How to hire a data architect

How to hire a data architect, step by step

Here's a step-by-step data architect hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a data architect job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new data architect
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a data architect do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the data architect you need to hire. Certain data architect roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect data architect also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of data architects.

   Type of Data Architect	Description	Hourly rate
   Data Architect	A Data Architect is responsible for designing, creating, deploying, and managing an organization's data architecture. They define how the data will be stored, consumed, integrated, and managed by different data entities.	$40-73
   Data Warehouse Developer	Data Warehouse Developers are information technology (IT) professionals assigned to manage company-related information or data. They are responsible for creating the company's data warehouse, where the company's data will be stored... Show more	$34-57
   Data Engineer	A data engineer is someone who makes data science possible. This IT job requires the search for data set trends and algorithm development to make raw data more beneficial to the enterprise... Show more	$38-71

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Analytics
   • Architecture
   • Java
   • Data Lake
   • AWS
   • Hadoop
   • Python
   • Data Quality
   • ETL
   • NoSQL
   • Visualization
   • Data Governance
   • Azure
   • Data Warehouse

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Handle large projects throughout SDLC phases and manage teams and deliver successfully.
   • Design and manage reference data and master data programs: design and implement RDM and MDM solutions.
   • Lead the evaluation process for an ultimate dashboard solutions that can provide fast development and powerful visualization plus self-service features.
   • Report procedures against SSAS are constructed and ExcelWriter templates are developed to automate and replace existing manually generate, client-contract reports.
   • Deploy and monitor jobs and applications running on Hadoop clusters for making continuous improvement to existing architecture.
   • Provide data integration scheduling, exception management, event notification and ETL operational reporting and audit services.

   More data architect duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your data architect job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A data architect can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, data architects' average salary in hawaii is 38% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level data architects 45% less than senior-level data architects.
   • Certifications. A data architect with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a data architect's salary.

   Average data architect salary

   $113,700yearly

   $54.66 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level data architect salary

   $84,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 19, 2026

   Average data architect salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$140,382	$67
   2	Maryland	$111,335	$54
   3	New Jersey	$111,200	$53
   4	Washington	$109,992	$53
   5	Arizona	$109,364	$53
   6	Massachusetts	$109,336	$53
   7	New York	$109,206	$53
   8	Pennsylvania	$106,290	$51
   9	Virginia	$105,605	$51
   10	Michigan	$104,709	$50
   11	District of Columbia	$104,614	$50
   12	Indiana	$103,776	$50
   13	Texas	$103,317	$50
   14	Connecticut	$101,756	$49
   15	North Carolina	$99,993	$48
   16	Ohio	$98,699	$47
   17	Florida	$97,800	$47
   18	Illinois	$97,567	$47
   19	Minnesota	$97,505	$47
   20	Georgia	$97,099	$47

   Average data architect salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$164,517	$79.09	487
   2	StubHub	$155,859	$74.93	14
   3	Apple	$154,203	$74.14	140
   4	Netflix	$154,152	$74.11	8
   5	PayPal	$152,954	$73.54	10
   6	Pure Storage	$152,059	$73.11	18
   7	Twitter	$151,387	$72.78
   8	Google	$151,022	$72.61	395
   9	eBay	$149,667	$71.96	9
   10	The Walt Disney Company	$147,614	$70.97	71
   11	Anaplan	$146,635	$70.50	14
   12	Revlon	$146,377	$70.37
   13	McKinsey & Company Inc	$145,086	$69.75	59
   14	First Republic Bank	$145,068	$69.74
   15	NVIDIA	$144,297	$69.37	205
   16	Myriad Genetics	$143,257	$68.87	2
   17	Avid	$142,970	$68.74
   18	F5	$142,863	$68.68	25
   19	Logitech	$142,026	$68.28
   20	Bunge	$141,273	$67.92	2

4. Writing a data architect job description

   A data architect job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a data architect job description:

   Data architect job description example

   Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) is a leading provider of title insurance and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries. FNF is the nation's largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York - that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States. More information about FNF can be found at fnf.com.
   
   • Develop, deploy and manage target state DGP program and supporting technologies both on premise and in cloud services.
   
   • Manage full lifecycle of design and support evolution of engineering, system administration and daily operations of DGP products, technologies and services with a focus on continuous service improvement.
   
   • Manage and mature DLP program-related controls, documentation, testing and alignment with risk management framework.
   
   • Create requirements for evolving DGP risk management, technical controls, technologies, security best practices in conjunction with security architecture
   
   • Assess business requirements of the various lines of business and align solutions to balance enablement of the business with appropriate security controls
   
   • Support creation and documentation of business process aspects of the DLP initiative including process and procedure manuals, training, employee communication, workshops, business unit orientation and on-boarding, and team meetings
   
   • Deliver measurable metrics reporting, Key Risk Indicators (KRI's) and Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) that will be used for reporting to stakeholders and board of directors and continuous improvements for the program
   
   • Work with various Audit, Compliance and Assessment teams and programs to identify, assess and mitigate operational risks, evaluating the adequacy and effectiveness of the platform, standards, procedures, processes, and internal controls
   
   • Support adherence to applicable Security Controls, Policies, and Standards; partner with business owners and technology groups to synchronize plans to remediate gaps
   Education • BS/MS in Computer Science or Business with emphasis in IT or equivalent
   • Relevant cyber security certifications, such as CISSP, CISM, are optional, but highly desired Experience 10+ years of IT security and/or Governance Risk and Compliance related experiences Experience in implementing DLP & Insider Threat Management programs Experience with Enterprise DLP, UBA, UEBA, CASB, DAG, DAM, HSM, and PKI software solutions, design and implementation Experience interfacing with executive leadership to present both situation reports and business proposals for strategic change/improvements

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find data architects for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your data architect job on Zippia to find and recruit data architect candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit data architects, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   While interviews are great, you will only sometimes learn enough from a conversation with a data architect applicant. In those cases, having candidates complete a test project can go a long way in figuring out who's the most likely to succeed in the role. If you aren't a technical person and don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new data architect

   Once you have selected a candidate for the data architect position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new data architect. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a data architect?