Who we are:

At SECU, we put our employees first, recognizing that their well-being and professional development are vital to our success. By fostering a supportive and empowering work environment, our employees are committed to helping members achieve long-term financial security. They are also inspired to give back to the communities we serve by volunteering and spreading kindness, which reflects our core values and who we are as an organization.

Every employee at SECU contributes to our member�s financial well-being, and we�ll always do what�s right for our members, employees, and communities.

Feel good about what you do. Belong to a place where you matter and can make a difference.

What you will do:

The Lead Data Architect is responsible for driving data architecture strategy, design, and implementation while serving as a key counterpart to the Lead Data Engineer. This role oversees Snowflake infrastructure, including cost management, optimization, and data governance standards, and actively contributes to data ingestion, transformation, loading, and validation activities within Snowflake.

This self-directed role works closely with Data Engineers, Data Analysts, and BI leadership to manage complex initiatives from end to end, providing thought leadership, strategic direction, and creative problem-solving across technical and non-technical stakeholders. The Lead Data Architect stays current on Snowflake and related tools, supports vendor relationships as needed, mentors and cross-trains team members, and serves as a guiding voice during planning efforts to ensure SECU�s data architecture continues to meet evolving organizational needs.

The Lead DA adheres to regulations and organizational policies, maintaining awareness and knowledge required to perform the duties of the position, including all aspects of the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations, such as OFAC, and the USA Patriot Act, Fair Lending and Information Security.

A day in your life might include:

• Plan, build, optimize and validate data architecture and infrastructure
• Design and maintain robust data models, ELT/ETL pipelines, and data integration frameworks
• Develop and maintain technology roadmap; ensure data aligns with business strategy
• Ingestion, transformation, historical loading, and storage of data
• Maintain documentation and understanding of Snowflake base-level infrastructure for auditing and future reproducibility
• Play an active role in data standards and governance for the organization, role-based access controls, and data lifecycle management
• Own ancillary tools (e.g., DBT) selection, management, and support utilization of tools within ecosystem
• Monitor usage, alerting, and ensure cost efficiencies
• Optimization of data architecture; identify opportunities to automate and enact solutions that streamline existing processes
• Meet with business users and analysts to understand use cases, vet requirements, and execute work
• Learn and apply data best practices to ensure data quality, performance and integrity are optimized
• Support and mentor data engineers and data analysts in ensuring the infrastructure meets their needs
• Own tokenization needs and collaborate with appropriate teams as necessary
• Attend and participate in BI team agile ceremonies such as sprint planning, backlog refinement, etc.

Additional Responsibilities may include:

• Support organization on project initiatives
• Brainstorm innovative solutions that are related to, but may go beyond Data Architecture
• Maintain understanding of SECU and the business in general
• Provide input to adjacent areas, such as Artificial Intelligence

Business Data Subject Matter Expert

• Collaborate with various groups and individuals within the organization to identify and understand their business needs and how key data sources for analytics will help meet their business challenges.
• Operate as an SME in the data sources related most closely to the products and services owned by the larger team.
• Document findings and maintain guides for data source best practices, nuances, and uses.

What we need from you:

Education Requirements

• Bachelor�s degree or greater in any of the following or similar areas: Data Science, Computer Science, Management Information Science, etc. Equivalent professional experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.

Experience Requirements

• 10+ years of data-centric experience related to data engineering, data architecture, or similar
• Demonstrated experience with self-directed work on large and complex problems.
• Experience working in a highly collaborative, team environment.
• Experience communicating among multiple stakeholders and balancing multiple projects.
• Experience with modern data warehouse frameworks, tools and architectures
• Experience with data modeling, cloud platforms, Storage & Processing, Security & Compliance of data
• Experience with Snowflake
• Experience with SQL, Snow SQL, Snowflake CLI or similar
• Experience with PowerBI or similar
• Experience with and knowledge of other ancillary tools such as AWS, Azure, Git, etc. or similar
• Experience with Python a plus

Business Acumen Requirements

• Understands how SECU�s business strategy, regulatory environment, and member needs shape data priorities
• Applies sound business judgment when weighing cost, risk, scalability, and long-term impact of data architecture decisions
• Demonstrates financial awareness of cloud data platforms, including cost drivers and value tradeoffs
• Anticipates how changes in business direction or regulations may influence data strategy and architecture needs
• Communicates data considerations in business terms to support informed decision-making by non-technical stakeholders
• Balances immediate business needs with long-term data sustainability and enterprise impact

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position, often standing or sitting for prolonged period
• Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds

Compensation Information: Offers will be commensurate with experience and education. Please Note: We typically hire at or below mid-point, which is $165,700 for this role.

• Salary: Min. $127,500-Max. $203,900

Other Compensation Includes:

• Annual corporate-wide incentives

We provide comprehensive benefits, with a focus on total well-being:

• Medical, vision, dental benefits
• 401k plan with company matching
• Generous sick, vacation and personal leave
• And more...2026 SECU Benefits

SECU is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce where all individuals are valued and respected. We take pride in providing equal opportunities for all qualified applicants regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, military or veteran status, or any other characteristics protected by law.