Senior Lead Data Governance Architect

Lumen is the trusted network for the AI‑powered world, connecting people, data, and applications through our expansive fiber network and connected ecosystem. We enable secure, high‑performance connectivity across cloud, edge, and AI workloads for enterprises, governments, and communities.

At Lumen, you’ll work on infrastructure customers rely on today and build for what’s next, where performance, security, and resilience matter.

This is a high accountability environment where bold ideas drive real innovation for our customers, partners, and industry. The work is challenging, expectations are clear, and trust is built into how we operate. If you’re ready to take ownership, deliver meaningful impact, and help shape the future of AI‑ready connectivity, join us today.

The Role

Lumen is seeking a strategic and technically adept Senior Lead Data Governance Architect to lead delivery of its data governance technology program. The role sits on Lumen's Telemetry, Observability & Technology team within the Office of the Chief Data Officer. That team does three things:

- Assesses new data tools and platforms before the organization adopts them.
- Develops platform governance standards with Data Engineering and the Data & Analytics Center of Excellence.
- Implements and manages the telemetry, observability, and enforcement tooling that measures and protects Lumen's data.

As the senior individual contributor delivery lead, this person turns governance tooling strategy into concrete implementation plans and owns their execution. They also manage two Senior Data Governance Architects. The Principal Data Governance Architect sets the architectural guardrails, and this role builds the implementation engine within them. The ideal candidate combines hands-on depth in catalog, data quality, and access-control tooling with the leadership to deliver across a complex, multi-platform data estate.

The Main Responsibilities

- Governance Catalog Implementation:  Lead the full implementation of the enterprise governance catalog (Informatica Cloud Data Governance & Catalog). This covers scanner configuration, taxonomy design, glossary seeding, and lineage mapping across legacy systems and modern platforms (for example, the enterprise data warehouse, Databricks, and Palantir Foundry), with consistency, auditability, and scalability as the goals.
- Implementation Patterns & Technical Leadership:  Define the implementation patterns that the Senior Data Governance Architects apply to their platform clusters. Be their main point of technical escalation. Mentor and develop team members in governance engineering best practices.
- Observability & Data Quality Tooling:  Own the rollout of observability tooling (Validio, Informatica Cloud Data Access Management, or equivalent). This includes designing the data quality rule framework, setting monitoring thresholds, and configuring alerts.
- Technology Assessment:  Lead technical assessment work alongside the Director, Data Governance Technology. Build evaluation environments, run capability tests, and produce technical findings for new data tools and platforms.
- Identity & Access Integration:  Coordinate SailPoint integration design with the Information Security Office. Write the identity-to-governance mapping specifications that the Senior Lead Data Governance Engineer implements.
- Phased Delivery Leadership:  Act as primary delivery lead for the governance technology roadmap. The sequence runs Unity Catalog connectivity first, then catalog scanning and data characterization, then birthright identity and policy enforcement.
- Automation & Workflow Engineering:  Design and build automated metadata ingestion, data quality rule deployment, and alert-driven workflows that cut manual processing and make governance tooling faster and more reliable. Use scripting (Python, SQL) alongside platform-native automation.
- Technical Stakeholder Engagement:  Work with Data Engineering, Enterprise Architecture, and Information Security so that governance tooling is built into platforms from the start rather than added later, and so that implementation is consistent across workspaces.

What We Look For in a Candidate

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field.
- 8+ years of experience in data architecture, data engineering, or governance tooling implementation, with at least 3 years in a senior or lead role.
- Hands-on implementation experience with Informatica CDGC or a comparable enterprise catalog, meaning delivery and not only evaluation.
- Experience implementing Databricks Unity Catalog, including catalog hierarchies, role-based access control, and data product registration.
- Experience leading technical delivery for a small team of individual contributors in a complex, multi-platform environment.
- Experience with data quality tooling (Validio, Great Expectations, Soda, or equivalent).
- Proficiency in SQL and Python, with hands-on experience building automated workflows, scheduled pipelines, and data transformation scripts.

Preferred Skills

- Familiarity with identity and access management integration (SailPoint or equivalent).
- Familiarity with Palantir Foundry and ontology-driven data modeling.
- Microsoft Purview experience for governing unstructured content and Microsoft 365 data.
- Experience with audit preparation and producing control evidence in regulated environments (CMMC, FedRAMP, or SOX).
- Understanding of telecom product structures and service definitions.
- Comfort working across the full governance technology stack, from platform configuration to executive-facing findings, without needing handoffs between teams.

Compensation

This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors.

Location Based Pay Ranges

$132,232 - $175,310 in these states: AL  AR  AZ  FL  GA  IA  ID  IN  KS  KY  LA  ME  MO  MS  MT  ND  NE  NM  OH  OK  PA  SC  SD  TN  UT  VT  WI  WV  WY 
$138,844 - $185,124 in these states: CO  HI  MI  MN  NC  NH  NV  OR  RI 
$145,456 - $195,940 in these states: AK  CA  CT  DC  DE  IL  MA  MD  NJ  NY  TX  VA  WA

Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.   Learn more about Lumen's: Benefits (https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/benefits-statement)
Bonus Structure

#LI-Remote

What to Expect Next

Requisition #: 343949

Life at Lumen

Life at Lumen is human and connected, even in a fast moving, AI‑focused organization. We set clear expectations and trust people to meet them. With real support and shared accountability, teams collaborate better, move faster, and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Our Lumen 8 behaviors guide how we interact, make decisions, and work together, shaping a culture built to perform and win.

To learn more about Life at Lumen and how we live the Lumen 8, please visit:  
https://jobs.lumen.com/global/en/life-at-lumen

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If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page . Job-related concerns identified during the background screening may disqualify you from the new position or your current role. Background results will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

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Disclaimer

The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions.

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