CampusWorks is redefining how higher education institutions use technology and functional managed services to drive transformation, financial sustainability, and student success. We serve as a true end-to-end partner to institutional leaders, delivering a fully integrated model that spans professional and managed services.
We are seeking a Solution Architect to own the technical design of a federated, multi-institution data platform built on the medallion lakehouse pattern using Azure Databricks, Microsoft Fabric, and Power BI. As the design authority for the platform, you will define the architecture that lets multiple higher education institutions share governed transformation logic and a managed production layer while retaining direct control of their own catalogs and environments.
This is a senior individual-contributor role for a hands-on architect who is equally comfortable in a Unity Catalog security model, a Databricks workspace, and an architecture review with institutional stakeholders. You will set the patterns and standards the engineering team builds to — partnering closely with data engineers, BI developers, DevOps, and governance leads — rather than managing people directly.
Responsibilities
- Own the end-to-end architecture of a federated, multi-institution medallion lakehouse (Bronze / Silver / Gold) on Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric
- Define the federated, multi-tenant design that separates a centrally governed shared layer — shared transformation logic, a managed production catalog, and source-system security — from institution-administered catalogs and environments
- Establish reference architectures, design patterns, and technical standards that each institution’s engineering work follows
- Make and document key architecture and platform trade-off decisions, with clear rationale for technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Design ingestion and integration from Workday (HCM, Finance, Student) and legacy SIS, LMS, CRM, and identity sources into the lakehouse
- Design the Unity Catalog security and access model across institutions, preserving institutional data autonomy within a shared governance framework
- Define and protect the two-catalog boundary — the institution-administered production catalog versus the centrally managed production catalog — and keep that distinction explicit across all designs
- Partner with governance leads to translate governance, data-quality, and stewardship policy into enforceable platform controls
- Provide hands-on design authority and technical guidance to data engineers, BI developers, DevOps, and data-quality and governance staff
- Review solution designs and key pull requests for architectural conformance
- Produce and maintain architecture documentation, decision records, and diagrams
- Support estimation, sequencing, and risk identification alongside the project and delivery leads
Platform architecture & design
Governance & security architecture
Delivery enablement
The responsibilities listed above are representative of the role and may be adjusted to meet organizational priorities.
Qualifications & Requirements
- 7–10 years designing and delivering cloud data platforms, including hands-on architecture of production analytics environments
- Deep, hands-on expertise with Azure Databricks and Unity Catalog — lakehouse design, medallion architecture, and catalog and security modeling
- Strong command of modern data-engineering patterns: ELT/ETL, orchestration, and data modeling across Bronze / Silver / Gold layers
- Proven ability to design multi-source integration (ERP / SIS / LMS / CRM / identity) into a governed analytics platform
- Experience defining security, access, and governance models in a shared or multi-team environment
- Comfort operating as a senior individual contributor — setting standards and guiding engineers without direct-report authority
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including architecture documentation and stakeholder-facing design reviews
- Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or equivalent practical experience
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience architecting federated or multi-tenant data platforms that serve multiple institutions or business units — central to this role
- Microsoft Fabric and Power BI experience, including semantic models and workspace design
- Azure Solutions Architect Expert and/or Databricks certification
- Infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD familiarity (Terraform, DevOps pipelines) as it relates to platform design
- Exposure to data-quality tooling such as Great Expectations
- Experience in higher education and/or with Workday as a source system
Skills Required
- 7-10 years designing and delivering cloud data platforms, including hands-on architecture of production analytics environments
- Deep, hands-on expertise with Azure Databricks and Unity Catalog including lakehouse design, medallion architecture, and catalog and security modeling
- Strong command of modern data-engineering patterns: ELT/ETL, orchestration, and data modeling across Bronze / Silver / Gold layers
- Proven ability to design multi-source integration (ERP / SIS / LMS / CRM / identity) into a governed analytics platform
- Experience defining security, access, and governance models in a shared or multi-team environment
- Comfort operating as a senior individual contributor setting standards and guiding engineers without direct-report authority
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including architecture documentation and stakeholder-facing design reviews
- Bachelor's degree in a technical field or equivalent practical experience
- Experience architecting federated or multi-tenant data platforms that serve multiple institutions or business units
- Microsoft Fabric and Power BI experience, including semantic models and workspace design
- Azure Solutions Architect Expert and/or Databricks certification
- Infrastructure-as-code and CI/CD familiarity (Terraform, DevOps pipelines) as it relates to platform design
- Exposure to data-quality tooling such as Great Expectations
- Experience in higher education and/or with Workday as a source system
What We Do
Since our inception in 1999, CampusWorks has become a trusted partner of countless colleges and universities across the United States and Canada. We serve higher education exclusively, so we have a deep understanding of and appreciation for your institution's mission, vision, and values as well as the business and technical challenges you’re facing. Since we are not associated with any hardware or software vendors, institutions know they can count on us to listen to their needs, provide unbiased insights into their organizational challenges, and develop tailored solutions with their best interests in mind. Our professional services team is comprised of senior-level technical and functional experts who have the experience and skill to take on your toughest challenges. Our services are rooted in systems thinking and reach across the institution—from Student Services to Human Resources to Finance to Academic Services—to remove obstacles standing in the way of success. We pride ourselves on the collaborative partnerships we form with our clients, and we value the opportunity to work alongside your team to implement change, achieve transformational results, and ensure lasting success. Dedicated exclusively to higher education, CampusWorks’ capabilities include: - Academic services - Accreditation and compliance - Assessments - Business process optimization - Cybersecurity - Enterprise resource planning (ERP) support - IT leadership - Network and infrastructure services - Project management - Shared services and collaborative services - Staff augmentation - Strategic planning Learn more at campusworksinc.com
