Lead Architect, Data Context Layer

Job description

Job Description Role Overview This role is part of a broader enterprise initiative to establish a Data Context Layer (DCL) — a foundational capability designed to provide consistent, reusable, and scalable context across enterprise data products. The DCL is intended to address challenges related to data fragmentation, lack of shared semantics, and inconsistent interpretation of data across systems and products. It establishes a unified layer for representing context, relationships, and meaning, enabling downstream products to operate with greater consistency, interoperability, and intelligence. In addition, the DCL plays a critical role in enabling agentic AI capabilities across the enterprise by providing the structured context and semantic grounding required for intelligent agents to operate reliably. This includes ensuring that agent-driven workflows and decisions are based on consistent, governed, and interpretable data context, reducing risks associated with fragmentation, ambiguity, and lack of control. Within this initiative, we are seeking a Lead Architect to define and guide the conceptual and technical architecture for an enterprise platform that enables teams to publish, discover, and consume standardized data context through self-service. This role will shape the target architecture, integration patterns, and technical standards that support scalable, secure, and production-ready context services across the enterprise. The ideal candidate has deep experience in enterprise architecture, data platforms, semantic technologies, and AI-enabled systems. Familiarity with ontologies, OWL, metadata-driven architectures, agentic AI, prompt engineering, and context engineering is required, as the platform must support both human and AI-driven consumers of context. Key ResponsibilitiesDefine the target architecture for the enterprise data context self-service platform. Establish architectural standards and patterns for: context publishing discovery access control versioning validation lineage and provenance observability and monitoring Partner with product, engineering, service design, security, and governance teams to ensure the platform is technically sound and aligned to enterprise needs. Evaluate and recommend technologies and integration patterns including: ontology and semantic modeling approaches OWL/RDF-based systems knowledge graphs semantic layers MCP, A2A, and Timbr-like technologies where applicable Design architecture that supports both self-service user workflows and AI/agentic consumption patterns. Ensure context can move from development to production in a governed, scalable, and supportable way. Define non-functional requirements including performance, resilience, security, compliance, and operational maintainability. Review solution designs and implementation plans to ensure adherence to architectural standards. Create reference architectures, patterns, and decision records to guide implementation teams. Collaborate with platform teams to support long-term scalability, reuse, and interoperability across domains. Help shape how the platform supports agentic AI workflows, including structured prompt context, tool access, and reliable data grounding. Minimum Required QualificationsBachelors degree 8+ years of experience in enterprise architecture, solution architecture, data architecture, or platform architecture. Strong technical background in data platforms, metadata systems, semantic technologies, or AI infrastructure. Familiarity with ontologies, OWL, RDF, knowledge graphs, and semantic layer concepts. Experience designing platforms that support self-service, enterprise-scale reuse, and governed access. Expertise in agentic AI, prompt engineering, and context engineering concepts. Experience defining and enforcing technical standards across multiple teams. Strong ability to communicate architecture decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Preferred QualificationsExperience with MCP, A2A, Timbr, or similar context-serving or semantic interoperability technologies. Background in enterprise data governance, metadata management, or data catalog architectures. Experience supporting AI-enabled platforms or agentic workflows. Knowledge of production concerns such as observability, testing, CI/CD, identity and access management, and lifecycle management. Experience creating reference architectures and reusable patterns for platform teams. Familiarity with regulated or security-sensitive enterprise environments. What Success Looks LikeSuccess in this role means: the platform has a clear, scalable Conceptual/Technical architecture context is served consistently and securely across the enterprise teams can build and integrate using reusable patterns development-to-production flows are reliable and governed the platform supports both enterprise applications and AI/agentic use cases architectural decisions reduce duplication and increase long-term maintainability Required Skills: Context Mapping, Data Modeling, Design Applications, Enterprise Architecture (EA), Enterprise Architecture Management, Enterprise Data, Enterprise Data Management, Enterprise Security Operations, Metadata, Metadata Management, Ontology, Prompt Engineering, Reference Architectures, Release Management, Requirements Management, Semantic Web, Solution Architecture, System Designs, System Integration Preferred Skills: Current Employees apply HERE Current Contingent Workers apply HERE US and Puerto Rico Residents Only: Our company is committed to inclusion, ensuring that candidates can engage in a hiring process that exhibits their true capabilities. Please click here if you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process. As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit: EEOC Know Your Rights EEOC GINA Supplement​ We are proud to be a company that embraces the value of bringing together, talented, and committed people with diverse experiences, perspectives, skills and backgrounds. The fastest way to breakthrough innovation is when people with diverse ideas, broad experiences, backgrounds, and skills come together in an inclusive environment. We encourage our colleagues to respectfully challenge one another’s thinking and approach problems collectively. Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts The salary range for this role is $142,400.00 - $224,100.00 This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, government requirements, and business or organizational needs. The successful candidate will be eligible for annual bonus and long-term incentive, if applicable. We offer a comprehensive package of benefits. Available benefits include medical, dental, vision healthcare and other insurance benefits (for employee and family), retirement benefits, including 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, and compassionate and sick days. More information about benefits is available at https://jobs.merck.com/us/en/compensation-and-benefits. You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employ