Lead Data Architect, Inventor Garage Laboratory

Woven by Toyota is the mobility technology subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. Our mission is to deliver safe, intelligent, human-centered mobility for all. Through our Arene mobility software platform, safety-first automated driving technology and Toyota Woven City — our test course for advanced mobility — we’re bringing greater freedom, safety and happiness to people and society. 
Our unique global culture weaves modern Silicon Valley innovation and time-tested Japanese quality craftsmanship. We leverage these complementary strengths to amplify the capabilities of drivers, foster happiness, and elevate well-being.
TEAMOur experienced engineers are dedicated to simplifying and accelerating innovation for inventors and creators within Woven City, a pioneering Living Laboratory designed to test and evolve cutting-edge technologies in real-world environments. We help inventors and aspiring inventors test ideas and hypotheses across a fully connected ecosystem, leveraging data analytics and experimentation to make the best data-driven decisions. By integrating data-driven methodologies into their product lifecycle, we help them ensure faster, better, and safer product releases.
Our mission is to empower inventors by bringing their ideas to life through a structured, data-centric process within the dynamic environment of Woven City. We are committed to developing a versatile platform that caters to inventors’ diverse needs and cultivating a culture of innovation that minimizes risks, enhances product quality, and fuels advancement across the entire Living Laboratory.
WHO ARE WE LOOKING FORWe seek a motivated and experienced Lead Data Architect to help shape the future of our data initiatives within Woven City. You will be responsible for leading the technical direction of the team to design, build, and deploy scalable data architectures and pipelines that support the city as a Test Course’s diverse data needs. You’ll collaborate with other teams within the Woven City ecosystem to architect and implement secure and scalable data integration layers between various components and our platforms, including data governance and security components.
This role requires a deep understanding of data-intensive applications, scalable data architectures, and modern data management practices. You should have a passion for driving innovation, solving complex data problems within a large-scale environment like Woven City, and mentoring and guiding other engineers. Excellent communication skills are essential, as you will lead discussions with other teams to reach technical agreements.
You will report to the head of department and the work style is hybrid (office and remote).

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the development and deployment of Woven City’s data architecture
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, data scientists, and engineers, to translate high-level goals into actionable data solutions
• Design and architect efficient, scalable systems for data collection, storage, processing, and analytics that cater to Woven City’s needs
• To maintain high standards across the team, implement best practices for data modeling, data quality, testing, and documentation
• Guide and mentor data engineers, fostering technical growth and best practices within the team
• Identify potential technical challenges, mitigate risks, and provide technical support to other teams regarding data architecture
• Conduct code reviews and data architecture reviews and provide guidance on improving system performance, data lifecycle management and data security
• Work closely with teams across the organization to ensure seamless integration with data sources, APIs, and third-party data tools

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• 8+ years of experience in data architecture and data engineering, with a focus on complex, data-intensive applications
• Strong experience with data modeling, database design, and data warehousing solutions
• Expertise in building scalable data architectures and working with big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark)
• Proficiency with relational and NoSQL databases (e.g., PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra)
• Experience with cloud platforms (preferably AWS) and modern DevOps practices (CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code using Terraform)
• Solid understanding of data security, data governance, performance optimization, and scalability in cloud environments
• Proven track record of designing and implementing complex data platforms solving tangible business use cases
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English and Japanese, with a proactive approach to problem-solving

NICE TO HAVES:

• Experience building data platforms for smart cities or large-scale IoT environments
• Experience with data streaming technologies such as Kafka or Kinesis
• Hands-on experience with data processing frameworks/platforms (e.g., Spark, Flink, Databricks)
• Experience with statistical methods and data analysis tools used in large-scale environments
• Experience in traditional business intelligence, coming up with or understanding strategies around structured dashboarding
• Some experience with LLM prompt-engineering, and the langchain ecosystem (e.g., PineCone, AutoGPT, PromptLayer, LlamaIndex)

All interviews will be arranged via Google Meet, unless otherwise stated.
WHAT WE OFFER・Competitive Salary – Based on experience・Work Hours – Flexible working time with NO core-hours・Paid Holiday – 20 days per year (prorated)・Sick Leave – 6 days per year (prorated)・Holiday – Sat & Sun, Japanese National Holidays, and other days defined by our company・Japanese Social Security – all applicable (Health Insurance, Pension, Workers’ Comp, and Unemployment Insurance, Long-term care insurance)・In-house Training Program (software study/language study)
Our Commitment・We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity.・Any information we receive from you will be used only in the hiring and onboarding process. Please see our privacy notice for more details.