Data Architect

Job Overview

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Data Architect to join a larger delivery team in London. The role will lead data architecture and database design decisions, working closely with the Product Owner, business stakeholders and engineering teams.

The ideal candidate will have strong architectural expertise and practical data modelling capabilities, particularly in Domain-Driven Design (DDD), NoSQL and distributed database technologies.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and lead data architecture and database design decisions within the assigned product or domain.
• Work closely with Product Owners and business stakeholders to translate business requirements and capabilities into robust data designs.
• Apply Domain-Driven Design (DDD) principles, including domain boundaries, data ownership and business concept modelling.
• Develop hands-on conceptual, logical and physical data models for NoSQL and distributed database platforms.
• Design solutions using Apache Cassandra and distributed SQL technologies such as YugabyteDB or Google Cloud Spanner.
• Apply CQRS patterns and associated read/write models where appropriate.
• Lead technical design reviews, assess architectural trade-offs and provide recommendations to the wider team.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure solutions are scalable, maintainable and aligned with architecture principles.
• Provide specialist architectural support for database solutions and non-production environments when required.
• Mentor team members, establish data modelling standards and maintain clear architecture documentation.

Essential Skills & Experience

• 10-12 years of relevant experience in Data Architecture, Data Modelling, Database Engineering or related roles.
• Strong hands-on experience with Domain-Driven Design (DDD) and its application to data and database architecture.
• Extensive experience in conceptual, logical and physical data modelling.
• Strong experience designing solutions in NoSQL environments, preferably Apache Cassandra.
• Experience with distributed database technologies, ideally YugabyteDB and/or Google Cloud Spanner.
• Strong understanding of architectural design decisions, technical constraints, risks and trade-offs.
• Experience working closely with Product Owners, business stakeholders and multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Excellent technical leadership, communication, stakeholder management and documentation skills.

Desirable Skills

• Practical experience with CQRS architecture and separate command/query data models.
• Experience with event-driven architectures, microservices and high-scale distributed systems.
• Exposure to cloud-native data services and architecture on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or AWS.
• Understanding of resilience, consistency, partitioning, performance and operability in distributed database platforms.
• Experience establishing data architecture standards, design patterns and governance within Agile product teams.