AEP/AJO Architect

About the Role

A leading national retailer is looking for a hands-on Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) and Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO) Architect to design, build, and scale its enterprise Customer Data Platform (CDP) ecosystem.

This is not a slides-only architect role. You’ll work directly in schema design, dataset configuration, identity resolution, segmentation logic, and journey orchestration alongside the engineering team. You’ll also own the architectural blueprint for how AEP integrates with the broader data and MarTech landscape.

What You’ll Do

Real-Time CDP Design & Implementation

• Architect and configure Real-Time CDP, including XDM schemas, class and field group design, datasets, identity namespaces, and identity graph strategy
• Design and build streaming and batch audience segmentation, merge policies, and profile fragment strategy
• Implement data governance, including data usage labels (DULE), sandboxes (dev/stage/prod), and access controls

Data Modeling & Ingestion

• Design canonical and source-aligned XDM schemas that scale across business units, brands, and data domains
• Architect ingestion pipelines from batch (CSV, Parquet, cloud storage), streaming (Web/Mobile SDK, server-side), and API-based sources
• Define and enforce data quality, deduplication, and identity stitching rules across first-, second-, and third-party data
• Partner with data engineering on source-to-target mapping and align CDP data models with the enterprise data warehouse/lakehouse

Platform Setup & Administration

• Lead end-to-end platform provisioning, including sandbox strategy, environment promotion, role management, and governance frameworks
• Establish CI/CD and configuration-as-code practices for schemas, datasets, and segments
• Monitor platform health, data latency, ingestion failures, and segment/profile performance, and drive optimization

Adobe Journey Optimizer

• Architect customer journeys, event-based triggers, and decisioning logic
• Design cross-channel orchestration across email, push, SMS, in-app, direct mail, and paid/offline channels via Destinations
• Integrate AJO with RT CDP profiles and audiences and with external channel and partner systems

Enterprise Integration

• Define reusable integration patterns connecting AEP with:
• Upstream sources: CRM, POS, e-commerce, mobile apps, web analytics, IoT/offline systems
• Downstream destinations: ad platforms, ESPs, data warehouses, personalization engines, and other MarTech/AdTech tools
• Architect real-time and batch activation through Adobe Destinations (Streaming, Batch, Cloud Storage) and custom/webhook destinations
• Set standards for API-led connectivity, event-driven architecture, and pub/sub patterns
• Ensure solutions meet privacy, consent, and compliance requirements (GDPR/CCPA)

Leadership & Collaboration

• Serve as the technical authority on AEP/AJO for engineering, marketing, and data teams
• Mentor implementation engineers and developers on best practices
• Partner with Adobe account teams on roadmap, platform limits, and escalations

Required Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on experience with Adobe Experience Platform (Real-Time CDP) and Adobe Journey Optimizer in production environments
• Strong expertise in XDM schema design, identity resolution and identity graphs, streaming and batch segmentation, and profile management
• Proven experience with AEP ingestion methods: Source Connectors, Streaming Ingestion API, Batch Ingestion API, and Web/Mobile SDKs
• Solid grasp of enterprise data architecture patterns, including event-driven design, API integration, ETL/ELT, and pub/sub
• Experience integrating AEP with CRM, DMPs, CDPs, ESPs, ad platforms, and data warehouses/lakehouses (Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, etc.)
• Working knowledge of Adobe Analytics, Adobe Target, and Customer Journey Analytics (CJA) for integration context
• Proficiency in JSON, JavaScript, and SQL, and familiarity with Postman or other API testing tools
• Understanding of how data privacy and consent frameworks are put into practice in AEP (DULE, consent flags)
• Experience with AWS, Azure, or GCP data pipelines feeding AEP
• Strong stakeholder communication, with the ability to translate business requirements into technical architecture and back
• Comfort with ambiguity on a fast-evolving platform
• Disciplined documentation habits: architecture diagrams, data dictionaries, and integration runbooks

Preferred Qualifications

• Adobe Certified Expert: AEP Architect and/or AJO certification
• Experience with Adobe Experience Platform APIs and Adobe I/O
• Familiarity with Composable CDP / Federated Audience Composition
• Background in customer data strategy, MDM, or non-Adobe identity/CDP platforms (Treasure Data, Segment, mParticle, Tealium)