Senior Knowledge Graph & Ontology Architect

About the role:

As a Senior Knowledge Graph & Ontology Architect, you will make an impact by designing and governing enterprise semantic architectures that enable trusted, scalable, and AI-ready knowledge systems. You will be a valued member of our Data & AI team and work collaboratively with data architects, engineers, data domain experts, AI specialists, and client stakeholders to establish the semantic foundation that powers enterprise knowledge graphs, search, analytics, and agentic AI solutions.

In this role, you will:

• Design and govern enterprise ontologies, semantic models, and knowledge graph architectures, including OWL/RDF ontologies, classes, properties, taxonomy structures, and SHACL validation frameworks.
• Lead the development of business domain models and governed vocabularies across key entities, ensuring consistency, traceability, and alignment with business objectives.
• Define and maintain enterprise business glossaries, KPI registries, semantic standards, and governance processes, including ownership models and change management workflows.
• Architect graph-based knowledge platforms using technologies such as Spanner Graph, Neo4j, Amazon Neptune, TigerGraph, GraphDB, Dataplex, BigQuery, and Vector Search.
• Partner with engineering, AI, and platform teams to establish governance controls, security standards, lineage frameworks, and AI architecture guardrails that ensure trustworthy and scalable solutions.

Work model:

We strive to provide flexibility wherever possible. Based on this role’s business requirements, this is a remote position open to qualified applicants in the United States. Regardless of your working arrangement, we are here to support a healthy work-life balance through our various wellbeing programs.

The working arrangements for this role are accurate as of the date of posting. This may change based on the project you’re engaged in, as well as business and client requirements. Rest assured; we will always be clear about role expectations.

What you need to have to be considered:

• 8+ years of experience in data architecture, knowledge graph architecture, ontology engineering, or related disciplines, including significant experience leading ontology and semantic model design initiatives.
• Hands-on expertise with OWL/RDF ontology development, semantic modeling, taxonomy management, and SHACL constraint authoring or equivalent ontology frameworks.
• Experience architecting graph-based knowledge systems using platforms such as Neo4j, Amazon Neptune, TigerGraph, GraphDB, Stardog, Apache Jena, Spanner Graph, or similar technologies.
• Strong proficiency in Python and SQL, with working knowledge of Google Cloud Platform services including BigQuery, Dataplex, and Vector Search.
• Experience establishing data governance frameworks, including business glossaries, KPI definitions, lineage standards, access controls, and metadata governance.
• Proven ability to collaborate with technical and business stakeholders to resolve complex data modeling challenges and drive enterprise architecture decisions.

These will help you stand out:

• Direct experience with Spanner Graph, Graph Query Language (GQL), or advanced property graph implementations.
• Experience designing knowledge architectures that support agentic AI, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), or Vertex AI/Gemini solutions.
• Telecommunications industry experience, including familiarity with OSS/BSS environments and TM Forum frameworks such as SID and eTOM.
• Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer, Professional Cloud Architect, or equivalent cloud certifications.
• Experience leading enterprise-scale semantic transformation initiatives across complex, multi-source data ecosystems.

We're excited to meet people who share our mission and can make an impact in a variety of ways. Don't hesitate to apply, even if you only meet the minimum requirements listed. Think about your transferable experiences and unique skills that make you stand out as someone who can bring new and exciting things to this role.

Salary and Other Compensation:

Applications will be accepted until November 29, 2026

The annual salary for this position is between $ 115,000 - $ 130,000 depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

• 401(k) plan and contributions

• Long-term/Short-term Disability

• Paid Parental Leave

• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Disclaimer: The salary, other compensation, and benefits 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.

Sobre a Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) é uma construtora de IA e fornecedora de serviços de tecnologia, criando a ponte entre o investimento em IA e o valor para as empresas por meio do desenvolvimento de soluções de IA completas para nossos clientes. Nossa profunda experiência em setores, processos e engenharia nos permite incorporar o contexto único de cada organização em sistemas tecnológicos que potencializam a capacidade humana, geram resultados tangíveis e mantêm empresas globais à frente em um mundo em rápida transformação. Saiba mais em cognizant.ai ou @cognizant.

A Cognizant é uma empregadora que investe em equidade. Sua candidatura não será pautada em raça, cor, gênero, sexualidade, credo, origem, deficiência, gravidez ou qualquer outra característica protegida pelas leis brasileiras.

Informações adicionais de emprego 
Os candidatos podem ser obrigados a comparecer a entrevistas presenciais ou por videoconferência. Além disso, os candidatos podem ser obrigados a apresentar seu documento de identificação emitido pelo estado ou governo atual durante cada entrevista. 

Embora nosso sistema permita a candidatura em todos os idiomas, o(s) idioma(s) e o(s) nível(is) de proficiência exigidos para o trabalho variam. No entanto, é necessário um nível básico de inglês para fins de comunicação em toda a empresa. 

A Cognizant é uma empregadora que investe em equidade. Sua candidatura não será pautada em raça, cor, gênero, sexualidade, credo, origem, deficiência, gravidez ou qualquer outra característica protegida pelas leis brasileiras.

Se você tem uma deficiência que requer adaptações razoáveis para procurar uma vaga de emprego ou enviar uma candidatura, envie um e-mail para [email protected] com sua solicitação e informações de contato.