Director, Principal Data Architect

The Director, Principal Data Architect shapes the data foundation for Universal Destinations & Experiences’ (UDX) growth, innovation, and AI transformation. Leading the data architecture pillar, this role translates the Enterprise Data & AI vision into an executable strategy and target-state architecture that modernizes platforms and enables advanced analytics, intelligent automation, and AI-powered solutions.

The role leads the design of end-to-end data solutions, including data models, integration patterns, and data platform architecture. Partnering with business and technology leaders, the role connects architecture decisions to measurable improvements in guest experience, revenue, and operations. This hands-on leader develops the data architecture team, owns data governance design and architecture standards, and leads the Data Architecture Review Board—providing clear direction and decisive recommendations that enable teams to build trusted, secure, and reusable data capabilities at enterprise scale.

• →Data Strategy, Vision & Target-State Design: Treat data as a strategic business asset, ensuring architecture decisions are grounded in measurable business value, including guest experience, revenue, cost, and risk. Translate the enterprise data and AI strategy into the data architecture strategy, guiding principles, and multi-year target-state design aligned to UDX business priorities across guest, commercial, and operational domains. As part of target-state design, evaluate and recommend data platform capabilities, tools, and patterns (e.g., cloud data warehouse and lakehouse, streaming, integration, cataloging, observability), including build/buy/reuse decisions and rationalization of redundant capabilities. Work directly with business and technology stakeholders to translate needs into clear architectural direction, documented as architecture decisions.
• →Data Architecture Standards & Alignment: Author, publish, and continuously evolve UDX data architecture and data governance standards, including data modeling, integration and interoperability, metadata and lineage, master and reference data, and security and access patterns. Chair the Data Architecture Review Board (DARB), UDX’s decision-making body for data architecture, and own its charter, entry criteria, review cadence, decision rights, and escalation paths. Review solution designs from internal teams, delivery partners, and vendors, issue clear recommendations (approve, approve with conditions, or reject) in adherence with UDX standards, and govern exceptions and architectural debt through to closure.
• →Data Governance Design Ownership: Serve as the enterprise owner of data governance design, defining the governance framework, operating model, data ownership and stewardship structures, data domain definitions, data quality standards and controls, classification, lineage, and retention policies. Embed privacy-by-design, regulatory, and data residency requirements into architecture in partnership with Information Security, Privacy, and Legal. Define governance-by-design patterns so controls are built into platforms and pipelines, and partner with platform and engineering teams to ensure governance designs are implemented and adopted.
• →Data Readiness for AI: Define the architecture that makes enterprise data AI-ready, including canonical data models, semantic layers, ontologies and knowledge graphs, data contracts, and feature and vector data patterns supporting ML, generative AI, and agentic use cases. Establish standards for AI data quality, lineage, observability, and responsible use. Assess data readiness for proposed AI initiatives and define remediation paths before build commitments are made.
• →Practice Leadership & Development: Lead, coach, and develop data architects, including team members and partner resources, setting clear expectations and quality bars. Build a consistent, repeatable data architecture practice with standard artifacts, maturity metrics, and a community of practice. Communicate architecture strategy and decisions to executive, technical, and non-technical audiences.
• →Understands and actively participates in Environmental, Health & Safety responsibilities by following established UO policy, procedures, training and team member involvement activities.
• →Performs other duties as assigned.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities (KSAs) required.

• Proven experience in data architecture, data engineering, enterprise data platforms, including significant experience leading architecture for complex enterprise environments.
• Enterprise data architecture: expert command of conceptual, logical, and physical data modeling (relational, dimensional), data product and domain design, lakehouse and cloud data warehouse patterns, batch and real-time/streaming integration, APIs, and event-driven architecture.
• Data governance design: deep expertise designing enterprise data governance frameworks and operating models, including ownership and stewardship, data domains, data quality controls, classification, metadata, lineage, and master data management, aligned to DAMA-DMBOK or equivalent.
• Privacy & regulatory: working knowledge of privacy, security, and regulatory requirements such as GDPR/UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, Japan APPI, and PCI DSS, including cross-border data residency and sharing.
• Cloud data platforms: deep knowledge of Snowflake and AWS/Azure data and AI services, ELT and transformation tooling (e.g., dbt), orchestration, cataloging, and data observability; ability to evaluate platforms objectively on capability, cost, performance, and scalability.
• AI & advanced analytics: working knowledge of ML platforms and MLOps, feature stores, vector databases, retrieval-augmented generation, semantic layers, ontologies/knowledge graphs, and AI data governance patterns.
• Decision-making & governance leadership: proven ability to lead architecture review forums and make timely, defensible decisions, balancing standards with pragmatic delivery and managing exceptions transparently.
• Data as a strategic business asset: demonstrated ability to connect data architecture to business outcomes, articulate and measure the value of data assets, and prioritize architecture investments based on business impact.
• Communication & influence: executive presence and exceptional written and verbal communication; distills complex technical options into clear recommendations; influences without authority and resolves conflict across competing priorities.
• Tools: proficiency with SQL, data modeling tools, data catalogs, and architecture diagramming/repository tools.
• Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Consistent attendance is a job requirement

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field required.
• Master’s degree in a related field preferred.

• Required: 12+ years of proven experience in data, technology, or engineering roles, including 10+ years in data architecture, data engineering, or data platform leadership.
• Required: 5+ years in an enterprise, principal, or lead data architect role setting architecture strategy and standards across multiple domains and platforms.
• Required: experience designing and implementing an enterprise data governance framework and operating model in a large, complex organization.
• Required: demonstrated experience chairing an architecture review board or equivalent governance forum and issuing binding architectural decisions.
• Required: experience designing and delivering cloud-scale data platforms (Snowflake, AWS, and/or Azure), including platform evaluation and selection.
• Required: 3+ years leading, coaching, or managing architects or senior technical staff, including directing external partners and vendors.
• Preferred: experience architecting data foundations for AI/ML and generative AI solutions running in production.
• Preferred: experience in global, multi-region organizations with data residency and cross-border data sharing requirements.
• Helpful but Not required: experience in hospitality, theme parks, travel, entertainment, or retail;
• or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Relevant certifications preferred, such as TOGAF, DAMA Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP), SnowPro Advanced: Architect, AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional, or Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert.

• Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws.
• Travel up to approximately 10% may be required, including domestic and international travel to UDX destinations and partners (e.g., Japan, United Kingdom).
• Flexibility to collaborate across global time zones, including early-morning or evening meetings with international teams, is required.

Your talent, skills and experience will be rewarded with a competitive compensation package.

Universal is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Universal Orlando via-email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written Statement of Work in place for this position from Universal Orlando HR/Recruitment will be deemed the sole property of Universal Orlando. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Universal Orlando as a result of the referral or through other means.

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