Data Solution Architect

Role: Data Solution Architect

Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Onsite)

Salary: up to 40000 SAR pm dependent on experience

Engagement Type: Full-Time 12 month Contract

About Our Client

Our client is a leading organization undertaking a massive mission-critical data transformation. On their behalf we are seeking an elite Data Solution Architect to pioneer the design implementation and hardening of a massive enterprise on-prem Data Lakehouse. This is a high-visibility role for a true visionary who thrives in deep-tech enterprise environments blending advanced architectural strategy with hands-on technical governance.

As the Data Solution Architect you will lead the end-to-end architecture of a production-grade on-prem Data Lakehouse utilizing Cloudera CDP 7.3.1. You will define the Target State Architecture (TSA) across platform data integration and security layers. Your core mission will be establishing a structured Medallion model (Bronze/Silver/Gold) and a robust Lambda Architecture that converges high-throughput batch processes with low-latency streaming paths.

Additionally you will architect a custom metadata-driven Declarative Rules Engine for enterprise-wide business validations and design a highly secure audit-ready Data Governance framework utilizing Cloudera Shared Data Experience (SDX).

• Architecture & Platform Topology (CDP 7.3.1): Lead the HLD/LLD for the Lakehouse. Size clusters define storage/compute topologies (HDFS/Ozone YARN) and strategically select table formats/engines based on workload fits (Iceberg Hudi Kudu HBase and Phoenix). Establish performance guardrails against small-file issues and optimize compaction.
• Medallion & Data Modeling: Define data contracts schema evolution rules folder/table naming conventions and DQ checkpoints across Bronze Silver and Gold layers. Unify serving models for OLAP (Impala) and low-latency lookups (Phoenix).
• Lambda Architecture (Batch Speed): Design batch pipelines using Informatica BDM (DEI) and Spark/Hive for bulk ingestion and SCD Type 1/2 processing. Concurrently design real-time streaming paths using NiFi/Kafka Hudi (for incremental upserts) and Kudu/HBase for sub-second access.
• Declarative Rules Engine: Architect a JSON/YAML or DB-driven rules engine to manage validations survivorship and PII handling. Ensure the runtime engine is seamlessly callable via Informatica maplets Spark and streaming processors.
• Enterprise Governance & Security: Harden perimeter security via Knox Kerberos TLS and AD/LDAP. Implement Ranger RBAC tag-based policies and row/column masking. Stand up Apache Atlas for end-to-end lineage capture and data classifications.
• DevOps Observability & DR: Establish CI/CD pipelines for cluster configs and rules packs. Build comprehensive SLA/SLO dashboards in Cloudera Manager. Architect a resilient Disaster Recovery plan using BDR/Replication Manager and lead semi-annual DR drills.
• Stakeholder Leadership: Act as the technical authority at Architecture Review Boards (ARB). Collaborate with Domain SMEs Security and Platform Teams. Mentor and guide engineering teams on SQL optimization and pipeline best practices.

• Experience: 10 years of dedicated data architecture/engineering experience with at least 35 years specifically architecting production-grade environments on Cloudera (CDH/CDP).
• Lakehouse Delivery: Proven track record of designing and delivering on-prem Lakehouses leveraging Medallion and Lambda architectures.
• Informatica Expertise: Deep understanding of Informatica DEI (BDM) suite for framework design parameterization and pushdown execution to Spark/Hive.
• Storage & Query Engines: Practical deep technical exposure to Apache Iceberg Apache Hudi Apache Kudu HBase Phoenix Hive 3 and Impala (including partitioning compaction and cost-based tuning).
• Security & SDX: Expert-level knowledge of Kerberos TLS AD/LDAP Ranger policies and Atlas lineage tracking within the Cloudera SDX ecosystem.
• Rules & Frameworks: Experience designing metadata-driven rules engines and DQ frameworks for both streaming and batch data.
• Operations: Strong Linux fundamentals Git and CI/CD automation.

• Advanced Kafka patterns (exactly-once processing schema registry compaction) and CDC from relational databases.
• Familiarity with Apache Ozone KMS/Key Trustee and security compliance in air-gapped deployments.
• Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) mindset: managed SLOs error budgets and chaos/drill exercises.
• Relevant certifications: Cloudera CDP Certified Architect Informatica Certifications or Security certifications (e.g. CISSP/CCSP).
• Experience operating within strictly regulated environments (PII PCI SOX).

• High Availability: Maintaining $ge 99.9%$ platform availability for production clusters.
• Data Integrity: Achieving $ge 95%$ end-to-end lineage coverage across the ecosystem with zero critical access violations.
• Data Quality: Ensuring $ge 99.5%$ completeness for priority data entities.
• SLA Adherence: Keeping pipeline SLA adherence $ge 98%$ for both batch and real-time streams.
• Resiliency: Maintaining strict RPO/RTO parameters validated by at least two successful DR drills annually.

• Platform: Cloudera CDP 7.3.1 (Cloudera Manager HDFS/Ozone YARN Hive 3 Impala Spark NiFi Kafka Ranger Atlas Knox).
• Formats: Iceberg Hudi Kudu HBase Phoenix Parquet ORC Avro.
• ETL/Automation: Informatica BDM Git Jenkins/Azure DevOps Ansible/Terraform.
• Metadata/Backends: PostgreSQL MySQL.

If you are an elite Data Architect looking to make a lasting impact on a large-scale enterprise transformation in KSA we want to hear from you. Please submit your CV along with a summary of your experience delivering Cloudera CDP on-prem architectures.