Location: London (2-3 days on site)
Department: Data & Analytics

About the Role
We are looking for a skilled and strategic Data Architect to lead the design and implementation of scalable, secure, and high-performing data solutions across our cloud environment. In this role, you will play a critical part in shaping our enterprise data architecture using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Fabric, and related technologies.

Core Responsibilities

• Architectural Strategy & Planning
• Develop and define the architectural strategy for data.
• Align data architecture with overall business goals.
• Produce blueprints and oversee data storage, integration, and processing across systems.
• Governance & Compliance
• Deliver a data governance framework over 12 months.
• Define and implement governance policies, best practices, data ownership, and frameworks.
• Focus on compliance, particularly around GDPR and privacy regulations.
• Create documentation, glossaries, dictionaries, and data policies.
• Collaboration
• Work closely with data engineers to ensure proper implementation of data architecture.
• Liaise directly with business teams to understand and translate their needs into data solutions.
• Support cross-functional collaboration across systems and teams.
• Data Management
• Define metadata management practices and data lineage tracking.
• Support Master Data Management (MDM) across different technologies and centralize data in a unified system.
• Maintain and monitor data platforms, pipelines, and warehouses (eg, ADF, ETL, Power BI).
• Tooling & Infrastructure
• Recommend and implement suitable tools for data governance and architecture.
• Flexibility to introduce new tools or technologies as needed.
• Must work with existing Microsoft Azure-based environment.

Key Requirements

• Essential Skills
• Strong understanding of data modelling, data lineage, and metadata management.
• Experience in data governance and privacy/compliance practices (eg, GDPR).
• Ability to build data workflows, processes, and maintain technical documentation.
• Familiarity with tools like Kafka (preferred).
• Technical Background
• Microsoft Azure data stack experience is essential (non-negotiable).
• Broad understanding of unstructured and structured data systems.
• No requirement for a specific educational background, but strong business acumen is key.