Data Architect I Government of Alberta I 2 years - Remote

Data Architect – Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS) Organization: Government of Alberta
Ministry: Environment & Protected Areas
Location: Remote (Must reside and work within Canada; Mountain Time Zone)
Position Type: Contract (GoA Standard Contingent, initial term with up to 24-month extension)
Schedule: Monday – Friday, 8:15 AM – 4:30 PM MT (36.25 hrs/week)
About the Role: The Government of Alberta is modernizing how it regulates and assures environmental outcomes across the province. Central to this transformation is the Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS) , an enterprise platform supporting applications, approvals, compliance, and monitoring activities to protect Alberta's air, land, water, and biodiversity. We are seeking a senior Data Architect to design and lead data integration among DRAS, our Databricks-based Data Management Platform, and the Alberta Geospatial Platform. In this role, you will set the target-state architecture and govern the flow of regulatory, environmental, and spatial data. You will join an agile, multidisciplinary delivery team that includes data engineers, software developers, GIS specialists, business analysts, and product owners.

Key Responsibilities Architecture & Design

• Define and maintain the target-state architecture integrating DRAS, the Databricks Lakehouse, and the Alberta Geospatial Platform.
• Develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models for regulatory, environmental, and geospatial domains.
• Establish enterprise integration patterns (batch, near-real-time, event-driven, API, and Change Data Capture).
• Design Databricks Lakehouse structures, including medallion architecture (bronze/silver/gold layers), Delta Lake tables, and Unity Catalog governance.
• Architect spatial data pipelines that maintain geometry, coordinate reference systems, and spatial accuracy across platforms.

Integration & Agile Delivery

• Lead pipeline and interface designs in close collaboration with data engineers and developers.
• Define data contracts, interface agreements, and API specifications.
• Resolve integration challenges surrounding data quality, latency, schema drift, and system dependencies.
• Participate in agile ceremonies and translate high-level architecture into actionable user stories.

Governance, Security & Quality

• Operationalize data governance standards, including data lineage, metadata catalogs, master/reference data, and data classification.
• Ensure all designs adhere to Government of Alberta policies, cybersecurity baselines, and FOIP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) standards.
• Implement data quality frameworks, validation rules, and automated monitoring across integration boundaries.
• Define and enforce Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC) based on data classification levels.

Leadership & Advisory

• Serve as the principal data architecture advisor to executive leadership, product owners, and technical teams.
• Align technical architectures with enterprise roadmaps across government ministries.
• Produce architecture decision records (ADRs), blueprint diagrams, and technical specifications.
• Provide technical mentorship to team members.

Qualifications

Education

• University degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Geomatics, or a related discipline.

Mandatory Experience

• Enterprise Architecture: Minimum 8 years designing, planning, implementing, and supporting enterprise-scale data solutions.
• Data Architect Experience: Minimum 8 years acting in a Data Architect capacity within large, complex enterprise IT environments.
• Database Documentation & Modeling: Minimum 8 years documenting enterprise database systems and relational/dimensional data models.
• Enterprise Best Practices: Minimum 8 years applying enterprise architecture frameworks and principles.
• Threat & Risk Assessments (TRA): Minimum 6 years performing security TRAs and delivering risk-mitigation recommendations.
• Leadership & Strategy: Demonstrated track record leading technical architecture initiatives, resource/effort estimation, and executive stakeholder presentations.
• Databricks Ecosystem: Hands-on technical experience designing solutions using Databricks, Delta Lake, Spark (PySpark/SQL), and Unity Catalog.
• Cloud Platforms: Hands-on experience with Microsoft Azure services (Azure Data Lake Storage, Data Factory, Event Hubs, Key Vault).
• Integration Patterns: Proven track record implementing REST APIs, ETL/ELT, event streaming, and Change Data Capture (CDC).
• Geospatial & Public Sector: Practical experience integrating geospatial datasets and familiarity with government/regulatory environments.

Preferred Assets & Certifications

• TOGAF Certification (The Open Group Architecture Framework).
• Prior experience with the Government of Alberta (GoA) architecture and IT environments (5+ years strongly preferred).
• Experience with ServiceNow platform data integration.
• Hands-on experience with architecture modeling tools (e.g., SAP Power Designer, ER/Studio).
• 4+ years of project delivery using Agile/Scrum frameworks.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with SQL Server database development, SQL Data Warehousing, and Transact-SQL (T-SQL).

Remote Work & Technical Requirements

• Location Requirement: 100% remote. The contractor must perform all work within Canada .
• Contractor-Supplied Equipment: The contractor/supplier is solely responsible for supplying their own hardware (Windows-based PC/laptop capable of running modern enterprise remote access software, monitors, peripherals) and high-speed internet.
• Security & Access: The Province will provision secure login credentials and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) access.
• Background Clearance: Selected candidates must successfully pass a criminal record check prior to contract start.
• Mandatory Training: Successful candidates must complete provincial compliance training during onboarding (including FOIP, Cybersecurity, and Respect in the Workplace).

Evaluation Criteria

Candidate submissions are evaluated on a 100-point scale:

• Interview: 60%
• Resource Qualifications & Experience: 35%
• Financial / Rate Proposal: 5%