Senior Data Architect - Semantics & Know

At Bayer we’re visionaries, driven to solve the world’s toughest challenges and striving for a world where ‘Health for all, Hunger for none’ is no longer a dream, but a real possibility. We’re doing it with energy, curiosity and sheer dedication, always learning from unique perspectives of those around us, expanding our thinking, growing our capabilities and redefining ‘impossible’. There are so many reasons to join us. If you’re hungry to build a varied and meaningful career in a community of brilliant and diverse minds to make a real difference, there’s only one choice.

Senior Data Architect - Semantics & Know

Purpose

As a Senior Data Architect for Semantics & Knowledge Engineering, you are part of Bayer's Data & AI Team that co-creates domain-specific data products that provide timely, high-quality data to scientists, analysts, and AI agents, with a strong emphasis on semantics as the foundation for AI-readiness.

You elicit, structure, and formalize knowledge from domain experts and diverse sources to build ontologies, semantic layers, and knowledge graphs that form the connective tissue of an integrated pharmaceutical data landscape. Your work directly enables secondary data use, self-service analytics, and agentic AI capabilities. This role operates at the intersection of knowledge engineering and data architecture, combining formal knowledge representation with pragmatic, engineering-driven delivery in a cloud-based environment.

Your Tasks & Responsibilities:

Data Modelling

• Design and implement conceptual, logical, and physical data models and semantic layers to enable consistent use.

• Design, build and maintain ontologies, taxonomies, and knowledge graphs using both triple stores and labeled-property graph technologies, including virtual knowledge graph approaches where appropriate.

• Collaborate with domain experts, data scientists, data engineers, and product teams to elicit tacit knowledge, validate knowledge representations, and ensure accuracy and completeness.

Data Integration

• Deliver well-designed solutions to integrate, unify and synchronize data across systems.

• Design data-oriented APIs and integration patterns that decouple data from source systems and make knowledge structures interoperable and consumable by humans, systems, and AI agents.

Software Engineering

• Monitoring of emerging technologies and frameworks in knowledge engineering, data integration, and semantic AI.

• Active participation in code reviews and collaborative engineering practices to ensure quality of deliverables.

Data Strategy

• Drive cross-team alignment on data and knowledge architecture decisions spanning both long-term ambition and near-term execution.

• Active alignment of data initiatives with business, digital, and IT strategies to ensure the respective needs are addressed most efficiently and effectively.

Data Governance & Standards Leadership

• Embrace FAIR Data Principles and Linked Data standards to promote a data culture that shifts from siloed thinking to networked, democratized data use.

Data Security & Compliance

• Design and implement appropriate measure to protect data fromunauthorized access, corruption, or theft, ultimately ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data to maintain trust in data and prevent legal, operational, regulatory and financial risks.

Qualifications & Competencies (education, skills, experience):

Required:

• Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, information science, knowledge engineering, computational linguistics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

• Proficiency in designing and implementing data models (conceptual, logical, and physical)

• Advanced knowledge of ontologies and taxonomies with proficiency in Semantic Web technologies, standards, and tools (e.f. RDF, OWL, SHACL, SPARQL, TopBraid EDG)

• Proficiency with graph databases covering both triple stores and labeled-property graph systems, including virtual knowledge graph technologies such as Ontop or Stardog

• Extensive experience API design patterns such as REST and GraphQL

• Strong engineering skills (data engineering, software engineering, or cloud engineering)

• Proficiency in at least one programming language, along with basic Git version control practices

• In-depth knowledge of FAIR Data Principles, Linked Data principles, and Data Mesh architecture concepts, with demonstrated ability to apply them in practice

• Strong analytical and communication skills

• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment

• High level of accuracy and attention to detail

Preferred

• Experience with semantic layer concepts in modern data platforms such as Databricks, Snowflake, or Microsoft Fabric

• Familiarity with information retrieval systems such as Elasticsearch

• Familiarity with Data Governance solutions (e.g. Collibra)

• Experience designing and implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers

• Hands-on experience with GraphRAG solution design and implementation

• Skills in knowledge retrieval from unstructured data sources

• Understanding of data security principles and practices

• Knowledge of data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA)

• Foundational cloud engineering experience (e.g. AWS, Azure)

• Familiarity with CI/CD practices, for example using GitHub Actions

• Knowledge in the pharmaceutical domain (e.g. LOINC, SNOMED CT, omics, targets, assays, clinical studies, RWE, etc.)

What do We offer:

• A flexible, hybrid work model

• Great workplace in a new modern office in Warsaw

• Career development, 360° Feedback & Mentoring programme

• Wide access to professional development tools, trainings, & conferences

• Company Bonus & Reward Structure

• VIP Medical Care Package (including Dental & Mental health)

• Holiday allowance ("Wczasy pod gruszą")

• Life & Travel Insurance

• Pension plan

• Co-financed sport card - FitProfit

• Meals Subsidy in Office

• Additional days off

• Budget for Home Office Setup & Maintenance

• Access to Company Game Room equipped with table tennis, soccer table, Sony PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles setup with premium game passes, and massage chairs

• Tailored-made support in relocation to Warsaw when needed

• Please send your CV in English

• You feel you do not meet all criteria we are looking for? That doesn't mean you aren't the right fit for the role. Apply with confidence, we value potential over perfection.

WORK LOCATION: WARSAW AL.JEROZOLIMSKIE 158

YOUR APPLICATION

Bayer welcomes applications from all individuals, regardless of race, national origin, gender, age, physical characteristics, social origin, disability, union membership, religion, family status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or any unlawful criterion under applicable law. We are committed to treating all applicants fairly and avoiding discrimination.

Bayer is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations in its application process for individuals with disabilities and encourages applicants with disabilities to request any needed accommodation(s) using the contact information below.

Bayer offers the possibility of working in a hybrid model. We know how important work-life balance is, so our employees can work from home, from the office or combine both work environments. The possibilities of using the hybrid model are each time discussed with the manager. Bayer respects and applies the Whistleblower Act in Poland.

Location: Warsaw Division: Pharmaceuticals IT Reference Code: 868627

Location: Warsaw

Division: Pharmaceuticals IT

Reference Code: 868627