Data Architect
19 hours ago
Coventry
The Data Architect will play a pivotal role in the selection of best-fit tooling/platforms to support strategic objectives. You will provide the foundations for usability including definition of design types and patterns, reusability and lifecycle management for the domain as relevant, to provide secure, reliable and scalable solutions within the data domain. In addition, you will support delivery teams by providing target architecture blueprints and transition architecture to support delivery of a prioritised roadmap. These will be based on a strong understanding of the landscape, including the necessary infrastructure required and the applications/platforms utilised to meet business capabilities. You will take a proactive approach in understanding industry trends and technology developments to inform your architectural decisions, ensuring that selected solutions promote future innovation. Accountabilities • Accountable for ensuring full adherence to all policies and standards., • Accountable for regular completion of audit activities (internal and external)., • Accountable for ensuring knowledge and understanding purpose, values, objectives, and commitments., • Support the interpretation and contextualisation of business strategy and the translation of such strategy into a suite of capabilities., • Collaborate in the IT strategic planning process by providing input to the scope definition of initiatives, leveraging capabilities, creating capability Heatmaps to provide visibility of impacts, dependencies, overlaps and opportunities for technology solutions, to ensure the appropriate investment is secured for any technology changes and that we have the initiatives scoped to take us to the target state., • Provide strategic technical direction across various teams to ensure proposed solutions align with information technology infrastructure, business, and security architectures., • Work across partner organisations to bring market insight and innovation into the technology strategy and ways of working., • Anticipate emerging business trends and regulatory/risk issues as a basis for recommending product, technical, functional or process improvements., • Play a leading role in supporting and developing the Architecture Practice, including participating in Communities of Practice with fellow Enterprise Architects and sharing best practice., • Reduce IT spend and eliminate redundancy by supporting with application consolidation and rationalisation, to then be able to reinvest funds such as in emerging technologies, currently including AI, Machine Learning, Big Data and Cloud initiatives., • Provide technical recommendations and guidance for developing and delivering technology stacks, APIs, governing AI, etc., as well as promoting DevOps practices., • Create and maintain personal contacts with cross-functional Teams using various methods such as attending workshops and system demos, as well as participating in Quarterly Planning to provide as much value as is possible., • Lead SME role in procurement events, supporting the development of technical requirements and questions, evaluating and scoring responses and supporting the contract discussions post award., • Help to realise the architectural vision within the domain, which in turn allows for the Delivery Teams to design, implement, test, and deliver value ensuring built-in quality, whilst ensuring designed solutions continue to align with the broader technical vision., • Create and maintain Data Strategy based on business needs, industry trends and the domain., • Formally establish a Data Governance Framework that clearly defines accountability across the data lifecycle, including classification and storing., • Develop and apply Data-specific Policies and Standards, including addressing data quality, ethical use, access control, security and risk management., • Review and keep current our Data Principles., • Validate our as-is architecture, define our target state and transitional architecture to understand gaps and how the technology roadmap will support reaching the desired target state., • Foster automation and innovation when designing solutions, which in turn result in positive business value and impact., • Define and communicate the architectural roadmap for the domain, ensuring business needs are constantly met and investments are used in the right areas., • Act as a technical authority for Data, including recommending solution options and ensuring designs meet standards defined., • Participate in associated technical design reviews and creation of technical designs where responsible for the domain, i.e. physical and logical data modelling., • Ensure we follow a consistent approach and utilise a catalogue of reusable design patterns wherever possible, working with System Architects/Technical Specialists to help reuse code and existing design patterns to implement technology functionality and new business functionality., • Work alongside the Data Teams to determine technology direction, selecting appropriate technologies to implement ethical and secure data solutions. Qualifications, Technical Skills, Leadership Skills Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Business, Engineering) desirable., • Relevant IT/architectural professional certifications, e.g. ITIL, Lakehouse and/or TOGAF mandatory., • Broader technology professional certifications, e.g. SAP, AWS and/or Microsoft Certified., • Holds one or more advanced data professional certifications, e.g. Certified Data Professional (CDP), Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP), AWS Certified Data Engineer. Practical Experience • Strong experience in IT at a senior technical level and experience of working with an ITIL disciplined environment., • Experienced in working within an architecture practice with an appreciation for the whole solution lifecycle to improve customer experience., • Deep technical knowledge “Proficient” to “Expert” level across a broad technology landscape, included but not limited to Data Engineering, Data Analytics, Machine Learning and AI., • Experience and understanding with different delivery methods and tools including Waterfall, Agile, KANBAN, and JIRA., • Understanding of market trends and industry best practice with a commitment to continuous learning and staying updated on industry advancements., • Excellent communication skills at all levels, with the ability to translate complex IT issues into business related vocabulary., • Demonstrable experience of defining and maintaining an enterprise-wide view of Data architecture, including data models, data dictionaries, as-is architecture, target state architecture and an architecture roadmap., • Extensive enterprise experience working cross-functionally to understand business problems and strategic objectives to develop architecture to shape the IT portfolio investment priorities and therefore the associated roadmap for delivery., • Strong understanding of regulatory reporting and advanced analytics.