Ontology, Knowledge Graph & Semantic Layer Lead

About the role

Envision Employment Solutions is recruiting, on behalf of an IT services and IT consulting partner, an Ontology, Knowledge Graph and Semantic Layer Lead for a role based in Riyadh. The position defines, designs and leads the first implementation of an enterprise ontology, knowledge graph and semantic layer programme. It is a foundational, strategic role combining hands-on semantic technology expertise with enterprise architecture experience, and requires someone who has already delivered ontology and knowledge graph programmes at scale.

Key responsibilities

• Define the target state architecture and strategy for the enterprise ontology, knowledge graph and semantic layer
• Design enterprise semantic models, taxonomies and ontologies aligned with business and data domains
• Build the roadmap, governance framework, standards and operating model
• Lead the initial implementation phases and guide the build of foundational ontology and knowledge graph capabilities
• Identify and prioritise business use cases and quick wins
• Align the programme with Data Governance, Metadata Management, MDM, Data Products, Data Catalog and AI initiatives
• Advise on tooling, platform selection and architecture decisions
• Build internal capability through knowledge transfer and mentoring

Required profile

• 10+ years in Data Architecture, Semantic Technologies, Knowledge Engineering and Knowledge Management
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale ontology initiatives, knowledge graph implementations and semantic architecture programmes
• Experience defining target-state enterprise semantic architectures
• Solid understanding of Data Governance, Metadata Management, Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture
• Experience using ontologies and knowledge graphs to power AI, GenAI, RAG, enterprise search and knowledge management
• Excellent stakeholder management, able to engage both executive and technical audiences

Required skills

• Ontology engineering, taxonomy development, knowledge representation, semantic modelling and metadata management
• RDF, OWL, RDFS, SKOS, SPARQL, SHACL, property graphs, LPG and RDF graph models, semantic reasoning and inferencing
• Knowledge graph platforms such as Stardog, GraphDB, TopBraid, PoolParty, Neo4j, Amazon Neptune, Microsoft Fabric / Purview semantic capabilities or the Databricks knowledge graph ecosystem

The role is onsite in Riyadh and is advertised through Envision Employment Solutions; applications are submitted via the recruiter's application process.