Data Strategy

Description:

Sun Life is seeking a strategic and experienced individual to join their Enterprise Data Architecture team as Director, Enterprise Data Architecture, Data Strategy. This leadership role focuses on designing and guiding enterprise-wide data strategy in consultation with business and enterprise partners, aligning technologies, standards, and practices to deliver world-class data and analytic systems. The position reports directly to the Global Head (AVP) of Data Architecture.

The Director will drive the evolution of the enterprise data architecture “north star,” supporting advanced data architectures such as event streaming, federated data, and AI governance. The role includes shaping the design, implementation, and adoption of AI-ready data and providing strategic leadership for enterprise data architecture initiatives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead data strategy engagements with business executives and define enterprise data architectures.

• Develop enterprise data architecture patterns, playbooks, and technology frameworks.

• Establish governance and standards to enable GenAI and Agentic AI capabilities.

• Define and create Semantic Layers, Ontologies, and Knowledge Graphs.

• Present technical proposals at Enterprise Architecture Governance councils.

• Analyze structural and enterprise data requirements for new software and applications.

• Enforce best practices across cloud-native (AWS), hybrid, and on-premise environments, focusing on operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and cost optimization.

• Collaborate across regions to provide enterprise data architecture guidance.

• Mentor Data Architects and other team members in solution development and best practices.

• Lead technology proofs-of-concept (POCs) and pilots in the data and analytics domain.

• Provide enterprise-level guidance on end-to-end data & analytics solutions design.

• Hands-on support for complex technical challenges from an enterprise data architecture perspective.

Qualifications / Requirements:

• Strategic experience engaging enterprise stakeholders on data architecture.

• 3+ years in cloud-based data architecture (AWS preferred; Azure or GCP considered).

• 15+ years in designing and building data services and enterprise data architecture.

• Experience in Semantic Layers, Ontologies, Knowledge Graphs.

• Familiarity with GraphQL, Random Forest, Tree models, and ModelOps is an asset.

• Background in data governance and ML/AI methodologies; experience with event streaming is a plus.

• Hands-on experience with Kafka, Glue, Lambda, Redshift, Snowflake, Informatica IICS, or similar.

• Data analytics and visualization experience (AWS SageMaker, R Studio, Tableau, Power BI).

• Knowledge of MDM, RDM, Data Modeling, and data architecture patterns.

• Strong communication, critical thinking, conceptual, and analytical skills.

• Excellent collaboration and leadership skills; experience coaching and mentoring.

• Bilingual (French/English) required for Quebec-based interactions.

Benefits & Perks:

• Flexible hybrid work model.

• Pension, stock, and savings programs.

• Professional development opportunities and networking potential.

• Inclusive and collaborative culture.

• Competitive salary and bonus structure influenced by market data.

• Recognition for company awards in workplace excellence and mental health initiatives.