Cetera Financial Group

Director, Data Architecture

Cetera Financial Group

  • Date Posted:

    8/30/2025

  • Remote Work Level:

    Hybrid Remote

  • Location:

    Hybrid Remote in San Diego, CA, El Segundo, CA, Dallas, TX, Des Moines, IA, Saint Cloud, MN

  • Job Type:

    Employee

  • Job Schedule:

    Full-Time

  • Career Level:

    Senior Level Manager (Director, Dept Head, VP, General Manager, C-level)

  • Travel Required:

    No specification

  • Education Level:

    Bachelor's/Undergraduate Degree

  • Salary:

    $219,000 - $320,000 Annually

  • Categories:

    ITData EntryProduct ManagerProject ManagerSoftware Engineer

About the Role

Title: Director, Data Architecture

Location: San Diego United States

Job Description:

We are at the forefront of transforming the future of technology in the financial industry, and we seek curious, practical individuals to help us pave the way. Our team is not intimidated by taking calculated risks, as they relish a good challenge and are eager to engage in problem-solving. As a member of our team, you will work alongside like-minded experts in a culture that is deeply rooted in innovation and progression. Join us to be part of a transformative journey that can shape the industry's future.

Ready to shape the future of data at scale? We're looking for a visionary Director, Data Architecture to lead our enterprise-wide data transformation. In this high-impact role, you'll design and govern the full data architecture-ensuring our data is connected, trusted, and ready to drive business value.

This role will establish design patterns and standards that underpin scalable, governed, and insight-ready data across the organization. It requires hands-on technical leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and the ability to communicate architectural decisions to both technical and executive stakeholders.

This role offers a Hybrid work schedule and must be located near our offices in either San Diego, CA or El Segundo CA or Dallas Texas.

What you will do:

  • Lead the definition, development, and governance of enterprise data architecture standards, patterns, and principles

  • Create and maintain a Common Vocabulary that standardizes key data concepts across domains

  • Identify and define Authoritative Data Sources for critical business entities and metrics

  • Design and document end-to-end Data Lineage from source systems through transformation to business reporting

  • Architect integrated and connected data flows across ingestion, processing, storage, and consumption layers

  • Design, evolve, and maintain the organization's enterprise data models, including:

  • 3NF Integrated Models for Operational Data Stores (ODS)

  • Dimensional Models for reporting, dashboards, and analytics

  • Logical Data Models that reflect shared business understanding and support semantic layer development

  • Define and justify appropriate data repository architectures (e.g., ODS, data marts, data lakes, data warehouses) aligned with business needs

  • Ensure scalability, reusability, and adaptability of data models and platform designs

  • Collaborate closely with engineers, modelers, data governance, analytics, and business stakeholders to ensure adoption and alignment

  • Apply modern architecture methodologies such as:

  • Agile delivery practices

  • Domain-Driven Design (DDD)

  • Data Mesh principles (e.g., federated domain ownership, self-serve data infrastructure)

  • Influence data platform and tool decisions (e.g., Azure, Snowflake, Databricks, Informatica)

  • Contribute to metadata management and data catalog strategy

  • Serve as a mentor and technical leader for other architects, engineers, and modelers

  • Support enterprise data governance and stewardship programs

  • Partner with data privacy and information security functions on architecture for data protection

  • Participate in architecture review boards, data councils, and strategic planning forums

  • Contribute to vendor assessments, platform migrations, and proof-of-concept evaluations

What you need to have:

  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
  • Minimum of 12 years of experience in enterprise data architecture or advanced data engineering
  • Proven track record of leading data architecture for complex, large-scale organizations
  • Expert-level knowledge of data modeling across 3NF, dimensional, and logical domains
  • Strong understanding of metadata, lineage, and authoritative source management
  • Experience in architecting cloud-based data ecosystems (e.g., Snowflake, Azure, Databricks)
  • Deep familiarity with data integration patterns, including ELT/ETL, data virtualization, APIs, and real-time streaming
  • Proficiency in applying modern architectural approaches (DDD, Data Mesh, Agile, etc.)
  • Ability to align architectural vision with business strategy and value drivers
  • Excellent communication skills with both technical teams and business executives
  • Proven ability to lead cross-functional design efforts in complex environments
  • Experience with data governance frameworks and tools (e.g., Collibra, Alation, Informatica)

What will really catch our eye:

  • Experience in financial services, wealth management, or other regulated industries
  • Familiarity with data privacy and regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, SEC, FINRA)
  • Background in enterprise information architecture or data product thinking
  • Experience in data platform selection, cloud migration, or enterprise data strategy

Compensation:

The salary range for this role is $219,000 - $320,000 plus competitive performance-based bonus. Compensation packages are based on a wide array of factors unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, years and depth of experience, certifications, and specific office location. Compensation ranges may differ in differing locations due to cost of labor considerations.

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