Director, Architecture and Data

Job Description Summary

The Director, Architecture & Data leads the team that sets the guardrails and owns the foundation for how Defense & Systems architects software environments and delivers a data fabric that enables the use of AI.

The team governs the reusable patterns and boundaries that let the business move fast without fragmenting, organizes information around the business domains it serves, and maintains a single enterprise-wide capability map so that AI is delivered as a native extension of the stack rather than a parallel initiative. It is the function that governs – it sets the boundaries and guidelines the delivery process runs inside – while the data it curates is the foundation that process runs on. To make the data foundation real, the role also delivers the Defense & Systems Data Fabric, coordinating with the Data Fabric Sr Principal Technical Product Manager and the Principal Architects for Enterprise, Data, Infrastructure, and Applications.

This is a people-leadership role that balances two accountabilities: being on the cutting of technology to invent the future of flight and lifting people up to work on world class teams; without every compromising safety. The role leverages four mature business processes to deliver to customers: the AI Control Tower (ATG) stage-gate, the Data Fabric capability-maturity (TRL/CRL) overlay, FLIGHT DECK agile delivery, and the Risk Management Framework (RMF) cybersecurity authorization that clears each product to build and to operate. Success improves Safety, Quality, Delivery, and Cost by giving every team one trustworthy data foundation, one set of reusable patterns, and one governed route from idea to authorized production.

Job Description

Key responsibilities

Team leadership and talent

• Lead and develop the Architecture & Data team – enterprise, platform, software, and data architects plus the data engineers and product managers aligned to the Data Fabric – with clear role clarity, objectives, and standard work for each seat

• Own the team’s performance and development; build a culture of ownership, flow, and continuous improvement, coaching problem-solving at the point of work

• Identify and remove obstacles on behalf of the team, especially where delivery direction and supervisory authority are split across the matrix

Architecture, data, and AI governance

• Own the architecture governance model: reference patterns, standards, the architecture review and decision process, and exception handling – the paved roads that keep delivery fast and coherent across product teams

• Set unified architecture and AI standards, informed by TOGAF/Zachman and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, and advise technology and AI investments

• Maintain a single enterprise-wide capability map so AI can integrate into existing technology stacks

• Set the data architecture and modeling standards, organized around the business domains the data serves, and govern data quality, lineage, and reusable data patterns across the organization

Data foundation and the Data Fabric

• Deliver the Defense & Systems Data Fabric, carried as this role’s own top-priority objective, coordinating with the Data Fabric Sr Principal TPM, who sets policy and prioritization and directs the pod day to day

• Supervise the Data Fabric engineers (Sr Staff TPM–Data, Principal Data & Information Architect, Sr Staff Data Engineer, Staff Data Engineer) in a matrixed arrangement, keeping their written objectives aligned to fabric delivery so priorities do not collide

• Ensure the data foundation — the canonical ontology, catalog, and governed data products — covers the in-scope business domains and is trustworthy enough for every downstream analytic and AI use case to build on

Harmonizing delivery, authorization, and AI governance

• Manage the four processes each product must clear – ATG (AI project governance), Data Fabric TRL/CRL (data-product maturity), FLIGHT DECK (agile execution), and RMF (Authority to Build / Authority to Operate) – as a single set of reference patterns, so teams follow a single route

• Build the security and authorization path into the architecture by default: secure-architecture review that feeds Authority to Build (ATB), and data-classification, export-control, and risk controls that feed Authority to Operate (ATO), partnering with Cyber Security, the RMF team, and Export Control

• Keep architecture guardrails and platform patterns coupled with the Director, Infrastructure & Platform, so the environment the delivery process runs in matches the boundaries the architecture sets

Enterprise influence and operating rhythm

• Charter the Principal architects with named enterprise and CDAIO forum responsibilities so Defense & Systems influences architecture above the business unit by charter, not assumption

• Represent Architecture & Data in the Tech Ops leadership cadence – daily management, WOR, and MOR – and align the architecture and data baseline to the enterprise and CDAIO standard

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from accredited university or college with minimum of 8 years of professional experience OR Associates degree with minimum of 11 years of professional experience OR High School Diploma with minimum of 13 years of professional experience

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in Enterprise Architecture & Data Management or IT.

• Minimum 3 years of experience leading technical teams.

• Note: Military experience is equivalent to professional experience.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US Government SECRET security clearance.

Eligibility requirement

• Legal authorization to work in the U.S. is required. GE Aerospace will not sponsor individuals for employment visas, now or in the future, for this job.

Desired characteristics

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or Engineering.

• Enterprise or solution architecture leadership, including governance of standards and reusable patterns across multiple teams, with TOGAF, Zachman, or comparable framework fluency.

• Data architecture and data management background: domain-oriented data organization, modeling, lineage, and quality; familiarity with data fabric, data mesh, and cloud data platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).

• AI governance fluency, including the NIST AI Risk Management Framework and an AI operating model that keeps AI native to the stack rather than a parallel initiative.

• Working familiarity with the delivery and authorization processes this role must reconcile: an AI stage-gate (e.g., ATG / AI Control Tower), an agile operating model (FLIGHT DECK, Lean, or SAFe), and a cybersecurity authorization / RMF flow (ATB/ATO).

• Experience running an architecture review or governance body and adjudicating exceptions.

• Demonstrated ability to influence architecture decisions above a single business unit, in enterprise or CDAIO-level forums.

• Experience leading in a matrixed model where delivery direction and supervisory authority are separated.

• Defense, aerospace, or other regulated or export-controlled environment background.

Additional Information:

The base pay range for this position is $152,000 - $202,000 annually. The specific pay offered may be influenced by a variety of factors, including the candidate’s experience, education, and skill set. This position is also eligible for an annual discretionary bonus based on a percentage of your base salary/ commission based on the plan. This posting is expected to close on November 16th, 2026.

GE Aerospace offers comprehensive benefits and programs to support your health and, along with programs like HealthAhead, your physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing. Healthcare benefits include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage; access to a Health Coach from GE Aerospace; and the Employee Assistance Program, which provides 24/7 confidential assessment, counseling and referral services. Retirement benefits include the GE Aerospace Retirement Savings Plan, a 401(k) savings plan with company matching contributions and company retirement contributions, as well as access to Fidelity resources and planning consultants. Other benefits include tuition assistance, adoption assistance, paid parental leave, disability insurance, life insurance, and paid time-off for vacation or illness. 

GE Aerospace (General Electric Company or the Company) and its affiliates each sponsor certain employee benefit plans or programs (i.e., is a “Sponsor”). Each Sponsor reserves the right to terminate, amend, suspend, replace or modify its benefit plans and programs at any time and for any reason, in its sole discretion. No individual has a vested right to any benefit under a Sponsor’s welfare benefit plan or program. This document does not create a contract of employment with any individual.

This role requires access to U.S. export-controlled information. Therefore, employment will be contingent upon the ability to prove that you meet the status of a U.S. Person as one of the following: U.S. lawful permanent resident, U.S. Citizen, have been granted asylee or refugee status (i.e., a protected individual under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)).

Additional Information

GE Aerospace will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the successful completion of a drug screen (as applicable). Employees may also be subject to random and reasonable-suspicion drug and alcohol testing.

#LI-Remote - This is a remote position