Data Architect (Volunteer)

Role ID: TAIRC-ROLE-019.1 Department: Applied AI Engineering Engagement Type: Volunteer (unpaid) Work Arrangement: Remote. Working hours are aligned to US Eastern Time (EST/EDT); the exact schedule is agreed with your supervisor at onboarding. Duration and Time: Initial 6-month volunteer term, which may be extended by mutual agreement. Weekly time commitment is agreed at onboarding and should be realistic for you. Compensation: Unpaid volunteer opportunity. TAIRC is currently in a pre-funding stage and is building its funding base. No salary, stipend, or other compensation is offered at this stage. Supervision: Review and guidance from the Director of Engineering (TAIRC-ROLE-003) or a designated engineering lead, confirmed at onboarding. About TAIRC The AI Research Center, Inc. (TAIRC) is a nonprofit research organization advancing transparent evaluation, responsible governance, and public-interest AI infrastructure. Our work focuses on helping institutions and communities better understand AI systems, evaluate their limitations, and translate research into responsible practice. TAIRC connects technical research with public communication, accessibility, governance, and human accountability. We aim to make AI research more transparent, understandable, and useful for the public good. This position is with TAIRC, not Metasys. Metasys supports the recruitment and administrative process on behalf of TAIRC. Position Overview TAIRC is seeking a Data Architect volunteer to help design data models, pipelines, and governance structures that give TAIRC's datasets clear provenance, licensing, quality, and documentation. TAIRC's published research agenda does not mean that every program is funded, staffed, or complete. Specific assignments are confirmed at onboarding, and volunteer work is not presented as approved TAIRC research or institutional findings until it has been reviewed.

Responsibilities

• Data Modeling: Design conceptual, logical, and physical data models for research datasets and operational data.
• Pipelines: Design ETL/ELT approaches that aggregate and transform data from multiple sources reproducibly.
• Governance: Help define data governance, privacy, access-control, and quality standards.
• Provenance and Licensing: Design metadata structures that record source, license, intended use, and version.
• Retention: Propose retention, archiving, and deletion approaches.
• AI Data Preparation: Outline data flows for evaluation, retrieval, and model experiments, including logging of AI interactions for audit.
• Documentation: Produce data dictionaries and decision records.

Qualifications

• Experience with data modeling and SQL.
• Understanding of relational databases and data warehousing concepts.
• Proficiency in Python or SQL for data transformation.
• Awareness of data privacy principles such as GDPR.
• Ability to work remotely during US Eastern Time (EST/EDT) hours and to collaborate asynchronously with a distributed team.
• Understanding and acceptance that this is an unpaid volunteer opportunity at this stage.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with PostgreSQL.
• Experience with data pipeline tools.
• Familiarity with metadata and dataset documentation standards.
• Interest in ethical data and licensing.

Learning and Contribution Opportunities

Through this opportunity, volunteers may gain experience in:

• Designing data foundations for transparent AI research.
• Applying provenance and licensing practices.
• Practicing privacy-aware data design.
• Collaborating remotely with data and governance contributors.

Engagement and Compensation Disclosure TAIRC is currently building its funding base. This is a volunteer opportunity, and no salary, stipend, or other compensation is offered at this stage. Any future paid appointment would depend on available funding, organizational approval, applicable legal compliance, and a separate written agreement. Participation does not guarantee future employment or compensation. This is a volunteer contribution, not an employment relationship or a formal educational internship. Volunteers contribute by choice, may step back at any time with reasonable notice, and are asked to keep time commitments realistic. Applicants who need academic credit may inquire, but credit is not guaranteed and would require a separate arrangement with their institution. Equal Opportunity and Accessibility TAIRC evaluates candidates based on role-related skills, relevant experience, and documented review criteria. Decisions must not be based on protected personal characteristics. Applicants who need an accommodation or an alternative application format may contact hr@tairc.com. How to Express Interest Candidates interested in contributing to TAIRC's data architecture and governance work may contact hr@tairc.com with questions about the opportunity.