Data Governance Architect

Innovation starts from the heart. At Edwards Lifesciences, we’re dedicated to developing ground-breaking technologies with a genuine impact on patients’ lives. At the core of this commitment is our investment in cutting-edge information technology. This supports our innovation and collaboration on a global scale, enabling our diverse teams to optimize both efficiency and success. As part of our IT team, your expertise and commitment will help facilitate our patient-focused mission by developing and enhancing technological solutions. 

The Data Governance Architect partners with business and technical stakeholders to design, develop, and implement data governance architecture, standards, and integration patterns that support enterprise data management objectives. This role translates business requirements into scalable architectural solutions, establishes governance standards and best practices, and provides technical leadership for data governance initiatives across the enterprise.

How you’ll make an impact:

Governance Architecture & Design

• Translate business and data governance requirements into repeatable architecture patterns, standards, and design strategies for data management initiatives.

• Define and maintain the data governance architecture, including data quality, metadata, lineage, access management, and stewardship capabilities.

• Collaborate with project teams to ensure governance solutions align with enterprise architecture standards and strategic technology direction.

• Develop architectural recommendations that support scalability, maintainability, and interoperability across the data ecosystem.

Integration Architecture & Data Management Solutions

• Identify opportunities to integrate data governance capabilities across platforms, applications, and business processes.

• Define interfaces, data flows, shared data assets, and metadata requirements that enable consistent governance practices.

• Partner with data engineering, platform, and business teams to support implementation of governance controls and data quality processes.

• Monitor the effectiveness of governance solutions and recommend enhancements to improve business outcomes.

Standards, Methodologies & Best Practices

• Develop, maintain, and promote data governance standards, architectural methodologies, and implementation best practices.

• Establish reusable patterns that support consistent adoption of governance controls across projects and platforms.

• Contribute to enterprise architecture and data management frameworks.

Architecture Governance & Compliance

• Provide oversight to ensure compliance with approved architecture standards, governance policies, and data management practices.

• Participate in architecture reviews and design discussions to ensure alignment with established principles and standards.

• Support governance initiatives related to data quality, metadata management, lineage, and access management.

Technology Evaluation & Innovation

• Evaluate emerging technologies, tools, and methodologies that may enhance data governance and data management capabilities.

• Provide recommendations regarding adoption and integration of new solutions within the enterprise architecture landscape.

Metadata & Repository Management

• Support the development and maintenance of metadata, governance artifacts, and architectural documentation repositories.

• Promote standards for documentation, traceability, and architecture lifecycle management.

Technical Leadership & Enablement

• Provide expert guidance to project teams on data governance architecture and implementation approaches.

• Coach and mentor team members on governance standards, architecture principles, and best practices.

• Promote knowledge sharing and adoption of governance capabilities across the organization.

• Communicate architectural concepts effectively to both technical and business stakeholders.

What you’ll need (Required):

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Natural Sciences and Mathematics or a related discipline and ten years of IT related experience

• Experience in data architecture, data management, data governance, or related technology disciplines.

• Familiarity with data catalog, lineage, data quality, and CI/CD tools, such as Secoda, Snowflake Horizon, Unity Catalog, Soda, GitLab, Airflow, or similar platforms.

• This is an onsite role based in Irvine, CA. Relocation assistance is not provided, and candidates must reside within a 50-mile radius of Irvine to be considered.

What else we look for (Preferred):

• Experience designing architecture solutions, standards, and governance processes within complex enterprise environments.

• Knowledge of data quality, metadata management, lineage, master data management, and data governance practices.

• Experience supporting cloud-based data platforms and enterprise data ecosystems.

• Strong analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

• Ability to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions and architecture patterns.

• Experience with data governance, metadata, or data quality platforms.

• Experience working in regulated environments and supporting data governance controls.

• Knowledge of DAMA-DMBOK, CDMP, or other data management frameworks and certifications.

• Understanding of emerging data governance and AI governance trends.

Aligning our overall business objectives with performance, we offer competitive salaries, performance-based incentives, and a wide variety of benefits programs to address the diverse individual needs of our employees and their families.

For California, the base pay range for this position is $121,000 to $171,000 (highly experienced).

The pay for the successful candidate will depend on various factors (e.g., qualifications, education, prior experience). Applications will be accepted while this position is posted on our Careers website. 

Edwards is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer including protected Veterans and individuals with disabilities.