Highlights
Define and evolve the organization's knowledge architecture - the structures, systems, and processes that enable knowledge creation, classification, retrieval, and reuse. * Familiarity with AI-adjacent knowledge representation - including knowledge graph integration with LLMs, RAG pipelines, or semantic search architectures.
Numbers & Facts
| Location | Austin |
| Industry | Computer/IT Services |
| Company Size | 500 to 999 employees |
| Year Founded | 2004 |
| Website | http://www.spectraforce.com |
Description
Job Role : Taxonomist/KM Manager
Duration: 12 months
Location:Hybrid in Austin, Westlake,TX , Denver, CO Pheonix, AZ onsite 4 x weekly
Preferred Qualifications:
* Experience implementing or governingtaxonomy/ontology programs in financial services, healthcare, or large-scale enterprise environments
* Familiarity with AI-adjacent knowledge representation - including knowledge graph integration with LLMs, RAG pipelines, or semantic search architectures
* Experience with localization or multilingual taxonomy design across multiple locales
* Exposure to Agile or DevSecOps practices in a data engineering or platform context
* Track record of building taxonomy/ontology programs from greenfield - defining scope, tooling, governance, and stakeholder buy-in
* Experience with authority control, entity resolution, or identity management
Role Description by domains:
Taxonomy & Controlled Vocabulary Design
* Design, build, and maintain enterprise taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, and hierarchical classification systems across content and data domains
* Conduct content inventories, gap analyses, and requirements gathering to inform taxonomy structure and scope
* Define vocabulary standards, preferred/alternate terms, broader/narrower relationships, and cross-references aligned with industry standards (ANSI/NISO Z39.19, ISO 25964)
* Develop and enforce metadata schemas and tagging guidelines to support consistent content classification across platforms
* Train stakeholders and content teams in taxonomy application and metadata best practices
Ontology & Knowledge Graph Engineering
* Design and implement ontologies using Semantic Web standards (RDF/RDFS, OWL, SKOS) to model domain knowledge and entity relationships
* Develop and maintain knowledge graphs that integrate taxonomies, ontologies, and instance data to support AI, search, and analytics use cases
* Create, validate, and govern ontology change requests; own ontology tooling requirements and process improvements
* Perform authority control and entity management for organizational entities (people, organizations, products, concepts)
* Apply validation and reasoning standards (SHACL, SPIN) to ensure ontology integrity and consistency
Knowledge Management & Information Architecture
* Define and evolve the organization's knowledge architecture - the structures, systems, and processes that enable knowledge creation, classification, retrieval, and reuse
* Partner with data management, search, product management, ML, and engineering teams to implement standardized vocabularies and semantic models in data consumption experiences
* Map unstructured data to structured semantic models that integrate with data infrastructure and AI/ML pipelines
* Establish metadata standards, modeling guidelines, and data lineage documentation in collaboration with data governance and engineering teams
* Support knowledge organization workshops to align enterprise taxonomy and data models across business units
Governance & Stakeholder Enablement
* Develop and manage taxonomy and ontology governance processes, including change management, review cycles, and versioning
* Perform regular audits of information architecture to maintain compliance and optimize classification performance
* Write process documentation, governance standards, and training materials for taxonomy and metadata programs
* Serve as a cross-functional SME, bridging taxonomy design with data engineering, content strategy, and product teams
* Communicate ontology and taxonomy design decisions to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
Core Expertise Requirements
* 5-7+ years in taxonomy design ontology engineering, knowledge management, or information architecture
* Demonstrated experience designing and governing enterprise-scale taxonomies and controlled vocabularies
* Proficiency with Semantic Web standards: RDF/RDFS, OWL, SKOS, SPARQL, SHACL
* Experience developing or contributing to knowledge graphs or ontology-backed data models
* Familiarity with metadata schema standards (Dublin Core, Schema.org, BIBFRAME, or domain equivalents)
* Background in data modeling methodologies (conceptual, logical, physical; 3NF, Data Vault, XML Schema)
* Experience with industry ontology frameworks relevant to the domain (e.g., FIBO for financial services, ISO 20022)
Education
* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Library & Information Science, Computer Science, Linguistics, Information Systems, or a related field
* Equivalent professional experience in knowledge engineering or taxonomy management accepted
Proficiency Needed
Tools & Technologies
Ontology & Taxonomy Management
* PoolParty Semantic Suite
* Protege
* TopBraid Composer / TopQuadrant products
* Palantir Foundry
Semantic Web & Data Standards
* RDF / RDFS / OWL / SKOS
* SPARQL, SHACL, SPIN
* Schema.org, Dublin Core, BIBFRAME
* FIBO, ISO 20022 (financial domain)
Data & Engineering (Good to have - not needed per se)
* Python, R, or equivalent scripting
* SQL / GraphQL
* GraphDB or equivalent triplestore
* Git / CI-CD pipelines
* JSON / structured data formats
Content & Knowledge Platforms (Good to have - not needed per se)
* CMS and DAM platforms
* Enterprise knowledge management systems
Duration: 12 months
Location:Hybrid in Austin, Westlake,TX , Denver, CO Pheonix, AZ onsite 4 x weekly
Preferred Qualifications:
* Experience implementing or governingtaxonomy/ontology programs in financial services, healthcare, or large-scale enterprise environments
* Familiarity with AI-adjacent knowledge representation - including knowledge graph integration with LLMs, RAG pipelines, or semantic search architectures
* Experience with localization or multilingual taxonomy design across multiple locales
* Exposure to Agile or DevSecOps practices in a data engineering or platform context
* Track record of building taxonomy/ontology programs from greenfield - defining scope, tooling, governance, and stakeholder buy-in
* Experience with authority control, entity resolution, or identity management
Role Description by domains:
Taxonomy & Controlled Vocabulary Design
* Design, build, and maintain enterprise taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, and hierarchical classification systems across content and data domains
* Conduct content inventories, gap analyses, and requirements gathering to inform taxonomy structure and scope
* Define vocabulary standards, preferred/alternate terms, broader/narrower relationships, and cross-references aligned with industry standards (ANSI/NISO Z39.19, ISO 25964)
* Develop and enforce metadata schemas and tagging guidelines to support consistent content classification across platforms
* Train stakeholders and content teams in taxonomy application and metadata best practices
Ontology & Knowledge Graph Engineering
* Design and implement ontologies using Semantic Web standards (RDF/RDFS, OWL, SKOS) to model domain knowledge and entity relationships
* Develop and maintain knowledge graphs that integrate taxonomies, ontologies, and instance data to support AI, search, and analytics use cases
* Create, validate, and govern ontology change requests; own ontology tooling requirements and process improvements
* Perform authority control and entity management for organizational entities (people, organizations, products, concepts)
* Apply validation and reasoning standards (SHACL, SPIN) to ensure ontology integrity and consistency
Knowledge Management & Information Architecture
* Define and evolve the organization's knowledge architecture - the structures, systems, and processes that enable knowledge creation, classification, retrieval, and reuse
* Partner with data management, search, product management, ML, and engineering teams to implement standardized vocabularies and semantic models in data consumption experiences
* Map unstructured data to structured semantic models that integrate with data infrastructure and AI/ML pipelines
* Establish metadata standards, modeling guidelines, and data lineage documentation in collaboration with data governance and engineering teams
* Support knowledge organization workshops to align enterprise taxonomy and data models across business units
Governance & Stakeholder Enablement
* Develop and manage taxonomy and ontology governance processes, including change management, review cycles, and versioning
* Perform regular audits of information architecture to maintain compliance and optimize classification performance
* Write process documentation, governance standards, and training materials for taxonomy and metadata programs
* Serve as a cross-functional SME, bridging taxonomy design with data engineering, content strategy, and product teams
* Communicate ontology and taxonomy design decisions to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership
Core Expertise Requirements
* 5-7+ years in taxonomy design ontology engineering, knowledge management, or information architecture
* Demonstrated experience designing and governing enterprise-scale taxonomies and controlled vocabularies
* Proficiency with Semantic Web standards: RDF/RDFS, OWL, SKOS, SPARQL, SHACL
* Experience developing or contributing to knowledge graphs or ontology-backed data models
* Familiarity with metadata schema standards (Dublin Core, Schema.org, BIBFRAME, or domain equivalents)
* Background in data modeling methodologies (conceptual, logical, physical; 3NF, Data Vault, XML Schema)
* Experience with industry ontology frameworks relevant to the domain (e.g., FIBO for financial services, ISO 20022)
Education
* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Library & Information Science, Computer Science, Linguistics, Information Systems, or a related field
* Equivalent professional experience in knowledge engineering or taxonomy management accepted
Proficiency Needed
Tools & Technologies
Ontology & Taxonomy Management
* PoolParty Semantic Suite
* Protege
* TopBraid Composer / TopQuadrant products
* Palantir Foundry
Semantic Web & Data Standards
* RDF / RDFS / OWL / SKOS
* SPARQL, SHACL, SPIN
* Schema.org, Dublin Core, BIBFRAME
* FIBO, ISO 20022 (financial domain)
Data & Engineering (Good to have - not needed per se)
* Python, R, or equivalent scripting
* SQL / GraphQL
* GraphDB or equivalent triplestore
* Git / CI-CD pipelines
* JSON / structured data formats
Content & Knowledge Platforms (Good to have - not needed per se)
* CMS and DAM platforms
* Enterprise knowledge management systems
About Company
Spectraforce is a leading global services firm that provides a portfolio of Consulting, Staffing and Outsourcing services & solutions to a broad range of clients and industries worldwide. We are headquartered in Raleigh, NC, USA and have offshore global delivery centers at Pune, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad, India. At Spectraforce we have a Philosophy - a Philosophy that excellence is derived through dedicated, focused and innovative work. We also believe that knowledge comes through sharing and growth comes to every organization where people use knowledge in team work. A progressive culture and a world of possibilities is what you see with us.