Integrate event‑driven architectures using Cloud Functions/Run.
AI/ML Enablement
Partner with Data Science teams to enable Vertex AI pipelines, feature stores, and MLOps.
Ensure reproducible ML data pipelines with strong provenance and governance.
Performance, Observability & Cost Optimization
Optimize BigQuery performance (slots, reservations, BI Engine) and GCS storage classes/lifecycle rules.
Establish monitoring, logging, KPIs, and data quality standards.
Standards, Documentation & Leadership
Define coding/IaC (Terraform) standards, CI/CD practices, and DevSecOps patterns.
Maintain architecture artifacts and conduct architecture reviews.
Mentor teams and support governed self‑service analytics via semantic layers (Looker).
Day ‑ to ‑ Day Duties
Maintain architecture blueprints and reference implementations.
Define ingestion, schema evolution, and retention standards.
Review models, pipelines, IaC, and security designs.
Conduct POCs, benchmarks, cost analyses, and documentation.
Required Qualifications
Must be a U.S. Citizen with ability to obtain a Public Trust clearance.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data/Information Systems, or related field.
8–12+ years in data engineering/architecture, with 3–5+ years architecting cloud data platforms (preferably GCP).
Experience designing enterprise‑grade data lakes, warehouses, and streaming architectures.
Hands‑on expertise with BigQuery, GCS, Dataflow, Dataproc, Pub/Sub, and Cloud Composer.
Strong background in IAM, CMEK, VPC SC, encryption, DLP, and governance/lineage tools.
Experience with regulatory compliance (FedRAMP, NIST 800‑53, HIPAA, PCI, etc.).
Demonstrated leadership in cross‑functional technical initiatives.
Strong skills with ELT/ETL, streaming patterns, schema evolution, CDC, and data modeling techniques.
Experience with Terraform, CI/CD, Airflow/Composer, automated testing, and Git workflows.
Proven ability to optimize BigQuery and GCS for performance and cost.
Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
Preferred Experience
GCP professional certifications (Cloud Architect, Data Engineer).
Federal Government or regulated‑industry experience.
Kubernetes/OpenShift certifications (CKA/CKAD, RHCSA/RHCE).
Experience with service mesh (Istio), API gateways, multi‑cluster strategies, and GitOps at scale.
Experience with SRE practices, incident response, and RCA.
Familiarity with Databricks or AWS/Azure equivalents.
Strong experience in Vertex AI, feature stores, model registries, and MLOps workflows.
Experience with governance and metadata frameworks, stewardship workflows, and data mesh concepts.
Experience with third‑party tools (Turbot, CrowdStrike, Nessus, Dynatrace, Splunk).
Advanced BigQuery and GCS performance‑tuning expertise.
As required by local law, Accenture Federal Services provides reasonable ranges of compensation for hired roles based on labor costs in the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia . The base pay range for this position in these locations is shown below. Compensation for roles at Accenture Federal Services varies depending on a wide array of factors, including but not limited to office location, role, skill set, and level of experience. Accenture Federal Services offers a wide variety of benefits. You can find more information on benefits here. We accept applications on an on-going basis and there is no fixed deadline to apply.
The pay range for the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia is: $103,200 — $196,400 USD
What We Believe
As a company wholly dedicated to serving the US federal government, we bring together the best talent to help reinvent how federal agencies operate and deliver greater value for their mission and the American people. We have an unwavering commitment to creating a culture in which all our people are respected, feel a sense of belonging, and have equal opportunity. As a business imperative, every person at Accenture Federal Services has the responsibility to create and sustain a culture where everyone feels welcomed and included. This is grounded in our core values and our experience that hiring and developing great people who reflect different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds is key to driving innovation and delivering the results that our clients and the country count on.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law. Our rich diversity makes us more innovative, more competitive, and more creative, which helps us better serve our clients and our communities. For details, view a copy of the Accenture Federal Services Equal Opportunity Policy Statement.
Accenture Federal Services is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Additionally, as an Affirmative Action Employer for Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities, Accenture Federal Services is committed to providing veteran employment opportunities to our service men and women.
Requesting An Accommodation
Accenture Federal Services is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for persons with disabilities or religious observances, including reasonable accommodation when needed. If you are hired by Accenture Federal Services and require accommodation to perform the essential functions of your role, you will be asked to participate in our reasonable accommodation process. Accommodations made to facilitate the recruiting process are not a guarantee of future or continued accommodations once hired.
If you are being considered for employment opportunities with Accenture Federal Services and need an accommodation for a disability or religious observance during the interview process or for the job you are interviewing for, please speak with your recruiter.
Other Employment Statements
Applicants for employment in the US must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States.
Candidates who are currently employed by a client of Accenture Federal Services or an affiliated Accenture business may not be eligible for consideration.
Job candidates will not be obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrest as part of the hiring process.
The Company will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. Additionally, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the Company's legal duty to furnish information.
California requires additional notifications for applicants and employees. If you are a California resident, live in or plan to work from Los Angeles County upon being hired for this position, please click here for additional important information.
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