Senior Director – Architecture & Strategy (Data & Analytics)

Location: Hyderabad, India

Level: Senior Director

Role Overview

We are seeking a senior leader to drive the Architecture and Strategy as a function for Data & Analytics within the Chief Data Office (CDO) organization. This role is responsible for defining and advancing enterprise-wide technology architecture, shaping cross-product strategy, and driving forward-looking innovation across data and analytics capabilities.

Reporting directly to the leader of Product, technology strategy, this leader will operate at the intersection of technology, product, and business strategy, ensuring that architectural decisions enable scalable, sustainable, and value-driven outcomes across the enterprise.

This is a high-impact leadership role requiring strong decision-making, enterprise influence, and the ability to translate emerging trends into actionable strategies.

Key Responsibilities

- Enterprise & Technical Architecture Leadership

Define and evolve the enterprise data and analytics architecture, including reference architectures, patterns, and standards

Establish and govern architecture frameworks, best practices, and design principles across the organization

Lead architecture governance mechanisms to ensure consistency, scalability, and compliance

Own technology lifecycle management, including standards for adoption, containment, and deprecation

- Product & Platform Architecture

Provide architectural leadership for enterprise data and analytics products and platforms

Define integration, platform, and solution architecture patterns across enabling products

Ensure sustainability, scalability, and interoperability across the product ecosystem

Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Platform teams to align architecture with delivery and adoption

3.

Emerging

Technology & Innovation

Continuously scan the market for emerging technologies, tools, and industry trends

Establish structured frameworks for evaluation, incubation, and scaling of new capabilities

Lead the adoption of next-generation architectures and innovation initiatives

Translate external innovation into practical enterprise capabilities and competitive advantage

4.

Technology

Strategy & Optimization

Define and drive technology strategy across products and platforms, including investment prioritization





Lead technology ramp-up and ramp-down decisions to optimize cost and value

Establish architecture as a business discipline, enabling informed decision-making and trade-offs

Drive cross-product alignment to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency

- Leadership, Governance & Influence

Lead and run architecture and strategy forums, enabling enterprise-wide alignment and decision-making

Make and guide critical architecture decisions with long-term enterprise impact

Collaborate closely with senior leadership, including the Chief Data Officer (CDO) and cross-functional teams

Act as a thought leader, staying ahead of industry trends and shaping the organization’s future direction

Qualifications & Experience

10 years of experience in data, analytics, and enterprise architecture

Proven track record of leading enterprise-scale architecture and strategy functions

Strong experience across data platforms, analytics ecosystems, and modern architecture patterns

Demonstrated ability to operate across product, engineering, and business domains

Experience driving technology strategy, cost optimization, and platform rationalization

Strong executive presence with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and C-level leaders

Technology stack

AWS data and analytics eco system, Databricks, DBT, Matillion, Starburst, PowerBI, Dataiku, ThoughtSpot, Qlik

Data and Analytics Ecosystem Tools

AWS

Databricks

DBT

Matillion

Starburst

PowerBI

Dataiku

ThoughtSpot

Qlik

What We’re Looking For A forward-looking, value-driven leader who can anticipate and shape the future

Someone who makes decisions, not just recommendations

Ability to balance strategic thinking with practical execution

Robust collaborator who can work across complex organizational boundaries A leader who brings clarity, structure, and momentum to ambiguous environments

Why This Role Matters

As part of the Chief Data Office (CDO),



this role will define how data and analytics capabilities are architected, scaled, and evolved across the enterprise. The right leader will play a critical role in building a future-ready, integrated, and efficient data ecosystem that drives measurable business impact.

· Proven leadership experience, including managing and mentoring technical teams.

· Deep technical expertise in data engineering, data management and governance, data science, data consumption and reporting, and cloud technologies (e.g., AWS, Databricks, Dataiku, Matillion, DBT, and Airflow).

· Strong understanding of data architecture principles, data modeling, and data integration techniques.

· Platform integration patterns, Metadata and governance integrations, API-Driven design, and Developer platform experience

· Experience integrating GenAI capabilities into broader data and analytics ecosystems to enhance insights, decision-making, and automation.

· Excellent communication, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.

#HYDIT2025

Required Skills

Data Modeling, Design Applications, Release Management, Requirements Management, Solution Architecture, System Designs, System Integration

Preferred Skills

Current Employees apply HERE

Current Contingent Workers apply HERE

Search Firm Representatives Please Read Carefully Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA, also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, Rahway, NJ, USA, does not accept unsolicited assistance from search firms for employment opportunities. All CVs / resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at our company without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of our company. No fee will be paid in the event a candidate is hired by our company as a result of an agency referral where no pre-existing agreement is in place.

Where agency agreements are in place, introductions are position specific. Please, no phone calls or emails.

Employee Status: Regular

Relocation

VISA Sponsorship

Travel Requirements

Flexible Work Arrangements

Hybrid

Shift

Valid Driving License

Hazardous Material(s)

Job Posting End Date

08/28/2026

*A job posting is effective until 11:59:59PM on the day BEFORE the listed job posting end date. Please ensure you apply to a job posting no later than the day BEFORE the job posting end date.

📌 Sr. Dir , Data and analytics Architecture (Hyderabad)
🏢 Msd
📍 Hyderabad