Data Architect (Fabric)

Salary: £70,000 - 110,000 per year

Requirements:

• Deep knowledge of Fabric architecture, governance, OneLake, Real-Time Intelligence, Data Engineering, Warehousing and Power BI integration
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders, programme sponsors and project boards
• Ability to communicate technical decisions to non-technical executives and secure agreement on technical direction
• Deep knowledge of the Azure data stack, including Azure SQL Server, CosmosDB, Azure Data Factory, Purview, Synapse, Event Hub, Azure Databricks, and Fabric
• Extensive data modelling experience with both normalised relational models and de-normalised star schema and dimensional models
• Excellent relational database design skills with expertise in diagnosing and optimising performance across SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and cloud databases
• Proven track record with complex data migration projects, including terabyte-plus datasets, multiple legacy source systems, and structured and unstructured data
• Proficiency with Parquet, Delta Lake, or other modern data storage formats
• Experience with streaming architectures using Kafka, Event Hubs, or Kinesis for real-time data processing
• Knowledge of data architectures supporting AI/ML workloads, including vector databases, feature stores, and MLOps pipelines
• Experience processing and managing unstructured data types such as text, images, logs, and sensor data
• Understanding of Lambda and Kappa architectural patterns and when to apply each
• Exposure to high-performing, low-latency, or large-volume data systems
• Knowledge of and/or experience with Government Digital Service practices across Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and Live phases
• Understanding of vector databases and similarity search for AI applications
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and modern DevOps practices
• Knowledge of how to design and analyse operational logs for data processing, and triage incidents
• Awareness of advances in AI technologies, data services, and architectural practices
• Industry specialisation in sectors such as Engineering, Manufacturing, or Healthcare
• Public sector or defence experience
• Understanding of data mesh or data fabric architectural approaches
• Relevant industry certifications such as TOGAF 9, CDMP, or Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)
• UKSV security clearance is required, with Security Check as the minimum standard, either already held or with a willingness to undergo the process
• Candidates will be asked to complete a Baseline Personnel Security Standard as part of onboarding

Responsibilities:

• Act as the senior technical authority for the programme, defining technical direction, priorities, standards, and decision-making
• Create and maintain the Data Transformation Programme roadmap and ensure all workstreams align to the target architecture and business objectives
• Set priorities and guide technical workstreams
• Identify incorrect or low-value activities and redirect effort towards programme outcomes
• Uplift the capability of the existing team
• Mentor architects and engineers
• Establish good engineering practices
• Develop Fabric knowledge within both our team and the customer team
• Chair or lead architecture reviews, design authorities, technical governance forums, and data platform standards reviews
• Advocate the business benefit of data standards and champion and govern those standards across projects and the organisation
• Demonstrate an overall perspective on business issues and activities, determining patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps, and vision statements
• Make and guide effective decisions, explaining clearly how decisions have been reached and resolving technical disputes across varying levels of complexity and risk
• Communicate effectively across organisational, technical, and political boundaries, making complex technical information accessible for non-technical audiences
• Design how to expose data from systems through APIs and real-time streams, link data from multiple systems, and deliver modern data services
• Ensure that risks associated with deployment are adequately understood and documented
• Design end-to-end data solutions from requirements through implementation, including technical documentation and architecture blueprints
• Lead complex data migration projects from legacy systems to modern cloud-native platforms
• Evaluate and recommend appropriate technologies across the modern data stack to meet specific client needs
• Enable transformative business decisions through robust, scalable data architectures
• Drive adoption of modern data platforms and AI-enabled analytics solutions
• Establish technical standards and architectural patterns that ensure quality, security, and maintainability
• Help cultivate a data-driven culture within client organisations and internally
• Deliver architectures that seamlessly integrate traditional and modern data systems

Technologies:

• AI
• Lambda
• Architect
• Azure
• Cloud
• Databricks
• DevOps
• Fabric
• Kafka
• MLOps
• PostgreSQL
• Power BI
• SQL
• Security
• TOGAF
• Support

More:

We are Methods, a 100M+ IT Services Consultancy established over 30 years ago and based in the UK. We work with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates, and we are now building a significant private sector client portfolio. We are part of the Alten Group, a global engineering firm with approximately 57,000 employees specialising in engineering and IT services. This Data Architect role sits within our Delivery team and is mainly remote, with flexibility to travel to client sites and our offices in London and Sheffield. We offer a collaborative, creative, user-centred approach to data, with a strong focus on ethics, privacy, quality, autonomy, supportive leadership, and making a difference in society. Benefits include LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme, training, a 24/7 confidential employee assistance programme, office socials, 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays with the option to buy 10 extra days, 2 paid volunteering days per year, a pension salary exchange scheme with employer contribution, life assurance of 4 times base salary, private medical insurance, and worldwide travel insurance.

last updated 34 week of 2026