Senior Data & AI Architect

About the role

<p></p> <p><strong>Who/What is Artefact?</strong><br>Artefact is a next-generation strategy and data consulting firm dedicated to transforming&nbsp;organizations through data and AI. We combine the rigor of top-tier strategy consulting&nbsp;with deep expertise in data, digital, and analytics to help clients achieve tangible<br>business impact.<br>With 1,800+ consultants, data scientists, and engineers across 23 countries, we work&nbsp;with global leaders such as Samsung, L’Oréal, Orange, and Sanofi. Our Zurich office is&nbsp;at the heart of Artefact’s growth, advising clients on their most pressing strategic&nbsp;challenges — from AI strategy and governance to digital transformation roadmaps and&nbsp;new business model design.</p> <p></p> <div><strong>The role:</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>We are looking for a Senior Data &amp; AI Architect who combines business strategy and technology across Data and GenAI. You will design the operating model and the organization of the Data &amp; GenAI CoE, define the target architecture, and steer data products from demand through to rollout.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Key responsibilities:</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Operating model and organization</div> <ul> <li> <div>Design the Data &amp; AI operating model (centralized, federated, hub-and-spoke) following Data Mesh principles: roles, responsibilities, domain ownership and governance mechanisms.</div> </li> <li> <div>Define the organization of the Data &amp; GenAI CoE: scope, service catalogue, skills, sizing and engagement model with business domains.</div> </li> <li> <div>Design end-to-end processes for demand management, use case prioritization, funding and value tracking.</div> </li> </ul> <div>Architecture and technology choices</div> <ul> <li> <div>Define the target data platform architecture on cloud (Azure, AWS, GCP) and Databricks, including GenAI components (RAG, agents, vector stores, LLMOps).</div> </li> <li> <div>Run make-or-buy analyses and vendor selections: scouting, evaluation criteria, business case, TCO and final recommendation.</div> </li> <li> <div>Check that architecture, security and data governance choices are consistent with enterprise standards and with the operating model.</div> </li> </ul> <div>Data products: from demand to rollout</div> <ul> <li> <div>Gather and formalize functional requirements with the business, translating them into data products with owners, consumers, SLAs and quality metrics.</div> </li> <li> <div>Design data products from both a functional angle (use cases, KPIs, impacted processes) and a technical one (data model, pipelines, interfaces, serving layer).</div> </li> <li> <div>Act as design authority during implementation: review system integrator solutions and oversee quality, progress and risks of the rollout.</div> </li> </ul> <div><strong>Requirements:</strong></div> <ul> <li> <div>At least 4 years of professional experience in IT.</div> </li> <li> <div>At least 2 years on projects focused on AI/GenAI, Data Mesh and functional requirements gathering.</div> </li> <li> <div>Consulting experience, ideally in strategy consulting, combined with experience at a system integrator or delivery firm.</div> </li> <li> <div>Hands-on experience designing operating models, Data/AI organizations or CoEs.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience with make-or-buy analyses, vendor selection or target architecture definition.</div> </li> <li> <div>Excellent written and spoken English.</div> </li> </ul> <div>Technical and functional skills:</div> <div>You will not be expected to write code, but you need to know the technologies well enough to assess them, challenge vendors and spot a flawed setup.</div> <ul> <li> <div>Data Mesh and governance: domain ownership, data products, federated governance, data contracts, catalogues and lineage (e.g. Unity Catalog, OpenMetadata, Collibra).</div> </li> <li> <div>Cloud: data and AI PaaS services on at least one of Azure, AWS and GCP; security

Skills