Principal Solutions Architect

Our Principal Solutions Architect plays a critical role in driving delivery excellence and ensuring customer success. As a key figure in strategic customer accounts, the Principal Solutions Architect also partners closely with Sales to drive account expansion and long-term value. We prioritize hiring not just brilliant engineers, but technical consultants who excel in both engineering and client engagement, thereby elevating the quality of our consulting services. In this role, you’ll manage multiple work streams, build executive relationships, and guide clients through complex data challenges, all while designing scalable solutions. 

This role goes beyond engineering—it's about creating value, fostering trust, building relationships, and positioning yourself as a strategic influencer in the evolving data landscape.

What You'll Do

• Deliver Excellence: Lead technical delivery for key accounts, ensuring high-quality solutions and customer satisfaction.

• Drive Strategy: Collaborate with Sales to identify opportunities, expand services, and unlock long-term value.

• Be a Trusted Advisor: Provide clear, actionable guidance on building mature data platforms while fostering trust and consensus.

• Mentor & Lead: Help develop the skills of delivery and account teams through technical and communication mentorship.

• Own Outcomes: Take extreme ownership of challenges, devise solutions, and contribute to team and client success.

What Makes You a Great Fit

• High Performance: You consistently deliver high-value work that exceeds expectations.

• Thought Leadership: Your ability to simplify complex data platform challenges sets you apart.

• Customer Obsession: You approach problems with a proactive, entrepreneurial mindset to drive growth.

• Strategic Influence: You leverage technical expertise and insights to expand services and deepen relationships.

• Extreme Ownership: You thrive on solving tough problems and embrace accountability.

• Humble Mentor: You take pride in the success of others, sharing knowledge transparently and helping teams grow.

Required Experience:

• 10+ years as a hands-on Solutions Architect designing and implementing data solutions

• 2+ years previous Consulting leadership experience working with external customers with the ability to multitask, prioritize tasks, frequently change focus, and work across a variety of projects. 

• Technical Account Leadership, including developing a technology strategy and roadmap with the customer, leading delivery teams, and strong cross-collaboration with sales (and other internal teams).

• Ability to develop end-to-end technical solutions into production — and to help ensure performance, security, scalability, and robust data integration.

• Programming expertise in Java, Python and/or Scala, SQL, and core cloud data platforms including Snowflake, AWS, Azure, Databricks and GCP.

• Demonstrated expertise in effectively leading and managing a team comprising Solution Architects and Data Engineers, fostering internal growth through coaching, mentoring, and performance management.

• Proven track record of collaborating with client stakeholders, technology partners, and cross-functional sales and delivery team members across distributed global teams, ensuring seamless, successful project delivery outcomes.

• Create strong cross-practice relationships to drive customer success.

• Exhibits a strong sense of ownership in resolving challenges, committed to ensuring exceptional outcomes for all aspects of project execution.

• Client-facing written and verbal communication skills and experience

• Detailed solution documentation (e.g. including POCS and roadmaps, sequence diagrams, class hierarchies, logical system views, etc.) including creating and delivering detailed client presentations

• 4-year Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field preferred

Technical Background & Expertise in  any of the following: 

• Production experience in core data platforms: Snowflake, AWS, Azure, GCP, Hadoop, Databricks

• Cloud and Distributed Data Storage: S3, ADLS, HDFS, GCS, Kudu, ElasticSearch/Solr, Cassandra or other NoSQL storage systems

• Data integration technologies: Spark, Kafka, event/streaming, Streamsets, Matillion, Fivetran, NiFi, AWS Data Migration Services, Azure DataFactory, Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services (IICS), Google DataProc or other data integration technologies

• Multiple data sources: (e.g. queues, relational databases, files, search, API)

• Complete software development life cycle experience: including design, documentation, implementation, testing, and deployment

• Automated data transformation and data curation: dbt, Spark, Spark streaming, automated pipelines

• Workflow Management and Orchestration: Airflow, AWS Managed Airflow, Luigi, NiFi

• Methodologies: Agile Project Management, Data Modeling (e.g. Kimball, Data Vault)

Why phData? We offer:

• Remote-First Work Environment 

• Casual, award-winning small-business work environment

• Collaborative culture that prizes autonomy, creativity, and transparency

• Competitive comp, excellent benefits, 4 weeks PTO plan plus 10 Holidays (and other cool perks)

• Accelerated learning and professional development through advanced training and certifications