Database Lead - Data Architect

About DistilleryDistillery is a software development partner that helps organizations design, build, and scale modern technology solutions. Leading companies work with us to accelerate digital initiatives, solve complex technical challenges, and bring innovative products to market faster. Working as an extension of our clients' teams, we deliver lasting business value. Distillery is committed to diversity and inclusion. We embrace a dynamic and inclusive culture where you have the opportunity to continuously learn and grow.
About the PositionWe are seeking a Lead SQL Server Database Architect to own the technical direction of our client's SQL Server platform, a stable, production-grade estate that now needs someone to drive its evolution toward modern data warehousing and AI-readiness.

ResponsibilitiesOwn the platform's technical direction, data modeling standards, and schema governance; make and document architecture decisions with their trade-offsSet and enforce standards for performance, reliability, and securityLead the shift from on-prem operations to modern data warehousing, dimensional modeling, ELT pipelines, layered raw/curated/semantic architecture, version control and CI/CD for database code, and data lineage and catalogingOwn the modernization roadmap end to endPrepare the platform for AI and ML workloads through clean, governed, accessible data; define governance for access control, sensitive data, and auditabilityContinuously assess the estate for capacity, performance, technical debt, and security risk, and raise findings early with a recommended course of actionProvide unprompted updates on platform health and initiative progressMentor DBAs on technical depth and on the habit of surfacing problems early; document knowledge so expertise is shared, not concentratedRequirementsDeep production SQL Server experience (tuning, indexing, HA/DR)Strong data architecture and dimensional modeling background, with demonstrated experience modernizing a legacy estate (not just operating one)ETL/ELT pipeline design experienceWorking knowledge of cloud data platforms (Azure Synapse, Fabric, Snowflake, Databricks) and the judgment to assess fit rather than assume itFamiliarity with what "AI-ready" actually demands of a data platformCI/CD experience for database changesTrack record of driving initiatives from proposal through delivery with measurable outcomesDemonstrated ability to escalate risk before impactExcellent communication that adapts depth to the audience; experience influencing without direct authority and holding a technical position under pressureNice-to-HaveCloud or hybrid migration experiencedbt, Airflow, SparkData cataloging and lineage toolingObservability platforms (Splunk, Datadog, Grafana)Regulated or payments environment experienceAgile/Kanban and SLA-driven delivery