Strategy Consultant /Data Strategy

About Ascendion Ascendion is a leading provider of AI-Native software engineering services. Our applied AI, software engineering, cloud, data, experience design, and talent transformation capabilities accelerate innovation for Global 2000 clients. Ascendion is headquartered in New Jersey. In addition to our remote/hybrid workforce, we have a presence in 12 countries and 40+ global offices across North America, Europse, and APAC. We are committed to building technology powered by Generative AI with an inclusive workforce, service to our communities, and a vibrant culture. For more information, please go to www.ascendion.com. (https://www.ascendion.com./) Experience a community of change makers! Join a culture of high-performing innovators with endless ideas and a passion for tech. Our culture is the fabric of our company, and it is what makes us unique and diverse. The way we share ideas, learning, experiences, successes, and joy allows everyone to be their best at Ascendion.  Experience: 12-16 years overall, including 7+ years leading enterprise data strategy, modernization or transformation engagements   Role Summary   Lead data strategy and transformation engagements from discovery and assessment through target-state definition, roadmap development and implementation mobilization. The role combines stakeholder leadership with strong technical understanding across data architecture, governance, engineering, modelling, analytics and modernization. The individual must convert business objectives and technical evidence into practical decisions, prioritized initiatives and executable work packages for short-term assessments and longer-term data programs.   Key Responsibilities   Lead business and technical discovery workshops to understand priorities, challenges, capabilities, risks, dependencies and modernization objectives.   Assess the end-to-end data landscape, including sources, integration patterns, data stores, lakehouse or warehouse structures, governance, models, semantic layers, reporting and operating models.   Coordinate assessments across architecture, governance, engineering, modelling and BI, ensuring findings are supported by inventories, metadata, lineage, usage, quality results and operational metrics.   Define target-state principles, operating models, domain accountability, governance direction, data-product concepts and modernization options.   Evaluate options based on business value, data risk, technical feasibility, readiness, dependencies, cost and time to value.   Develop phased roadmaps covering governance, legacy migration, data quality, platform modernization, BI rationalization and semantic alignment.   Convert recommendations into implementation work packages with scope, dependencies, owners, skills, milestones, acceptance criteria and measurable outcomes.   Maintain traceability from findings to recommendations, roadmap initiatives, delivery backlogs and expected benefits.   Facilitate decision forums, resolve cross-workstream conflicts and communicate complex topics through clear executive and technical materials.   Support future data engagements through delivery mobilization, architecture reviews, prioritization, implementation governance and roadmap refresh.   Must-Have Skills   Enterprise data strategy, transformation and multi-workstream consulting leadership.   Modern data architecture covering lakehouse, cloud platforms, enterprise data warehouses, integration and semantic layers.   Working knowledge of Databricks, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, Azure data services and Power BI.   Understanding of batch, CDC, streaming, APIs, dimensional modelling, medallion patterns and data products.   Data governance knowledge across ownership, stewardship, metadata, lineage, quality, privacy, security, retention and lifecycle.   Legacy modernization and migration planning, including dependencies, reconciliation, cutover, rollback and retirement.   Roadmap planning, value assessment, delivery sequencing, KPI definition and executive stakeholder management.   Good-to-Have Skills   Manufacturing, supply chain or enterprise operations data experience.   Experience with Microsoft Purview, Collibra, Alation or similar tools.   DAMA/CDMP, TOGAF, Azure, Databricks or related certification.   Experience with federated governance, data products, DataOps, observability and cloud cost optimization.  
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