AIA-PostgreSQL
Job Summary
This hybrid Principal Architect role focuses on shaping enterprise wide data architecture and governance strategies for retail banking and cards and payments domains. The role requires sixteen to twenty years of experience in data governance and compliance strategic leadership and data architecture to design scalable secure data ecosystems that align with regulatory expectations and business growth. The Principal Architect will collaborate across technology and business teams during day shift
Responsibilities
- Lead the definition of an enterprise data architecture blueprint that aligns retail banking and cards and payments capabilities with regulatory obligations and long term business growth objectives ensuring data assets are structured for resilience and reuse across the organization.
- Drive the design of end to end data flows from source systems through integration storage analytics and consumption layers ensuring that data lineage quality and governance controls are embedded at each stage to support transparent financial reporting and decision making.
- Oversee the implementation of data governance frameworks that define ownership stewardship and accountability for critical banking and payments data domains establishing clear policies and processes to prevent misuse and ensure ethical data practices.
- Provide strategic direction for metadata management and cataloging practices that enable teams to discover understand and trust data sets used in retail banking products and card transaction analysis improving efficiency and reducing duplicate work.
- Guide the selection and integration of data platforms and tools that support scalable analytics real time processing and regulatory reporting for card transactions and customer accounts ensuring architectural decisions balance performance cost and compliance needs.
- Collaborate with risk compliance and legal teams to translate evolving data regulations and payment industry standards into actionable architecture patterns and controls reducing exposure to regulatory penalties while protecting customer information.
- Coordinate with business stakeholders in branches digital channels and card operations to understand product roadmaps and customer journeys converting these insights into data models and interfaces that support personalized services and secure payment experiences.
- Direct the establishment of data quality measurement and remediation processes for key banking and card datasets ensuring that inaccuracies are systematically identified prioritized and resolved to maintain trust in reporting and analytics outcomes.
- Champion the adoption of standardized data definitions and reference data across products channels and geographies enabling consistent interpretation of financial and card transaction information and supporting coherent omnichannel customer experiences.
- Shape strategic roadmaps that sequence data architecture modernization initiatives including cloud migration advanced analytics enablement and integration simplification ensuring that change programs deliver incremental value and minimize disruption to operations.
- Mentor senior architects and data specialists by providing guidance on best practices in data governance compliance controls and domain modeling for retail banking and payments helping build an internal community of expertise that sustains long term transformation.
- Partner with cybersecurity and infrastructure teams to embed robust security patterns such as encryption segregation of duties and controlled access in all data solutions ensuring that customer payment and account data is safeguarded against internal and external threats.
- Evaluate and approve high impact solution designs and change requests affecting core banking and card systems ensuring that proposed approaches remain aligned with the target architecture while delivering measurable business and societal benefits through safer and more reliable financial services.
Qualifications
- Demonstrate extensive experience in shaping enterprise data architecture within retail banking and cards and payments environments combining deep technical understanding with practical knowledge of transactional systems customer data and digital channel integration.
- Possess proven expertise in designing and operating data governance frameworks that cover policies stewardship models data quality controls and audit readiness for regulated financial institutions with a focus on sustainable compliance and operational practicality.
- Apply advanced knowledge of data governance and compliance to interpret regulations privacy expectations and payment network rules translating them into concrete architecture patterns that ensure secure handling of customer and transaction information.
- Bring substantial experience in strategic leadership by driving cross functional data initiatives influencing senior stakeholders and aligning technology roadmaps with business goals without direct reporting lines ensuring cohesive progress toward data driven outcomes.
- Exhibit strong data architect capabilities in modeling complex banking and card data structures designing integration patterns and selecting appropriate storage and processing technologies that support analytics reporting and operational needs.
- Utilize comprehensive understanding of retail banking products card schemes and payment processes to ensure that data solutions reflect domain specific nuances such as regulatory constraints settlement processes and customer experience expectations.
- Communicate clearly with technical and nontechnical stakeholders presenting architecture decisions tradeoffs and risk considerations in accessible language that enables informed choices and shared accountability for data strategy.
Certifications Required
Certified Data Management Professional or equivalent data governance certification relevant to financial services.
About Cognizant:
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, bridging the gap between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, drive tangible outcomes and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at cognizant.ai or @cognizant.
Additional employment information
Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.
Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] for roles based in the Americas or [email protected] for roles based in India.
