Snowflake Data Architect
Remote

Long Term Contract

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled Snowflake Data Architect to support Cisco's enterprise data modernization and cloud analytics initiatives. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing scalable Snowflake data platforms, defining data ingestion frameworks, optimizing cloud data pipelines, and establishing strong data governance and security best practices. This role requires deep hands-on experience with Snowflake, cloud platforms, data architecture best practices, and end-to-end data engineering across large-scale, distributed environments.

Key Responsibilities

1. Snowflake Platform Architecture

• Design, architect, and implement large-scale Snowflake environments for enterprise analytics.
• Develop scalable data models, warehouse schemas (Star/Snowflake), and data vault structures.
• Implement Snowflake features including Virtual Warehouses, Cloning, Zero-Copy Data Sharing, Streams, and Tasks.
• Optimize Storage, Compute, Clusters, Micro-Partitions, and Query Performance.

2. Data Pipeline & Integration

• Architect and implement end-to-end cloud data pipelines using:
  • Snowflake Snowpipe
  • Kafka / Event Streaming
  • Python, Spark, DBT, or Informatica / Matillion
• Design ELT/ETL workflows for structured, semi-structured, and streaming data sources.
• Ensure robust ingestion of data from multiple Cisco internal systems (ERP, CRM, Network Logs, IoT datasets, etc.).

3. Cloud Architecture & Security

• Work with AWS/GCP/Azure (Cisco environment may vary by BU) to configure:
  • IAM integrations
  • Networking and connectivity
  • Role-based access and security models
  • Data masking, encryption, and governance
• Implement Snowflake RBAC, OAuth, SSO, SAML, and auditing mechanisms.

4. Data Governance & Quality

• Implement metadata management, lineage, cataloging, and governance processes.
• Define standards for data quality, validation, and monitoring.
• Collaborate with Cisco's data governance teams to enforce compliance and best practices.

5. Stakeholder Interaction

• Work closely with Cisco business, analytics, security, and engineering teams.
• Translate business requirements into scalable data architecture solutions.
• Participate in architecture reviews, roadmap creation, and cross-team collaboration.

Required Skills and Experience

• 10+ years of experience in Data Engineering / Data Architecture.
• 4 6 years of strong, hands-on experience with Snowflake.
• Expertise in SQL (advanced), performance tuning, and optimization.
• Experience with ETL/ELT tools (DBT, Informatica, Matillion, Airflow, PySpark).
• Strong Python skills for pipeline development and automation.
• Experience designing large-scale cloud architectures (AWS/Azure/GCP).
• Strong understanding of MPP systems, micro-partitioning, caching, compute scaling.
• Experience with CI/CD for data pipelines (Git, Terraform, Jenkins, Azure DevOps).
• Hands-on experience with semi-structured data: JSON, Parquet, Avro, ORC.
• Understanding of data modeling techniques: OLTP, OLAP, Kimball, Data Vault.
• Experience integrating with APIs, REST, and real-time streaming systems.

Preferred Skills

• Snowflake SnowPro Architect / SnowPro Core Certification.
• Experience with Cisco environments or large network/IoT data pipelines.
• Familiarity with AI/ML workflows and feature store architecture.
• Experience with Looker/Tableau/Power BI for consumption layer support.