Ab Initio ArchitectSubject Matter Expert
Job Location:
McLean, MD - USA
Monthly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
About Infinitive:
Infinitive is a data and AI consultancy that enables its clients to modernize monetize and operationalize their data to create lasting and substantial value. . We possess deep industry and technology expertise to drive and sustain adoption of new capabilities. We match our people and personalities to our clients culture while bringing the right mix of talent and skills to enable high return on investment.
Infinitive has been named Best Small Firms to Work For by Consulting Magazine 8 times most recently in 2025. Infinitive has also been named a Washington Post Top Workplace Washington Business Journal Best Places to Work and Virginia Business Best Places to Work.
Role Overview
We are seeking a highly technicalAb Initio Subject Matter Expertwho can do more than develop or maintain graphs. This role requires someone who deeply understands how Ab Initio works includingGDE graphs DML metadata EME Control Center reusable components and batch execution patterns and can reverse-engineer what existing Ab Initio applications are actually doing.
The ideal candidate is a technical translator: someone who can analyze complex Ab Initio graphs interpret the embedded business logic explain the flow of data and document the intent clearly enough for another engineering team to recreate modernize or migrate the functionality.
This role is especially important in environments where Ab Initio has become a legacy black box and the organization needs to understand document and potentially rebuild those processes on a modern data platform.
Ab Initio Graph Analysis & Reverse Engineering
Analyze existing Ab Initio applications graphs plans DML XFRs parameter sets sandbox structures and metadata to understand how data is sourced transformed validated enriched and delivered.
Deconstruct complex graph logic and identify:
- Source and target datasets
- Joins lookups filters rollups scans partitions sorts and reformat logic
- Data quality rules and exception handling
- Business rules embedded in transformations
- Dependencies across graphs components schedules and downstream consumers
- Restart recovery and operational control logic
Translate Ab Initio logic into clear technical documentation that can be used by data engineers architects migration teams QA teams and business stakeholders.
Create detailed artifacts such as:
- Source-to-target mappings
- DML and metadata interpretation summaries
- Graph logic walkthroughs
- Transformation rule documentation
- Dependency and lineage maps
- Functional specifications for graph recreation or migration
- Test scenarios and reconciliation rules
Business Logic Interpretation
Partner with business data risk finance operations and technology stakeholders to understand the business purpose behind existing Ab Initio processes.
Be able to explain complex data flows in plain language including how a graph supports reporting reconciliation customer processing regulatory needs risk controls financial calculations or operational workflows.
Metadata Lineage & Dependency Discovery
Use Ab Initio EME Metadata Hub Control Center project repositories scripts schedules logs and related documentation to identify upstream and downstream impacts.
Support end-to-end lineage discovery across:
- Source systems
- Intermediate files
- Serial and multifile datasets
- DML records
- Lookup files
- Database tables
- Output feeds
- Downstream applications and reports
Support initiatives to recreate or migrate Ab Initio logic to modern platforms such as Databricks Spark Snowflake cloud-native data pipelines or other enterprise data platforms.
Work closely with migration teams to ensure the new implementation preserves the intent business rules control logic and data outcomes of the original Ab Initio process.
Help determine where to modernize simplify optimize or redesign versus where to perform a like-for-like translation.
Performance & Operational Understanding
Analyze graph design execution patterns partitioning strategies data volumes component usage and runtime behavior to identify performance bottlenecks or operational risks.
Interpret logs job failures restart logic dependencies Control Center executions and environmental scripts to understand how processes run in production.
Mentorship & Standards
Provide guidance to development migration and QA teams on Ab Initio best practices graph interpretation reusable components metadata management testing and documentation standards.
Help establish repeatable patterns for Ab Initio assessment documentation reverse engineering and migration readiness.
Required Experience & Skills
Core Ab Initio Expertise
- 7 years of hands-on Ab Initio experience in complex enterprise environments
- Deep knowledge of GDE Co>Operating System EME Control Center DML XFR plans sandboxes multifile systems and reusable components
- Ability to read interpret and explain complex Ab Initio graphs without relying only on original developers
- Strong understanding of batch processing parallelism partitioning component behavior metadata and dependency management
- Experience with production support scheduling logs restarts and operational controls
- Proven experience deconstructing legacy Ab Initio applications and documenting functional logic
- Ability to identify business rules embedded in transformations joins lookups filters and aggregations
- Strong source-to-target mapping skills
- Ability to convert technical graph logic into clear specifications for recreation modernization or migration
- Experience working with incomplete documentation and legacy systems where knowledge may be tribal or fragmented
- Strong SQL skills with experience analyzing large datasets
- Experience with enterprise data warehouses or data platforms such as Teradata Oracle Snowflake Hadoop or Databricks
- Strong Unix/Linux skills including shell scripting with KSH Bash or similar
- Familiarity with job orchestration file movement batch controls data reconciliation and exception handling
- Ability to compare source and target outputs and support functional validation
- Ability to explain complex technical logic to non-technical stakeholders
- Strong documentation communication and analytical skills
- Comfortable working with business teams to validate process intent and expected outcomes
- Ability to bridge legacy engineering teams modern data engineering teams QA teams and business stakeholders
- Strong problem-solving mindset with the ability to work through ambiguity
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience in Financial Services Banking Capital Markets Insurance or other highly regulated industries
- Experience supporting migration from Ab Initio to Databricks Spark Snowflake cloud platforms or modern data engineering frameworks
- Knowledge of AWS Azure or GCP data environments
- Experience with Ab Initio Metadata Hub Acquire>It Query>It Continuous Flows ICFF or meta-programming
- Understanding of data governance lineage auditability and regulatory reporting requirements
- Familiarity with financial services data domains such as customer account transaction payments risk AML KYC fraud finance or regulatory reporting
- Experience creating migration assessment documents graph inventories complexity scoring and modernization roadmaps
Ideal Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate is a senior Ab Initio practitioner who can walk into a complex legacy environment open a graph understand the flow interpret the DML and metadata identify the business logic and explain what must be preserved when that process is rebuilt.
This person should be equally comfortable reading Ab Initio internals speaking with business stakeholders writing clear technical documentation and guiding engineering teams through the recreation or migration of legacy functionality.
They are not just an Ab Initio developer. They are alegacy logic translator technical investigator and modernization enabler.
Infinitive is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin disability protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal state or local law.
Required Experience:
Manager
About Company
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