Azure Data Architect

Role Summary:

We are looking for an Azure Data Architect to design and lead modern data platforms for our clients on Microsoft Azure. You will shape the data strategy, define the target architecture, and guide engineering teams through delivery, from ingestion and modelling through to governance and analytics. This role suits someone with deep hands-on Azure data expertise who can also hold their own in client conversations and translate business needs into practical, scalable data solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design end-to-end Azure data architectures covering ingestion, storage, processing, modelling, and consumption layers
• Architect lakehouse and data warehouse solutions using Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2, Azure Databricks, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Microsoft Fabric
• Build and govern data integration pipelines using Azure Data Factory and Fabric Data Pipelines, including batch and incremental loads
• Design real-time and streaming solutions using Azure Event Hubs, Stream Analytics, and Databricks Structured Streaming
• Define data modelling standards across medallion architecture, dimensional modelling, and Delta Lake
• Lead data governance, lineage, and cataloguing using Microsoft Purview, with Unity Catalog where Databricks is in scope
• Implement data security and access controls using Entra ID, Key Vault, private endpoints, and role-based and row-level security
• Drive migration of on-premise and legacy data platforms (SQL Server, Oracle, Teradata, Hadoop) to Azure
• Enable analytics and reporting layers in partnership with BI teams using Power BI and semantic models
• Establish DataOps practices including CI/CD for data pipelines through Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions, and Infrastructure as Code with Terraform or Bicep
• Advise clients on performance tuning, cost optimisation, and capacity planning across Azure data services
• Support pre-sales with solution design, estimation, and client proposals, and mentor data engineering teams through delivery.

Required Skill & Qualification:

• 12+ years in data and analytics, with at least 5 years architecting data solutions on Azure
• Strong hands-on expertise across Azure Databricks, Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, and ADLS Gen2
• Working experience with Microsoft Fabric is a strong advantage
• Solid command of SQL, PySpark, and Python, along with data modelling and data warehousing concepts
• Proven delivery of large-scale data platform builds or cloud data migrations
• Good understanding of data governance, data quality, and regulatory considerations such as GDPR
• Experience in a consulting or client-facing environment with confidence engaging senior business and technology stakeholders
• Exposure to AI/ML enablement using Azure Machine Learning or Azure OpenAI is a plus
• Microsoft certifications such as Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203), Fabric Analytics Engineer (DP-600), or Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305) are preferred.