Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities + How to Hire One

January 22, 2025 INDUSTRY INSIGHT
employees in a meeting -

Consider your healthcare organization is ready to equip data’s potential to improve patient outcomes. You set your sights on hiring data scientists to help you achieve this goal. As you research how to hire data scientists, you begin assessing candidates and notice that some resumes mention data architects.

Others list data engineers. What’s the difference? Should you be looking for data architects, data engineers, or both? This guide will help you sort through these roles and responsibilities so you can make informed hiring decisions that will allow your organization to leverage data for innovation

Azulity’s provider credentialing services offer a streamlined data management solution that helps healthcare organizations improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance compliance. Our services allow you to quickly verify provider data and create a reliable repository for ongoing data management.

What is a Data Architect

man holding a coffee cup - Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities

A data architect is a tech professional who creates the framework for organizations to collect and use data to make informed business decisions. This involves defining the policies, procedures, models, and technologies used to collect, organize, store, and access company information. A data architect focuses on high-level business intelligence relationships and how they impact data policies. As such, they are often confused with data engineers, who apply those relationships and policies to design specific databases. 

Over the last decade, the role of the data architect has expanded as organizations have migrated to the cloud. Although the data architect’s responsibilities remain strategy- and design-focused, this job now impacts an organization’s IT evolution in ways that extend beyond essential data storage management. Data architects are still concerned with the big picture of the business (especially BI). 

However, their strategy and design influence now extend to specific solutions and applications, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, cloud systems, complex security, and improving the business’s perspective on data as actionable information. In other words, data architecture now covers more than just a single role in the enterprise.

What Are the Skills Required to Be a Data Architect? 

Data architects require a mixture of business and technical skills. The primary skills required are translating business requirements and business operations practices into data collection and management policies. Experience in enterprise architecture is invaluable. Some enterprises broaden the concept of data architecture to the more general solutions architect, representing a closer tie to enterprise architecture in those organizations. 

Specific business-level skills needed by data architects include an understanding of the following: 

  • Translating business requirements and processes into data collection and usage principles. 
  • Data analytics and their application and importance within the business. 
  • The principles of enterprise architecture in translating business processes to IT applications. 
  • The growing role of machine learning in the enterprise, how AI applications work, and how big data differs from conventional data. 
  • If the time is available, detailed knowledge of how their company does business today and its plans for changing practices and goals can be acquired on the job. 

Data architects must also consider high-level technical architecture, including database structure, management, operating system, and programming language constraints. Therefore, they also require at least a high-level understanding of these areas. However, many organizations feel that the best data architects are generalists for IT and database technology rather than people who have worked in specific technical implementation jobs. 

Specific technical skills required of data architects include knowledge of the following: 

  • Various database models and how they are best used. 
  • The principles of data management and database access and management. 
  • The enterprise’s IT environment includes database products, application programming interfaces, query languages, and public cloud computing.

Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities

employees in an office - Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities

Crafting A Data Strategy to Support Business Goals

A data architect creates and implements a data strategy that supports business goals. This involves designing data models, establishing database development standards, and overseeing the organization’s data warehouse and analytics system implementation. 

Building Data Management Plans

Data architects identify internal and external data sources and create data management plans that align with the organization’s data strategy. 

Coordinating Data-Related Activities Across the Organization

Data architects do not work alone. They coordinate and collaborate with cross-functional teams, stakeholders, and vendors to ensure the smooth functioning of the enterprise data system.

Managing Data Architecture

Data architects are responsible for managing the end-to-end data architecture, from selecting the platform to designing the technical architecture and developing the application, to finally testing and implementing the proposed solution. 

Big Data Solutions

Data architects also plan and execute big data solutions using technologies such as Hadoop. The significant data architect’s roles and responsibilities entail the complete life-cycle management of a Hadoop Solution. 

Defining Data Flows

A key responsibility of data architects is defining and managing data flow and information dissemination within the organization. 

Ensuring Data Accessibility, Accuracy, and Security

Data architects also integrate technical functionality to ensure data accessibility, accuracy, and security. 

Continuously Auditing Data Management Systems

Data architects conduct continuous audits of data management system performance, refining whenever necessary and immediately reporting any breaches or loopholes to stakeholders. 

Azulity’s Expert Approach to Healthcare Data Management  

Azulity specializes in healthcare master data management and provider credentialing services, bringing proven expertise in implementing healthcare data solutions and credentialing across the US. Our comprehensive platform ensures consistent patient, provider, location, and claims data synchronization across all systems and departments. 

Key features include healthcare MDM, provider MDM, reference data management, credentialing, and provider enrollment. We serve healthcare technology leaders from CIOs and CDOs to VPs of data platforms and credentialing, helping them eliminate the costly problems of fragmented data systems. Book a call to learn more about our healthcare master data management services today!

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How to Hire A Data Architect

man shaking hands - Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities

1. Use Azulity to Find a Data Architect

Azulity specializes in healthcare master data management and provider credentialing services, bringing proven expertise in implementing healthcare data solutions and credentialing across the US. Our comprehensive platform ensures consistent patient, provider, location, and claims data synchronization across all systems and departments. 

Key features include healthcare MDM, provider MDM, reference data management, credentialing, and provider enrollment. We serve healthcare technology leaders – from CIOs and CDOs to VPs of data platforms and credentialing – helping them eliminate the costly problems of fragmented data systems. Book a call to learn more about our healthcare master data management services today! 

2. Skills to Look for in a Great Data Architect

A great Data Architect candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects: 

  • Bachelor’s in computer science or a related discipline
  • SQL, NoSQL, Pythand on experience
  • Knowledge of different types of database systems and functions, including data warehousing and data lakes
  • Detail oriented
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Ability to work with other teams. 

3. Writing a Data Architect Job Description

A complete job description will attract high-quality Data Architect candidates. A thorough Data Architect job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position. Consider including keywords that job seekers are using to search for Data Architect jobs, such as:

  • Data Architect
  • Data Modeler
  • Data Engineer. 

4. Interviewing Data Architect Candidates

Strong candidates for Data Architect positions will be confident answering questions regarding: 

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Where to Find Data Architects for Hiring

woman shaking hands - Data Architect Roles and Responsibilities

Azulity: A Smart Healthcare Data Solution for Your Needs

Azulity specializes in healthcare master data management and provider credentialing services, bringing proven expertise in implementing healthcare data solutions and credentialing across the US. Their comprehensive platform ensures consistent patient, provider, location, and claims data synchronization across all systems and departments. 

Key features include healthcare MDM, provider MDM, reference data management, credentialing, and provider enrollment. They serve healthcare technology leaders from CIOs and CDOs to VPs of data platforms and credentialing, helping them eliminate the costly problems of fragmented data systems. 

LinkedIn: A Great Place to Find Data Architects

LinkedIn is a professional networking site where you can search for candidates with specific skills and experience in data architecture. Use the platform’s search function and filters to find prospects with the right data architect skills, such as data modeling, ETL, cloud computing, and database management. 

You can also look for candidates with data architect certifications or those who list specific data architect tools as part of their profiles. Beyond searching for data architects on LinkedIn, you can also post a job listing to attract qualified candidates. 

Specialized Tech Job Boards: A Targeted Approach to Finding Data Architects

Platforms like Stack Overflow Jobs and GitHub Jobs cater to tech professionals, including data architects. These specialized job boards attract candidates who are passionate about their work and actively engaged in coding and development communities. Posting a job here can help you reach data architect candidates with the right skills and expertise to meet your needs. 

Recruitment Agencies: Let Someone Else Do the Heavy Lifting

Agencies specializing in tech talent can help identify and vet potential candidates for your organization. These third-party recruiters have access to large databases of prequalified candidates and can quickly find prospects that match your requirements. They also understand industry trends and can help you create an attractive job listing that is appealing to data architects. 

Networking Events and Industry Meetups: Connect with Professionals in Person

Attending events focused on data architecture and related fields can connect you with industry professionals. Candidates attending these events often look to learn more and advance their careers. By networking with them in person, you can better understand their skills and knowledge to see if they would be a good fit for your organization.

Book a Call to Learn More About Our Provider Credentialing Services

Healthcare organizations are facing a data crisis. For example, a study from the American Health Information Management Association found that 96% of healthcare organizations report dealing with data quality issues. These problems lead to inaccurate patient records that can compromise patient safety, slow operations, and result in costly regulatory fines. Master data management can help healthcare organizations eliminate fragmented data systems and improve the quality of their data. 

Azulity specializes in healthcare master data management and provider credentialing services, bringing proven expertise in implementing healthcare data solutions and credentialing across the US. Our comprehensive platform ensures consistent patient, provider, location, and claims data synchronization across all systems and departments. 

Key features include healthcare MDM, provider MDM, reference data management, credentialing, and provider enrollment. We serve healthcare technology leaders – from CIOs and CDOs to VPs of data platforms and credentialing – helping them eliminate the costly problems of fragmented data systems. Book a call to learn more about our healthcare master data management services today!

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