Data Solution Architect

Position summary:

The Technology department is responsible for developing, realising, and implementing the strategic Digital Product Roadmap for Rainforest Alliance (including all supporting Technology processes) for all Global Business Initiatives and Assurance programs.

We seek an experienced Data Solution Architect to be responsible for designing, implementing, and overseeing the data architecture for an organization, ensuring it aligns with business needs and strategic goals. This role involves creating data models, selecting appropriate technologies, and establishing data governance policies to manage data effectively. Data Solution Architects collaborate with various teams, including data engineers, analysts, and business leaders, to build robust and scalable data solutions. DSA will also technically review a set of requirements/user stories and propose design and solutions, and support technology projects and programs of all types through every stage of development, from idea to design to completion. The primary role is to work closely with product managers and owners, delivery managers, business stakeholders, technology developers and designers on the end to end design, and ensure data is at the heart of every solution, and it does not introduce technical debt.

Responsibilities: 

Technology Strategy & Innovation

• Ensure technology investments align with strategic objectives for a real-time, data-driven organisation
• Liaise with third parties, evaluate and implement cutting-edge data technologies including streaming platforms, cloud-native warehouses, and MLOps solutions
• Drive adoption of Data Ops practices and automated pipeline orchestration
• Participate in architecture boards for critical design decisions and technology standards

Data Governance & Quality

• Develop comprehensive data governance strategies, policies, and procedures ensuring data quality, security, and compliance
• Implement automated data quality monitoring and alerting systems
• Establish data lineage tracking and metadata management across all data products
• Ensure GDPR compliance and data privacy protection across global operations

Data Architecture & Modern Platform Design

• Supporting Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) and Extract, Load, Transform (ELT) processes towards the development of modern, maintained cloud-native data architecture models using lakehouse and data mesh patterns
• Design real-time streaming architectures for immediate insights and decision-making
• Create event-driven data solutions supporting sustainability tracking and certification
• Implement zero-copy data sharing and federation technologies for seamless collaboration

Platform Integration & Orchestration

• Be responsible for integration of modern data systems using cloud-native orchestration tools
• Design and implement change data capture (CDC) solutions for real-time synchronisation
• Build scalable data products that serve multiple business domains autonomously
• Optimise data workflows for performance, cost-efficiency, and reliability

Stakeholder Collaboration & Enablement

• Work with product managers, delivery managers, and business stakeholders to translate needs into technical solutions
• Enable self-service analytics capabilities for business users through intuitive data products
• Provide real-time dashboards and insights to support sustainability impact measurement
• Support technology projects from conception to completion, ensuring data excellence

Performance & Innovation Management

• Continuously monitor and optimise data solutions using cloud-native observability tools
• Stay current with emerging technologies in streaming, ML/AI, and sustainable technology practices
• Leverage new and emerging technologies such as AI and automation for the benefit of the organisation
• Drive innovation through proof-of-concepts and technology experimentation
• Ensure solutions scale efficiently with organisational growth and data volume increases

Travel & Collaboration

• Travel to regional offices and field operations as required, although as a sustainable charitable organisation, travel will be kept to a minimum
• Participate in global technology initiatives and cross-regional data projects

 
The person:

• Deep knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), microservices, APIs, DevOps, and security best practices
• Experience with Enterprise Architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman, SAFe for Architecture) and familiarity with Waterfall, Agile, SAFe, and DevOps methodologies
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business Administration, or a related field. Experience in Data tools is a must for this role
• Highly meticulous professionals with strong leadership skills who know how to turn ideas into solutions
• This is a leadership and hands-on role, working with other architects in building tech and working with vendors in integration tech and solutions
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, deliverables, and stakeholders
• Able to influence peers and management; strong stakeholder management
• Excellent interpersonal skills, presentation skills, and verbal / written communication skills; ability to lead discussions, present ideas to audiences of all sizes, and interact with all levels of the organisation
• Self-starter; adaptable to change; motivated to set personal and program goals and proactively track performance against goals and initiatives objectives
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to think creatively
• A thirst to learn new skills
• You are self-motivated and driven to achieve professional success in a partnership environment
• The ability to manage workload, multitask and time according to deadlines set
• Good personal organisation, productivity and time management skills
• Excellent understanding of business complexity and project interdependencies
• Intellectual curiosity and the ability to question thought partners across functional areas
• Ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and changing business requirements
• Comfortable with managing uncertainty, ambiguity, and change to make decisions and recommendations
• Drive, resilience, focus and energy with high level of emotional intelligence
  
  

Level: 3A

Deadline: 08 August 2025

Salary: For USA based candidates only:   

• National Salary range (Excluding NY and DC) - $63,655 - $90,906
• New York Salary Range - $75,605 - $108,007
• Washington DC Salary Range - $73,180 - $104,542

Notes: Only candidates legally authorized to work in locations where the Rainforest Alliance is registered will be considered.

If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: recruitment@ra.org

The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization. With this commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ages, disability and any other protected group.