The person who designs how an entire organization's data fits together — defining the models, standards, and systems so data is consistent, trustworthy, and usable across the company. Where data strategy meets reality.
The bulk of the work is designing data models, standards, and the architecture that ties systems together, more whiteboard than code. You partner with engineers, analysts, and leadership, and decisions ripple across the company for years. Much of the day is meetings, design, and governance.
Scope swings by company maturity: greenfield at one place, untangling decades of legacy at another. The hard part for many can be driving change you don't directly control, across teams with their own priorities. Tools and paradigms shift fast — cloud, lakes, mesh — so the strategy keeps needing a rethink.
This fits people who are big-picture, technically deep, and politically patient. Trade-offs can include slow change measured in years, not sprints. For someone who likes designing systems at scale and thinking in decades, the influence can be substantial.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
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