Vice President, Data Architecture
Department: Technology – Data Architecture
Location: Remote
FLSA Status: Exempt
People Leader: Yes
Travel: < 5–10%
Summary
Company Summary
Accuity partners with hospitals and health systems through a technology-enabled, physician-led model that improves clinical documentation integrity, coding accuracy, reimbursement optimization, and quality outcomes.
Job Summary
The Vice President, Data Architecture is a hands-on technology leader responsible for defining, building, and scaling Accuity’s enterprise data platforms, data architecture, data applications, data pipelines, and analytics enablement capabilities. This role’s top priority is leading Accuity’s migration from its SQL Server based architecture to a modern Databricks lakehouse, reducing technical debt and platform cost while improving scalability and performance. Reporting to the Chief Technology Officer, this role owns the Data Engineering and Data Operations functions while also contributing directly to technical design, platform development, data modeling, database optimization, and delivery execution. The Vice President, Data Architecture partners closely with Data Science, Application Development, Operations, Finance, and other stakeholders to ensure Accuity’s data ecosystem is secure, scalable, reliable, cost-efficient, and positioned to support reporting, analytics, SaaS applications, and AI/ML enablement.
Responsibilities
Strategy and Data Architecture Leadership
- Lead the design, development, and evolution of Accuity’s Azure-based enterprise data architecture, including the migration from the SQL Server based architecture to a modern Databricks lakehouse, partnering with the CTO and Databricks on sequencing and delivery.
- Own the data platforms, data architecture, data applications, data pipelines, and analytics enablement capabilities that support Accuity’s business operations, technology platforms, reporting needs, and AI/ML enablement.
- Establish scalable data architecture standards, patterns, and governance practices to support reliable data access, integration, reporting, and analytics.
- Translate business requirements into data platform strategies, technical designs, program enhancements, and delivery roadmaps.
- Partner with the CTO and Technology leadership to prioritize data initiatives aligned with company objectives, operational needs, client outcomes, and product capabilities.
- Evaluate current and future data platform needs and recommend improvements to support scalability, reliability, automation, security, performance, and cost efficiency.
- Identify and lead initiatives to reduce data platform infrastructure and licensing costs through modernization and rationalization of the legacy stack.
Data Platform, Engineering, and Analytics Enablement
- Lead data-centric initiatives supporting SaaS applications, ETL processes, encounter-level and revenue cycle data processing, reporting engines, enterprise analytics, and future machine learning enablement.
- Design, build, and optimize data applications, data platforms, data pipelines, data warehouses, data models, data flows, and reporting infrastructure.
- Provide hands-on technical leadership for Azure database administration, database architecture, database automation, and data platform optimization.
- Develop and guide the development of database solutions used to store, retrieve, integrate, and analyze company information.
- Lead the migration and phased decommission of legacy database objects, stored procedures, views, SSIS packages, and related data assets as part of the transition to the modern data platform.
- Analyze structural requirements for new data applications, software capabilities, reporting needs, and analytics solutions.
- Improve data system performance through testing, troubleshooting, query optimization, automation, and integration of new data platform capabilities.
- Define and maintain appropriate data security, backup, recovery, and operational support procedures for assigned platforms.
- Support operational reporting and Management Information Systems needs as required.
AI/ML Enablement and Data Science Partnership
- Own the data architecture and platform capabilities required to enable AI/ML development, deployment, operationalization, and monitoring.
- Partner closely with the VP, Data Science & AI to support Accuity’s data science strategy and ensure data platforms meet model development and analytics requirements.
- Collaborate with Data Science to operationalize models by ensuring availability, quality, structure, integration, and performance of required data assets.
- Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders to launch data, analytics, and AI/ML enablement initiatives.
- Ensure clear ownership boundaries between Data Architecture and Data Science, with Data Architecture owning platforms, pipelines, and enablement, and Data Science owning model development.
Leadership and People Management
- Lead the day-to-day operations, staffing, training, quality, productivity, and performance of the Data Architecture team.
- Own and lead the Data Engineering and Data Operations functions, managing and developing a team of direct reports that includes database developers/engineers, data analysts, data architects, and related technical roles.
- Serve as a player-coach by balancing team leadership with hands-on technical contribution and delivery support.
- Foster a collaborative, inclusive, accountable, and growth-oriented team culture in a fully remote work environment.
- Set clear goals, priorities, deliverables, and performance expectations for team members.
- Support team development through coaching, feedback, technical guidance, career development, and effective delegation.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Collaborate with Application Development, Data Science, Operations, Finance, business users, and third-party development partners to deliver data platform and analytics initiatives.
- Serve as a senior technical advisor to internal stakeholders on data architecture, data applications, database design, reporting, analytics enablement, and platform decisions.
- Gather requirements from business and technical stakeholders and translate those requirements into effective data solutions.
- Coordinate multiple internal and external parties to deliver data initiatives that support business performance, client outcomes, and operational efficiency.
- Communicate technical recommendations, risks, dependencies, and tradeoffs clearly to technical and non-technical audiences.
Compliance, Security, and Quality
- Promote data quality, accuracy, integrity, consistency, and reliability across Accuity’s enterprise data assets.
- Oversee periodic data cleansing, fuzzy matching, grouping, and related data quality improvement activities.
- Ensure data platforms and processes are designed with appropriate controls, access considerations, documentation, security, backup, and recovery procedures.
- Support compliance-aligned data practices appropriate for healthcare technology and revenue cycle environments.
- Partner with security, compliance, and technology stakeholders to support privacy, security, and audit readiness expectations.
Other Duties as Assigned
- Perform miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Education and Credentials
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Business Intelligence, Engineering, Mathematics, Information Systems, or a related field preferred.
- Relevant technical certifications in Azure, database administration, data architecture, data engineering, analytics, security, or related disciplines preferred.
Experience
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in data architecture, database architecture, data engineering, database development, or database administration across enterprise environments.
- Minimum of 3 years of Azure-based data platform experience, including hands-on experience leading a migration from a SQL Server / RDBMS environment to a modern cloud data platform (Databricks, Snowflake, or similar lakehouse architecture).
- Minimum of 5 years of experience leading or managing technical teams.
- Experience supporting data architecture or data engineering capabilities for analytics, reporting, SaaS applications, or AI/ML enablement.
- Healthcare, healthcare revenue cycle, SaaS, healthcare technology, analytics, or technology-enabled services experience preferred.
- Experience supporting secure or regulated data environments involving PHI, HIPAA, HITRUST, SOC 2, or similar privacy, security, or compliance requirements preferred.
Core Competencies
- Strategic Data Leadership: Defines and executes data architecture strategies that support business growth, operational performance, SaaS applications, analytics, reporting, and AI/ML enablement.
- Player-Coach Leadership: Balances executive-level ownership with hands-on technical contribution, practical problem solving, and direct support of delivery outcomes.
- Technical Judgment: Evaluates technical tradeoffs and guides architecture decisions that balance scalability, security, performance, maintainability, and business urgency.
- People Leadership: Builds, develops, and leads a small technical team with clear expectations, accountability, coaching, and engagement.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works effectively with Technology, Data Science, Operations, Finance, business stakeholders, and third-party partners to align data initiatives with business needs.
- Communication: Communicates complex technical topics clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders, including risks, dependencies, priorities, and recommended solutions.
- Problem Solving: Uses structured analysis, critical thinking, and sound judgment to identify issues, evaluate options, and drive resolution.
- Execution Discipline: Manages competing priorities, aligns resources, and drives initiatives from requirements through design, build, deployment, and operational support.
- Remote-Work Effectiveness: Leads and collaborates effectively in a fully remote environment through proactive communication, documentation, responsiveness, and meeting discipline.
- Compliance and Risk Awareness: Applies appropriate awareness of healthcare data privacy, security, quality, and compliance expectations in data platform and architecture decisions.
- Migration and Change Leadership: Leads teams and stakeholders through platform transitions, sequencing work to reduce risk and cost while maintaining delivery continuity.
- Adaptability: Responds effectively to changing business needs, evolving technologies, stakeholder priorities, and growth-stage operational demands.
Additional Requirements
1) Physical Requirements: The requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job with or without reasonable accommodations. Unless otherwise indicated, Accuity positions require interaction with people and technology while either sitting or standing. Employees must be able to communicate via phone, email, etc. and sit for extended periods of time, with or without reasonable accommodations. Physical effort and exposure to physical risk are limited to that of an office role / environment.
2) Position and Employment Statement: While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the job requirements, management reserves the right to modify, add or remove duties from a job and to assign other duties as necessary and at any time. All positions at Accuity Delivery Systems, LLC, are at-will employment, and a position description is not a guarantee of a job or of job responsibilities.
While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the job requirements, management reserves the right to modify, add or remove duties from a job and to assign other duties as necessary and at any time. All positions at Accuity are at-will employment, and a position description is not a guarantee of a job or of job responsibilities.
