Cognos Business Intelligence Analyst

Data & Reporting, Master Data Management (MDM) Location: Austin or Cupertino Duration: Long term About the Role: We are seeking a highly skilled hybrid Project Manager and Data Analyst with practical hands-on experience to lead and execute Master Data Management (MDM) initiatives with our Core Data team on a contract basis. This team is responsible for delivering high-quality data solutions and services that support business strategy and operations. This dual-hat role is critical in helping us assess the gap between our current data infrastructure and our defined future state, while simultaneously driving the project to completion. The successful candidate will not only manage project timelines, resources, and risks, but also roll up their sleeves to perform detailed analysis of existing data. You will identify where changes are needed to support future business capabilities, evaluate potential business impacts, determine the scale and severity of those impacts, and recommend practical approaches to mitigate them. The role will be based out of our Austin offices., * End-to-End Project Management: Lead the planning, execution, and delivery of MDM initiatives. Develop project plans, manage sprint schedules, track milestones, and proactively identify and mitigate project risks.

• Impact Assessment & Gap Analysis: Analyze current-state data against future-state MDM needs, identifying deltas, assessing business impact severity, and proposing mitigation strategies to keep the project on track.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication: Facilitate harmonization discussions with global business teams and support governance forums to align on key MDM attributes. Provide regular status updates, executive summaries, and risk assessments to leadership and steering committees.
• Data Profiling & Availability Analysis: Partner with SMEs and business stakeholders to understand current data structures, availability, and gaps, translating these findings into actionable project requirements.
• Integration & Transformation Design: Define, document, and manage the requirements for data integration, migration, transformation, and current-to-future state mapping
• Data Quality Evaluation: Assess and document the quality of key MDM attributes, define data quality rules, and collaborate with data quality analysts and business partners to drive improvements.
• Testing, Validation & UAT: Manage and actively participate in the validation of new or transformed data sets. Oversee User Acceptance Testing (UAT) to ensure data integrity and alignment with business requirements before deployment.

• Project Management Expertise: Proven track record of managing complex data, MDM , or governance projects. Strong proficiency in Agile/Scrum methodologies and project management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, MS Project).
• Master Data & Governance: Deep understanding of master data management principles, data governance frameworks, and large-scale data quality improvement initiatives.
• Impact & Business Analysis Skills: Proven ability to capture/document requirements, assess business impacts and tradeoffs, and align stakeholders through interviews, workshops, and requirements harmonization.
• Technical Data Skills: * Hands-on experience with data profiling, source system analysis, and KPI definition . * Strong SQL & Python expertise and experience querying large, complex data sets. * Familiarity with at least one analytics platform (e.g., Hadoop, Spark, Snowflake). * Experience with BI tools such as Tableau, ThoughtSpot, or Business Objects.
• Data Architecture & Quality: Understanding of data architecture principles, data lineage, and experience maintaining data dictionaries/definitions.
• Tools & Platforms: Exposure to tools such as Collibra, Data Hub (or equivalent for governance and data quality) alongside standard PM software.
• Collaboration & Communication: Ability to navigate a matrixed organization, work across time zones, drive consensus among competing priorities, and build strong stakeholder relationships.
• Execution & Accountability: Strong problem-solving skills with a track record of delivering results on time and within budget in large, complex programs.

Education & Experience 5+ years of combined experience in project management and data analysis, specifically focused on data-related initiatives, MDM, or data governance. Project Management certifications (e.g., PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP) are highly preferred. Industry-standard certifications in data management or analytics preferred. Deep familiarity with D&B data architecture, hierarchies, and enrichment preferred.