Data Architect - Azure Data Platform & AI

About the role

Cognizant is looking for an experienced Data Architect with deep expertise in Azure Data Engineering, Microsoft Fabric, Databricks, PySpark, ETL/ELT, data modeling, data warehousing and AI/Generative AI. The role defines and implements enterprise data architecture, designs scalable and reusable data models and delivers modern data solutions supporting analytics, reporting, machine learning and AI initiatives. It involves hands-on work across batch, streaming, API-based and file-based ingestion frameworks.

Key responsibilities

• Translate business requirements into scalable data, analytics and AI-driven platform solutions.
• Lead delivery of Data Warehouse, Data Lake, Lakehouse, Analytics and AI initiatives using Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Azure AI Services.
• Design and implement ETL/ELT frameworks for batch, streaming, API-based and file-based ingestion.
• Analyse sources, profile and map data to support secure migration and integration.
• Optimise pipelines, transformation frameworks, semantic models and analytical solutions.
• Enforce data quality, validation, governance, metadata management and lineage standards.
• Design Lakehouse architectures, enterprise data models and AI-ready data foundations.
• Integrate AI/Generative AI solutions such as Azure OpenAI, RAG, vector search, AI-powered analytics and Copilot.
• Lead technical teams and manage the full project lifecycle, including estimation, sprint planning, testing, deployment and production support.
• Drive Agile delivery with Azure DevOps, Jira and Fabric monitoring, and communicate with stakeholders.

Required profile

• Proven hands-on experience architecting enterprise-scale data engineering, analytics and AI solutions with Microsoft Fabric, Azure Databricks, PySpark and cloud-native technologies.
• Experience with Lakehouse and Data Mesh architectures, and with data governance, MDM, metadata management and data quality frameworks.
• Strong communication, consulting and leadership skills, with the ability to define data strategy and roadmaps.
• Experience in Agile, SAFe and distributed team collaboration.

Required skills

• Microsoft Fabric (OneLake, Lakehouse, Data Factory, Data Warehouse, Real-Time Analytics, Power BI)
• Azure Databricks, Unity Catalog, Delta Live Tables, Delta Lake, ADLS Gen2
• Data modeling: dimensional, star/snowflake, data vault and semantic layers
• Python, PySpark, SQL
• Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Services, RAG, vector databases, Copilot
• Azure DevOps, CI/CD, IaC, Agile and SAFe practices