Principal Architect - Data, AI, and Analytics

Overview

At Ford, you’ll work on ideas that matter, alongside passionate people who want to make a global impact. Together, we’re shaping the next era of transportation—grounded in purpose, driven by progress. Make your move.

• Job Type: Full time
• Work Type: Hybrid

The Principal Architect, Data, AI, and Analytics leads a team of architects who guide, shape and influence the direction of the data, analytics, and AI that underly all of Ford's business. The Principal Architect works with senior leaders in Enterprise Technology and the Global Data & Analytics organization to ensure that Ford makes critical decisions based on a solid foundation of enterprise data.

This role will:

• Lead a team of more than 40 architects around the world who engage with teams who are building and managing systems across the Data, AI and Analytics platforms.
• Lead a cross-platform effort to align the design and implementation of data (design, transform, and storage), AI (Applied AI) and analytics (reporting, semantic layer, LLMs use of data catalog, and Knowledge Graph) technologies with overall technical strategy and industry trends.
• Lead a team that advises groups across the company on how to ensure that data, AI and Analytics systems are reliable, performant, and meet business needs.
• Lead a team that advises data engineering teams on domain driven design, data modeling (conceptual, logical, and physical), master data platform architectures, canonical modeling, and various enterprise data integration patterns
• Drive technical alignment across all regions and skill teams to appropriately align systems to industry and company standards.
• Collaborate with cloud and enterprise data center database infrastructure teams to build/configure the fit-for-purpose data platforms for functional use
• Have domain knowledge in Automotive or Manufacturing or Industrials would be considered ideal
• Collaborate with teams working on data, AI and analytics systems and related technologies to ensure that they are connected with the longer-term portfolio strategy and roadmap, and use judgement as to when these teams need to use existing, commonly deployed technologies and when to blaze a new path.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Infrastructure, developers, operations, and technical product managers, to gather requirements and ensure the platforms and systems meet the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
• Seamlessly integrate and define roadmaps for our strategic tool selection and our strategic systems roadmap.

Additionally, the scope of this role will:

• Influence leaders, architects, managers, and engineers across the company

• Lead by example regarding technical and software architecture by participating in design sessions and engineering projects

• Lead a team of architects located in Dearborn, Michigan and Chennai, India.

• Advise and mentor leaders and engineers on diverse topics including Data, AI and Analytics systems.

• Help the Global Data Insights & Analytics leadership drive a vision and roadmap for the future of our data, AI and analytics platforms

• Define and enforce architectural standards, ensuring compliance with industry standards, regulations, and security requirements

• Collaborate with the security team to ensure cloud-native applications and infrastructure meet cybersecurity standards

• Advise on how to prioritize updates of existing systems to meet the desired new architecture

• Stay on top of architecture trends and be prepared to advise teams across Ford how to keep up

• Ensure solutions are fully aligned to the Ford technology strategy

Minimum:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field

• 15+ years of progressive responsibilities in IT or an IT focused business area

• 10+ years of experience building and architecting data intensive applications (data integration at scale, HA data platforms, managing various data technologies – relational, document, columnar, virtual warehousing, and architecting around various philosophies such as data mesh, data lake, and zero copy solutions)

• 10+ years of experience in a field related to Data, AI and Analytics systems

• Working knowledge of cloud computing, especially Google Cloud Platform

• Working knowledge of data, AI and analytics tools and technologies and how to apply it to real-world applications

Our preferred requirements

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field

• Extensive demonstrated competency in technical architecture

• Knowledge of “cloud native” concepts in software architecture and delivery

• Working understanding of basic cybersecurity principles

• Must be skilled at influencing leaders and workers across the company at many different levels

• Must be able to think and act strategically, without constraints

• Must be able to develop a team, including growing employees’ performance and maturity, recruiting, and retaining key talent.

• Strong demonstrated competencies influencing peers and business partners

• Strong communication and collaborative skills

• Ability to “thrive in ambiguity” in leading teams to select the right solutions amid a complex environment

• Proven ability to work closely with management one to four levels above and below both in the business and IT