Sr. Data Architect

Duration of contract: 6-month with possible extension to a yearLocation: 100% Remote working on MDT timezoneOverviewHealth Information Technology (HIT) team within a public sector state agency is seeking an experienced Senior Data Architect consultant to support data-driven decision-making. The role focuses on gap analysis, risk assessments, and driving data and cloud migration strategies to modernize and optimize healthcare infrastructure across various business functions for critical HIT initiatives. The consultant will translate complex data into clear, data-driven decisions to support the client’s mission to deliver the best experience for vulnerable populations in the forensic mental health space.Vision: understand and advance the Health Information Technology vision and communicate it to other state agencies and vendors to ensure alignment and success of technical partners.Scope of Work & ObjectivesLead the development and implementation of scalable, secure and compliant healthcare systems architecture.Collaborate with stakeholders to define architecture roadmaps aligned with business objectives.Data and Cloud Migration: design and oversee the migration of healthcare data and systems to modern cloud platforms, ensuring seamless transitions with minimal disruption, safeguarding data integrity and compliance.Partner with IT and operations teams to modernize legacy systems and leverage cloud-native solutions for improved scalability and performance.Gap Analysis: evaluate existing healthcare systems, processes, and workflows to identify inefficiencies or unmet needs; develop actionable recommendations to close operational and technical gaps; identify, assess, and prioritize risks; develop mitigation strategies and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations (HIPAA, HITECH).Stakeholder Engagement: work with clinical, operational, and IT teams to ensure solutions meet organizational needs; present findings and proposals to executive leadership clearly.Regulatory Compliance: ensure all architectural designs and migration plans adhere to relevant industry standards and legal requirements; stay updated on trends and emerging risks in healthcare technology; monitor performance of healthcare systems and cloud platforms to meet evolving needs; provide mentorship and leadership to junior architects and technical staff.Stakeholder Collaboration & Communication: act as a primary liaison between technical data teams and non-technical business units; lead meetings/workshops to gather requirements, present findings, and influence data-driven strategies; mentor junior analysts and promote best practices in data analysis and visualization.Problem Solving & Innovation: proactively identify opportunities for data utilization to solve business problems; research and recommend new analytical techniques, tools and methodologies; troubleshoot data-related issues and provide timely resolutions.DeliverablesThe contractor shall deliver the following, as agreed upon during the engagement:Data Strategy and Architecture BlueprintConceptual, Logical and Physical Data Models: blueprints for how data is structured, defining relationships between data entities (e.g., Patient, Encounter, Lab Order) and how they will be stored and accessed.Data Flow Diagrams and Architecture Diagrams: visuals illustrating data movement through the organization from ingestion to consumption, including data sources, data pipelines (ETL/ELT), data warehouses, data lakes and data marts.Technology Stack Recommendations: select and justify data-related technologies, including databases, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), data warehousing solutions (Snowflake, Redshift), and data integration tools that fit the organization’s needs and budget.Data Governance and Compliance FrameworkData Governance Policies: define data ownership, access controls, and standards for data quality, consistency, and security.Regulatory Compliance Plans: ensure data architecture adheres to regulations including HIPAA, implementing controls such as data encryption, access logs, and audit trails.Master Data Management (MDM) Strategy: plan to manage a single, trusted source of key data entities (e.g., patient identities, provider information, medical codes) to ensure data accuracy across the organization.Data Integration and Interoperability SolutionsFHIR, HL7, and CCDA Integration: design systems using standards like FHIR, HL7 and CCDA to enable seamless data exchange between EHRs, labs and other clinical systems.ETL/ELT Pipeline Designs: design and optimize data pipelines to extract data from sources (EHRs, claims databases, devices), transform it, and load it into central data stores for analysis.Performance and Optimization PlansPerformance Tuning and Optimization: plans for monitoring and improving the performance of databases and data pipelines for fast query responses and efficient processing.Scalability and Reliability Strategies: strategies to ensure the data ecosystem handles increasing data volumes and can recover from failures.Contractor Qualifications & ExperienceThe ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications:Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Healthcare Informatics, Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science or related field.Experience: 8+ years in healthcare systems architecture or related roles; demonstrated expertise in gap analysis, risk assessment and data/cloud migration within healthcare environments; proven leadership in system design, implementations, and migrations; strong data modeling, database management, SQL, and ETL in the public sector; familiarity with data warehousing, big data and analytics platforms in healthcare; solid understanding of regulatory compliance (HIPAA, HITECH, GDPR, 21st Century Cures Act); experience with agile methodologies and tools (Jira, Confluence).Technical Skills: expertise in enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman); strong knowledge of HL7, FHIR, and DICOM; hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and data integration tools; deep understanding of EMR/EHR systems and legacy modernization.Soft Skills: exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills; strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills; ability to work independently and in distributed teams; excellent presentation and documentation skills; ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.Seniority levelMid-Senior levelEmployment typeContractJob functionInformation TechnologyHospitals and Health CareWe’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. 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Created: 2025-09-17