About the Position

Principal Data Architect

Location: This position can be located in the following area(s): Canada - Remote, US - Remote

About the Company

Robots & Pencils is an applied AI engineering firm building the next frontier of business architecture. We design and ship AI co-workers that integrate into enterprise operations and deliver measurable results for our clients. We're all in on AWS, combining deep UX capability with senior engineering talent to get AI into production fast and keep it there.

We’ve earned the trust of leaders across Consumer Products and Retail, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Manufacturing and more, and earned a reputation as the nimble alternative to traditional global systems integrators. Founded in 2009, with delivery centers in Canada, the United States, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, we are smaller, faster, and more senior by design. Our teams average 15+ years of experience. We move fast, sweat the details, and build things that actually ship.

Responsibilities

We’re looking for a Principal Data Architect who owns the hardest data architecture challenges, sets technical direction across data platforms, and serves as the senior technical voice on how organizations model, move, govern, and trust their data. You set the standard for warehouses, lakes, lakehouse environments, streaming systems, and the data foundations that power AI/ML at scale.

In this role, you will operate as the senior technical authority on data architecture - championing data mesh, data product, and governance strategies, owning high-stakes decisions on platform direction, and shaping the data foundations behind production AI systems. You will partner closely with leadership and clients on data strategy, mentor experienced engineers and architects, and drive a long-term vision for data that is scalable, secure, and built to compound in value over time.

Requirements

A doer. You see something broken and fix it. You'd rather move on clarity than wait for certainty.
A fast learner who knows you don't know everything. The AI landscape changes weekly. You're senior enough to know better and curious enough to keep learning anyway.
Direct in a way that makes the work better. You give honest feedback. You'd rather have the hard conversation than blow smoke.
Obsessed with craft. You know genius is in the details. You ship exceptional, not perfect, and you don't put your name on work you wouldn't stand behind.
Built for ownership. You honor commitments, admit mistakes fast, and back your teammates when a decision costs something. No handoffs, no finger-pointing.
All in. You treat clients' businesses like your own. You take the work seriously without taking yourself seriously.
Resourceful when the budget, timeline, or team is tight. Constraints don't slow you down. They sharpen you.
Calm when it gets hot. When scope, timeline, and stakeholders pull in three directions, you slow the room down enough to make the right call. You’d rather raise the hard trade-off in week two than absorb it in week eight.
Glad to be in the room with people who care as much as you do. Our teams average fifteen-plus years of experience. We hire people who push each other to do better work.

Skills

Core Skills:
- Data Architecture
- Data Governance
- AI/ML Data Foundations
- Data Mesh
- Data Product
- Data Modeling
- Data Lakes
- Data Warehouses
- Streaming Systems
- Security
- Compliance

We Offer

Competitive salary range: $170,000 USD - $240,000 USD in the US, and $190,000-$260,000 CAD in Canada.
Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, and 401(k)/RRSP Matching to eligible employees.

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Principal Data Architect

Job description