Sr Principal Architect

Sr. Principal Architect – Enterprise Data Portfolio

Sr Principal Architect working across Cox Automotive to accelerate and converge data and AI/ML practices, accelerate adoption of and integration with the Cox Automotive Data Platform, growing a consistent and powerful suite of capabilities for working with data, and enabling the adoption of AI/ML with a strong focus on leveraging Generative AI to improve efficiency for Cox Automotive and innovate across our large portfolio of client and consumer solutions.

Reports to the AVP of Architecture for the Cox Automotive Data Portfolio.

About the Opportunity
Cox Automotive is transforming the way the world buys, sells, owns, and uses cars using our vast array of automotive solutions (Autotrader, KBB, Manheim, Dealer.com, Vinsolutions, vAuto, xTime, DealerTrack, and more) and an unmatched stream of data that sees into nearly all automotive transactions in the US marketplace and beyond. As a Sr. Principal Architect for the Cox Automotive Enterprise Data Portfolio, reporting to the AVP of Architecture, you will be leading the enterprise accelerating a data first and AI powered transformation of the company that knows more about the automotive marketplace than anyone in the world. With a high degree of autonomy, you’ll be working across the organization to accelerate the adoption of the Cox Automotive Data Platform, growing a consistent and powerful suite of capabilities for working with data, and enabling the adoption of AI/ML with a strong focus on leveraging Generative AI to improve efficiency for Cox Automotive and innovate across our large portfolio of client and consumer solutions.

Who You Are

You are a visionary architecture leader with a passion for data and AI, and a proven track record of delivering innovative and impactful solutions. You have a strong bias for action, a growth mindset, and passion for organizational transformation. Your ability to build coalitions and to align and lead people at all levels of the organization and to secure resources to reach a common goal is what you live for. You are not afraid to roll up your sleeves and get your hands deep into data, AI, and ML. You have the drive and passion to realize Cox Auto’s vision to make transportation more accessible, valuable, and sustainable for everyone by helping us activate our unmatched trove of automotive data and streamline the application of advanced analytics and AI/ML.

What You’ll Do

Accelerate the transformation to a data first and AI powered company by influencing strategic direction, setting technical vision, and leading cross-functional teams.
Drive “data first” product design and delivery approaches, where solutions produce high quality data for enterprise use and leverage Cox Automotive’s unique cross-cutting knowledge of the automotive marketplace to drive value.
Be a thought leader and subject matter expert on working with data across Cox Automotive including simplifying capture, collection, ingest, refinement, and consumption of data.
Lead the ongoing definition and refinement of enterprise standards and best practices for data, analytics, and AI/ML solutions, collaboratively working across the organization, and ensuring alignment with business objectives and industry trends.
Partner with architecture, product, engineering, and business leaders across the enterprise to identify and prioritize data, AI, Generative AI, and ML use cases, and provide guidance on solution architecture, design, and implementation in conjunction with the Cox Automotive Data Science organization.
Mentor and grow architects across the organization to rapidly instill an enterprise wide understanding of how to design and operate solutions with a data first and AI powered mindset.
Drive the assessment and identification of resource and skill gaps and provide recommendations for prioritizing and resolution.
Negotiate solutions between parties, including senior leadership, effectively and for the best of Cox Automotive.
Work closely with technology providers as a thought leader to understand and shape roadmaps that support the enterprise needs of Cox Automotive, especially in the data space.
You have:

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 12 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 10 years’ experience, a P.h.D. and 7 years’ experience in a related field; or 24 years’ experience in a related field.
12 years of experience in software engineering, data engineering, data science, or related fields, with at least 7 years in an architecture role and a proven track record of delivering and operating complex and large-scale software systems and applications.
10+ years of experience in developing enterprise-scale software, with deep understanding of infrastructure, database, and network architectures.
Deep knowledge and hands-on experience with data platforms, technologies, and methodologies, such as cloud data services, data lakes, data warehouses, data governance, data quality, data catalogs, data lineage, data modeling, data integration, data engineering, data streaming, data visualization, data security, and data analytics and reporting. ( Experience with Amazon Web Services, Snowflake, Kafka, Collibra, and MicroStrategy are preferred)
Extensive experience working with large amounts of data using SQL, Python, Apache Spark, and frameworks like Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, Scikit-learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Generative AI models to analyze, design, build, and operate innovative data solutions.
Expertise and practical experience with applying AI/ML techniques, such as natural language processing, computer vision, speech recognition, recommender systems, anomaly detection, and generative models, to solve real-world problems.
Strong communication, collaboration, and influencing skills, with the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, and drive alignment and consensus across diverse stakeholders including senior leaders.
A growth mindset, a continuous learning attitude, and a desire to mentor and coach others.
Experience setting standards and best practices for working with data for architecture and engineering organizations.
Excellent communication, networking, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to articulate and convey complex technical concepts and ideas to various audiences and a demonstrated history of effectively negotiating solutions between parties, including senior leaders, for the best of the overall organization.
Preferred:
MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or related field, and 20+ years of related experience.

Drug Testing:

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Compensation:

Compensation includes a base salary of $171,800.00 – $286,400.00. The salary rate may vary within the anticipated range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s experience. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

About Cox Automotive
At Cox Automotive, people of every background are driven by their passion for mobility, innovation and community. We transform the way the world buys, sells, owns and uses cars, accelerating the industry with global powerhouse brands like Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim and more. What’s more, we do it all with an emphasis on employee growth and happiness. Drive your future forward and join Cox Automotive today!

About Cox
Cox empowers employees to build a better future and has been doing so for over 120 years. With exciting investments and innovations across transportation, communications, cleantech and healthcare, our family of businesses – which includes Cox Automotive and Cox Communications – is forging a better future for us all. Ready to make your mark? Join us today!