Data Architect - Central Government

Salary: £63,000 - 103,000 per year

Requirements:

• Recent experience as a Lead Data Architect, Data Solutions Architect, or in an equivalent senior role.
• Demonstrated ownership of end-to-end data platform design and delivery.
• Experience operating in consulting, systems integration, or delivery partner roles.
• Experience working within UK Central Government or ALBs is strongly preferred.
• Practical architecture experience across both established enterprise approaches and modern data patterns.
• Experience with cloud-native data platforms across AWS, Azure, and/or GCP.
• Experience with Snowflake, Microsoft Fabric, and/or SageMaker; multi-platform experience is advantageous.
• Experience with data lake and lakehouse architectures.
• Experience with event-driven and streaming architectures.
• Experience with Data Mesh and/or Data Fabric principles applied pragmatically.
• Experience with data product-oriented design approaches.
• Strong knowledge of distributed processing such as Apache Spark.
• Familiarity with Hadoop ecosystem components.
• Working knowledge of SQL and NoSQL technologies.
• Understanding of ETL/ELT design trade-offs.
• Awareness of DevOps practices and CI/CD for data platforms.
• Understanding of how ML/AI workloads integrate into data architectures.
• Hands-on coding ability in Python, Java, or R is beneficial but not required.
• Experience designing within structured architectural governance frameworks.
• Familiarity with government assurance processes and design authorities.
• Strong understanding of data governance frameworks and metadata management.
• Experience designing for GDPR and UK public sector data protection requirements.
• Appreciation of infrastructure considerations and security boundaries in regulated cloud environments.
• Ability to influence architectural direction at senior stakeholder level.
• Clear and structured communicator, able to explain trade-offs and risks.
• Experience leading and mentoring architects and engineers.
• Comfortable operating within programme governance structures.
• Familiarity with Agile delivery models such as SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban.
• Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance; existing SC clearance is desirable.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and delivery of secure, cloud-based data platforms for UK Central Government departments.
• Shape target-state architectures while ensuring pragmatic implementation in regulated, security-conscious environments.
• Move comfortably between traditional enterprise data approaches and modern patterns such as lakehouse, streaming, data mesh, and ML-enabled platforms.
• Apply clarity, governance, and technical rigour to architectural decisions.
• Provide architectural leadership across end-to-end data platform design and delivery.
• Influence architectural direction with senior stakeholders.
• Explain trade-offs and risks clearly and structurally.
• Lead and mentor architects and engineers.
• Operate within programme governance structures.
• Work within structured architectural governance, government assurance processes, and design authorities.
• Design for data governance, metadata management, GDPR, and UK public sector data protection requirements.
• Consider infrastructure and security boundaries when designing regulated cloud environments.
• Support delivery within Agile methods such as SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban.

Technologies:

• AI
• AWS
• Architect
• Azure
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• DevOps
• ETL
• Fabric
• GCP
• Hadoop
• Support
• Java
• Kanban
• Network
• NoSQL
• Python
• SQL
• Security
• Snowflake
• Spark

More:

We are a business with a global reach that empowers local teams and delivers exciting work that is changing the world. Our portfolio spans consulting, applications, business process, cloud, and infrastructure services, and we work with brilliant colleagues and clients on exciting projects. We offer an inclusive work environment that prioritises mutual respect, accountability, and continuous learning, supporting collaboration, well-being, growth, and agility. We also have Inclusion Networks including the Womens Business Network, Cultural and Ethnicity Network, LGBTQ+ & Allies Network, Neurodiversity Network, and Parent Network. We offer tailored benefits that support physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing, continuous learning and development opportunities, and flexible work options. We are an equal opportunities employer, a proud Disability Confident Committed Employer, and we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce.

last updated 36 week of 2026