Senior Data Architect

About Us

At Radiant Digital, we empower organizations worldwide with innovative IT and consulting solutions that drive efficiency, agility, and impact. From federal agencies like NASA and the USDA to leaders in telecom, healthcare, and energy, we help transform challenges into opportunities through technology.

Job Description:

Position : Senior Data Architect – Fisheries Data Systems (CDFW)

Location : Sacramento, California : hybrid

POSITION SUMMARY:

We are seeking a Senior Data Architect with direct experience supporting or modernizing Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) data systems, preferably the Aquatic Surveys Program (ASP), Survey Management Switchboard (SMS), or related fisheries monitoring databases by supplying domain expertise in SQL architecture, legacy Access applications, lookup table management, validation logic, and data migration processes.

Key Responsibilities

The candidate will contribute to all areas required including:

1. SQL Architecture & Legacy System Interpretation

• Analyze and interpret schema structures for ASP, SMS, and related legacy systems.

• Identify data normalization issues, lookup table dependencies, key relationships, and schema inconsistencies.

• Provide guidance on schema updates, linking tables, and structures needed to support CMP population data.

2. Data Migration Strategy & Quality Management

• Define requirements for migrating MS Access, CSV, Excel, and text file datasets into a modern SQL environment.

• Identify data validation, cleansing, and transformation requirements aligned with CDFW SOPs.

• Provide clear migration pathways consistent with business problems and objectives stated in the RFI.

3. Data Entry, Batch Upload, and QA/QC Model

• Recommend SQL-backed mechanisms for real-time validation, batch upload error handling, and reconciliation processes.

• Translate CDFW workflows into structured technical requirements for Attachment A.

4. Web Application Data Services (Custom or COTS Alignment)

• Support evaluation of COTS vs. custom approaches by mapping data architecture requirements to proposed options.

• Identify integration requirements (REST APIs, ETL workflows, middleware).

5. Security, User Access, and Hosting Insight

• Provide recommendations aligned with role-based access models described in Exhibit 1.

• Suggest data-layer security controls that align with California SIMM, NIST, and state hosting expectations.

Required Experience & Skills

• Direct experience working for or supporting CDFW, NOAA, PSMFC, or related fisheries/environmental data programs.

• Experience with ASP database structure, distributed Access applications, SMS lookup tables, and SQL Server environments.

• Expertise in MS SQL Server, stored procedures, constraints, indexing strategies, schema design, and optimization.

• Experience modernizing Access-to-SQL systems and managing version control transitions.

• Familiarity with CMP data collection workflows, salmonid monitoring terminology, and field-to-database SOPs.

• Knowledge of data validation rules, QA/QC workflows, and error reduction strategies used in scientific datasets.

Preferred Experience

• Experience working with California state data governance and information security standards.

• Familiarity with schema-driven mobile form generation and field data synchronization.

• Experience with ETL tools (SSIS, Azure Data Factory, Informatica) or API-based integration methods.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or related field required.

• Master’s degree preferred (Data Science, Information Technology, or Environmental Informatics).