Salesforce Data Cloud Architect

We are looking for an experienced Salesforce Data Cloud Architect / Engineer to provide hands-on technical and architectural support for enterprise Salesforce Data Cloud initiatives. This is a contract opportunity for someone who can work independently across Data Cloud architecture, data modeling, ingestion, identity resolution, segmentation, activation, integrations, and troubleshooting. The ideal candidate combines strong Salesforce Data Cloud expertise with a software/data engineering background and is comfortable working across Salesforce, APIs, cloud data platforms, and enterprise integration patterns. You should be equally comfortable discussing architecture and getting hands-on with configurations, SQL, APIs, data pipelines, and troubleshooting. ## Responsibilities * Design and implement Salesforce Data Cloud solutions * Configure and optimize Data Streams, Data Lake Objects (DLOs), Data Model Objects (DMOs), Data Actions, and Calculated Insights * Design identity resolution rules and unified customer profiles * Build customer segmentation and activation strategies * Configure batch and near-real-time data ingestion patterns * Design integrations between Data Cloud and Salesforce applications, APIs, data warehouses, and external systems * Support Data Cloud integrations with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Agentforce, and other Salesforce products * Troubleshoot ingestion, mapping, identity resolution, segmentation, and activation issues * Write and optimize complex SQL queries for data analysis and transformation * Support ETL/ELT pipelines and data processing workflows * Design scalable data models and Customer 360 architectures * Implement data quality, governance, security, privacy, and consent management practices * Support REST API integrations and modern authentication patterns * Review Data Cloud consumption and identify opportunities to optimize credit usage * Establish monitoring, logging, testing, and production-support practices * Create technical architecture diagrams and implementation documentation * Participate in technical discovery and architecture discussions * Translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions * Provide recommendations based on Salesforce and enterprise architecture best practices ## Required Experience * 2+ years of hands-on Salesforce Data Cloud experience * Strong knowledge of: * Data Streams * DLOs and DMOs * Identity Resolution * Unified Profiles * Calculated Insights * Segmentation * Activation Targets * Data Actions * Data Cloud ingestion patterns * Strong Salesforce architecture and platform knowledge * Strong SQL skills, including: * Complex joins * CTEs * Window functions * Aggregations * Data transformations * Query optimization * Experience designing and consuming REST APIs * Experience integrating Salesforce with external enterprise systems * Strong understanding of ETL/ELT and enterprise data integration * Experience with at least one cloud data platform such as: * Snowflake * Databricks * BigQuery * Understanding of source control, CI/CD, testing, debugging, logging, and production support * Ability to troubleshoot complex data and integration issues independently * Strong written and verbal communication skills ## Strongly Preferred * 5+ years of Salesforce architecture, development, integration, or solution-design experience * Prior experience as a: * Software Engineer * Data Engineer * Integration Engineer * Salesforce Developer * Solution Architect * Python experience for data processing, automation, or ETL/ELT workflows * MuleSoft or similar enterprise integration experience * Salesforce Marketing Cloud experience * Server-Side JavaScript (SSJS) experience * Agentforce / Einstein / Salesforce AI experience * Experience working with large-scale enterprise customer data * Experience designing Customer 360 or Customer Data Platform architectures * Salesforce Data Cloud certifications are a plus ## Engagement This is a contract-based support opportunity with the potential for ongoing work. We are specifically looking for someone who is: * Hands-on rather than purely advisory * Available to collaborate with an existing technical team * Comfortable owning technical problems independently * Able to quickly understand an existing architecture * Responsive and reliable * Comfortable joining technical discussions when needed * Capable of providing both architecture guidance and implementation support ## When Applying Please include: 1. How many years of hands-on Salesforce Data Cloud experience do you have? 2. Describe one Salesforce Data Cloud implementation you personally worked on. 3. Which Data Cloud components did you configure yourself? 4. What is your experience with identity resolution and unified profiles? 5. What is your experience with Calculated Insights, segmentation, and activation? 6. What is your experience integrating Data Cloud with external systems or data warehouses? 7. Rate your SQL experience and briefly describe the most complex SQL/data transformation work you have done. 8. Do you have hands-on experience with Python, MuleSoft, Snowflake, Databricks, or BigQuery? 9. Which Salesforce certifications do you currently hold? 10. What is your current availability and timezone? Important: Please apply only if you have direct, hands-on Salesforce Data Cloud implementation experience. General Salesforce experience without Data Cloud implementation experience will not be sufficient for this engagement.