Data & Technology Architect

Ignite Digital Federal Services is seeking a highly experienced, client-facing Data & Technology Architect to support a U.S. Navy client in data, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and emerging technology initiatives.

The Data & Technology Architect will provide technology consulting and advisory support to customer leadership and project teams, serving as a trusted advisor who helps customers understand technology options, define priorities, identify capability gaps, and translate mission needs into actionable strategies and solutions.. The role requires the ability to work across both strategic and tactical levels, from advising senior stakeholders and facilitating customer discussions to shaping technical approaches, coordinating delivery, and developing technical analyses, requirements, architecture artifacts, white papers, presentations, and other deliverables.

The successful candidate will bring a strong technical foundation combined with senior-level consulting, relationship management, communication, and project delivery skills. The ideal candidate will be comfortable engaging directly with senior uniformed and civilian stakeholders, building credibility and trust, navigating ambiguous requirements, and identifying opportunities where additional technology or consulting support could help address customer needs.

This is a senior advisory and client-facing role rather than a deeply specialized engineering position. The successful candidate should be technically credible across modern data and technology environments without needing to be the deepest technical expert in every domain. The ability to understand technology, ask informed questions, evaluate tradeoffs, and translate technical concepts into mission-focused recommendations is more important than mastery of every technology listed below.

Responsibilities

• Provide technology consulting and strategic advisory support to senior customer stakeholders on data, AI/ML, digital transformation, enterprise architecture, and emerging technologies
• Build and maintain trusted working relationships with senior military, civilian, and technical stakeholders, serving as a credible advisor and consistent point of contact for technology and transformation initiatives
• Research and evaluate emerging technologies and industry best practices and assess their applicability to customer mission requirements
• Analyze current-state technology, data, and business processes to identify gaps, risks, dependencies, and opportunities
• Develop future-state technology concepts, capability assessments, strategic roadmaps, solution approaches, and implementation recommendations in partnership with customer and technical teams
• Support data and AI initiatives, including data integration, data platforms, analytics, machine learning, generative AI, automation, and digital twin capabilities
• Evaluate data architecture, interoperability, governance, security, privacy, data quality, and access considerations
• Translate business and mission requirements clear technology strategies, priorities, requirements, and solution approaches
• Facilitate customer working sessions and discussions that help stakeholders clarify problems, evaluate options, establish priorities, and make informed technology decisions
• Collaborate with enterprise architects, engineers, data specialists, program managers, and subject matter experts to develop and validate solutions
• Develop technical documentation, white papers, concept papers, executive briefings, presentations, process flows, requirements, and other customer deliverables
• Conduct working sessions, stakeholder meetings, technical discussions, and executive briefings
• Communicate complex technical concepts clearly to technical, operational, managerial, and executive audiences
• Coordinate with delivery teams to translate advisory recommendations into executable activities, milestones, and outcomes
• Support project planning, task management, coordination, and delivery activities
• Support prototypes, proofs of concept, demonstrations, or technical experiments when appropriate to validate a recommendation or support customer decision-making
• Identify emerging customer needs and opportunities where additional capabilities, services, or expertise could improve mission outcomes; contribute to shaping follow-on work and new initiatives in collaboration with Ignite leadership
• Identify emerging customer needs and opportunities where additional capabilities, services, or expertise could improve mission outcomes; contribute to shaping follow-on work and new initiatives in collaboration with Ignite leadership
• Maintain awareness of evolving customer , organizational priorities, and emerging technology opportunities
• Perform the technical analysis, research, documentation, and consulting work necessary to support customer objectives
• Develop customer relationships and identify opportunities through trusted advisory engagement rather than transactional sales activities

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, business, data science, or related field
• 10+ years of progressive experience in technology consulting, enterprise architecture, data strategy, digital transformation, technology delivery, or related discipline
• Demonstrated experience independently advising senior stakeholders and leading customer-facing technology initiatives in complex environments
• Strong client-facing consulting and relationship management skills, with the ability to establish credibility and build productive relationships with senior technical, operational, military, and civilian stakeholders
• Strong understanding of modern data and technology environments, including several, not necessarily all, of the following:
  
  
  
  • Data architecture and data platforms
  • Cloud technologies
  • Data integration and interoperability
  • AI/ML and generative AI
  • Analytics and business intelligence
  • Enterprise architecture
  • Data governance
  • Automation
  • Digital transformation
  
  
  
  
• Experience developing technical strategies, roadmaps, architecture concepts, requirements, or solution approaches
• Experience conducting technical research and translating findings into clear, practical recommendations for decision-makers
• Demonstrated ability to develop high-quality technical documentation, white papers, presentations, and executive-level communications
• Demonstrated ability to facilitate stakeholder discussions, lead working sessions, and bring diverse stakeholders toward a common understanding or path forward
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and logical thinking skills
• Knowledge of privacy, cybersecurity, data governance, and responsible AI considerations
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Strong project and delivery management skills, including the ability to organize priorities, coordinate stakeholders, track actions, and move initiatives forward in an ambiguous environment
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively in an ambiguous, evolving environment
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ability to understand technical concepts at sufficient depth to challenge assumptions, evaluate tradeoffs, ask informed questions, and advise customers without needing to personally perform all engineering or implementation activities
• Ability and willingness to contribute directly to consulting, analysis, strategy, and customer deliverables while leveraging specialized technical resources when deeper engineering expertise is required
• Ability to work onsite in Arlington, VA 3 days per week

Desired Qualifications:

• Active DoD Secret clearance
• Master's degree in a technical, analytical, or business discipline
• PMP, PMI-ACP, Scrum, or related certification
• Department of Defense or U.S. Navy experience
• Experience supporting a Chief Data Office, Chief Information Office, or enterprise technology organization
• Experience with AWS/GovCloud, Databricks, Palantir Foundry, Kubernetes, or comparable platforms
• Experience with Digital Twin architectures or advanced modeling and simulation
• Familiarity with DMBOK, DCAM, CDMC, TOGAF, or comparable industry frameworks
• Experience with AI governance, model risk, explainability, bias, monitoring, or responsible AI
• Experience developing technology roadmaps or implementing emerging technology capabilities
• Experience working directly with senior military and/or civilian government stakeholders
• Experience identifying and shaping new technology initiatives, follow-on requirements, or opportunities for additional customer support
• Experience in a professional services, consulting, systems integration, or federal contracting environment

Location: Arlington, VA/National Capital Region

Schedule: 3 days onsite in Arlington

Salary: 145k+ to align with experience and education