AI Data Lead

Who we are
You know those big cities that still feel like small towns? Where everyone’s friendly and helps each other out? That’s like Doane Grant Thornton. Except here we’re all professionals and there isn’t a mayor or a general store. What we’re trying to say is that we’re a large and growing professional services firm that still feels like a community. We employ about 3000 people across Canada, and we truly care about our colleagues, our clients and the communities where we work and live. That’s what’s most important to us. We’re building a thriving organization that’s purpose driven and still want to remember what your favourite milkshake flavour is.

The AI Data Lead is responsible for ensuring the organization’s data is operationally ready to support modern AI applications and agents. This role sits at the intersection of data architecture, data engineering, and applied AI, with a specific focus on ensuring we can provide AI systems with trusted, relevant, and current organizational knowledge, while meeting governance, privacy, and performance requirements.

You will partner with Software Engineering teams building AI-enabled products and solutions, work in tandem with Data Governance and Data Privacy to ensure compliance and control and collaborate with Business Transformation to identify high-value use cases and ensure measurable business outcomes.

This role is ideal for an experienced technical professional who can use their hands-on data engineering expertise, their knowledge of Microsoft systems, and their collaborative nature to prepare the firms data for the age of AI.

As an AI Data Lead your responsibilities will include:
• Lead the design of the firm’s AI data architecture, establishing standards and best practices
• Build and maintain an AI-ready data foundation that enables trusted, secure, and governed access to enterprise information and knowledge.
• Establish the architecture for AI data access including structured, and unstructured sources (e.g. data Warehouse/Lakehouse, document repositories, collaboration tools, CRM/ERP)
• Identify and resolve gaps that hinder AI performance (remove redundant data, ensure currency, validate fields against design, enforce system of record policies)
• Build and maintain ETL pipelines to extract, clean and transform data from existing sources into AI ready formats
• Document data sources, schemas and transformation logic so pipelines are reproducible and maintainable
• Work closely with Data Governance to enhance our data catalogue and glossary, and to identify and resolve data quality issues
• Work with Data Privacy to ensure AI data use complies with privacy, retention, access policies, and regulatory needs
• Collaborate with the Business Transformation team to prioritize the highest-value use cases.
• Drive innovation through proofs of concept, pilot programs, and technical leadership, while partnering with internal stakeholders, project teams, and external solution providers to deliver business outcomes.

Doane Grant Thornton
If you’re a bit like us, you’re driven to connect with how others are feeling and thinking. Here we walk in others shoes before taking action. Just imagine being part of a team that puts “we before me”, where flexAbility is a mindset, and where you trust your colleagues to have your back. At Doane Grant Thornton, you’ll work with inspiring leaders who support your development, both personally and professionally. This is a place where your insatiable curiosity enables you to think, see and hear from a variety of perspectives, a place where every day is different and having the courage to grow is part of who you are. And when all this comes together, well that’s when the magic happens!

Want to learn more about who we are and how we live our purple every day? Read our colleagues’ stories at www.discoveryourpurple.ca

Think you’ve got what it takes to be an AI Data Lead? Like the colour purple? Great. Here's a few more boxes we’re also hoping you can tick:
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related STEM discipline. Master's degree in Computer Science is preferred.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in Data Engineering, Data Architecture, Analytics Engineering, or Cloud Data Platforms.
• Demonstrated experience designing modern data architectures and building enterprise data integration and pipeline solutions that support analytics, AI, and business systems such as ERP and CRM platforms.
• Strong hands experience with data technologies: data warehousing, data lakes, query, processing, orchestration, governance and visualization (experience with Microsoft Data technologies strongly preferred)
• Strong understanding of data governance, quality, metadata, master data management, and security and compliance principles.
• Strong hands-on experience with Microsoft Data technologies strongly preferred (Data Factory, Databricks, Synapse, Fabric, Power BI and Azure SQL) or related
• Hands-on experience implementing enterprise AI, generative AI, intelligent automation, and data governance solutions using Microsoft technologies including Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, and Microsoft Purview.
• Proven ability implementing AI-ready data foundations for Copilot or enterprise AI initiatives.

At Doane Grant Thornton we’re focused on making a difference in the lives of our clients, our colleagues and our communities. That’s our purpose. Or, as we like to say, living our purple.

What's in it for you?

Profit sharing, Flex days, RRSP contributions, Firmwide holiday closure, Wellness benefits, Concierge-like benefits, Work from anywhere in Canada in the summer for 4 weeks, and more!

At Doane Grant Thornton, we believe compensation should reflect more than just market data—it should reflect you. We’re serious about compensation. We benchmark regularly across a wide spectrum of roles, industries, sectors, and levels to ensure our ranges are both competitive and current. But we don’t stop there. We also consider the unique strengths, experiences, and impact each individual brings to the table. Our salary ranges are reviewed annually, and where you land within the range depends on a mix of factors—your background, your skills, and how your contributions align with internal equity. To help start the conversation, the current salary range for this role is $101,900–$140,100 in Toronto. If the role is available in other locations, the range may differ to reflect local market factors.

Our special culture shines through when we have the opportunity to connect in person. That’s why we’re working in a model where teams are required to be together in the office 4 days per week.

Are you ready to Discover Your Purple?