Principal Big Data Architect

Mastercard - O'Fallon, MO

Full-time - Principal

Hybrid - O'Fallon, MO

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities

About the position

The Principal Big Data Architect will lead the development of Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics solutions for the Loyalty Rewards & Segments Program. This role focuses on enabling merchants and issuers to provide seamless loyalty rewards to cardholders globally. The architect will design and evolve existing analytics into advanced solutions on cloud platforms, utilizing machine learning models and data processing technologies to drive data-informed decisions.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development of products and platforms with a focus on Machine Learning and Data Engineering.
• Design secure, reliable, and scalable solutions that incorporate both functional and non-functional requirements from product teams, security teams, and technology stakeholders.
• Define the technical strategy for Loyalty Data and Predictive Analytics, contributing to long-term goals, roadmaps, and detailed planning.
• Lead modernization efforts and data transformation solutions for Loyalty Data products, ensuring compliance with payment standards and regulations.
• Collaborate with technical leads, data stewards, DBAs, and database developers to support large-scale data migrations.
• Stay informed about emerging trends and best practices in big data and cloud platforms, providing technical leadership to enhance data platforms.
• Work closely with teams like Data Privacy, Information Security, and Business Operations to gather requirements and ensure compliance with policies and regulations.
• Translate business requirements into technical specifications involving data streams, integrations, transformations, databases, and data warehouses.
• Define the framework, standards, and principles for data architecture, covering areas such as modeling, metadata, security, and reference data.
• Evaluate and recommend the best analytics solutions, considering usability, technical feasibility, timelines, and stakeholder needs.
• Break down large solutions into smaller, achievable milestones to gather feedback and data from product managers and stakeholders.

Requirements

• Expertise in data platform engineering concepts, architecture design patterns, and industry best practices.
• Subject matter expertise in Databricks and experience in cloud infrastructure, particularly AWS and/or Azure.
• Advanced statistical analysis, coding, and data engineering techniques.
• Proficiency in Python, Scala, Spark, Hadoop platforms and tools (Hive, Impala, Airflow, NiFi, Sqoop), and SQL to build Big Data products and platforms.
• Experience developing and deploying production-level data applications and workflows/pipelines, including machine learning systems in Java, Scala, or Python.
• Architecting scalable data migration solutions using cloud and data lake technologies, along with data transformation tools like Airflow and NiFi for data pipeline orchestration.
• Cloud security models, encryption strategies, and network layers for hybrid on-prem and cloud environments.
• Strong quantitative and problem-solving skills.

Nice-to-haves

• Curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for technology and innovation.
• An ability to multitask with attention to detail.
• Self-motivation, flexibility, and independence in managing your workload.

Benefits

• Insurance (including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, disability, life insurance)
• Flexible spending account and health savings account
• Paid leaves (including 16 weeks new parent leave, up to 20 paid days bereavement leave)
• 10 annual paid sick days
• 10 or more annual paid vacation days based on level
• 5 personal days
• 10 annual paid U.S. observed holidays
• 401k with a best-in-class company match
• Deferred compensation for eligible roles
• Fitness reimbursement or on-site fitness facilities
• Eligibility for tuition reimbursement
• Gender-inclusive benefits