Staff Data Architect

Company: Ad Hoc
Location: Mount Rainier
Posted on: January 15, 2026

Job Description:

Our collaborations have shaped some of the defining moments in public-sector service delivery. We’ve helped build products that connect Veterans to tailored services, help millions access affordable health care, and support important programs like Head Start. As we work with agencies to deliver critical services, we’re also changing how the government approaches technology. Our culture, communications, and tools are built for remote work, enabling us to bring together top talent nationwide. At Ad Hoc, remote life empowers our teams to design work environments that fit their lives and that foster flexibility and collaboration to achieve positive outcomes for our customers. Ad Hoc values acceptance, accountability, and humility. We aren’t heroes. We learn from our mistakes and improve the process for the next time. We build small, inclusive teams to collaborate closely with our partners to solve the right problems and deliver software that works. The Federal Civilian business unit supports many customers spanning the federal, commercial, and nonprofit space. Our customers include NASA, the General Services Administration, Office of Personnel Management, the Library of Congress, Health & Human Services, and the FDIC. We partner with these agencies to build new capabilities, deliver products, establish data as a strategic asset for informed decision-making, modernize legacy systems, and build the digital service infrastructure necessary to scale their mission impact. Primary Responsibilities: The Staff API/Data Architect will design the flexible data system that enables the content management system within an HHS-specific stakeholder environment to evolve from static content delivery to dynamic, intelligent health services. Theyll create unified API strategies that can simultaneously serve traditional web experiences, power potential AI features with near-real or real-time data, and enable secure partner integrations with state and healthcare systems. This architect will build event-driven data pipelines capable of supporting diverse use cases from simple content queries to complex outbreak prediction models, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt as Clients digital strategy evolves. Working across the entire data spectrum, theyll establish patterns for both synchronous APIs (immediate responses for web/mobile) and asynchronous workflows (batch processing for analytics), ensure data governance that protects privacy while enabling innovation, and create abstraction layers that allow the platform to integrate new data sources and AI capabilities without disrupting existing services. Their work provides the foundational data flexibility that lets HHS or its respective offices, experiment with innovative features while maintaining the reliability and accuracy required for public health communications. Primary expectations of a Staff API/Data Architect include: • Leads strategic and critical data analysis, summarizing findings to provide program recommendations • Owns overall data strategy and oversees data collection, organization, and storage for program(s) • Identifies business components and translates requirements into functional BI portals and dashboards • Presents on technical topics effectively, articulating implementation complexity and other costs to inform business decisions • Responsible for data governance, eliminating gaps and improving data maturity • Aligns data architecture and standardizes access patterns to make data available to BI tools, apps, and websites • Oversees and aligns data organization, dictionary standardization, and glossary development with models • Periodically travels to work with and present to clients, partners, and stakeholders • Effectively communicates on existing systems, design decisions, past performance, and a major history of the projects that they’ve been part of for bid-writing, tech demos, and other potentially client-facing communications • Serves as a mentor for data analysts, scientists, and architects • Supports data team members with shipping features, providing direction and guidance • Participates in technical depth interviews with new candidates, evaluates homework assignments Basic Qualifications: • Bachelor’s degree and 9 years of experience o Relevant years of experience may be substituted for education • Python or Node.js with REST/GraphQL frameworks (FastAPI, Express, Apollo) - For building flexible API layers that can serve both traditional web content and AI-powered features, with ability to transform data for various consumption patterns • Event-Driven Architecture Tools (Apache Kafka, AWS EventBridge, or Azure Event Hubs) - Critical for real-time data flows that may power outbreak alerts, social media monitoring, or streaming updates to AI models • OpenAPI/AsyncAPI specifications with API Gateway platforms (Kong, AWS API Gateway, or Azure API Management) - For managing versioned endpoints that serve diverse consumers from state health departments to potential AI agents Preferred Qualifications: • FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) - Healthcare data standard that could enable interoperability with hospital systems and electronic health records • Apache Airflow or Prefect - Workflow orchestration for complex data pipelines that may feed both traditional dashboards and ML training datasets

Keywords: Ad Hoc, Reston , Staff Data Architect, IT / Software / Systems , Mount Rainier, Virginia