Principal Data Architect

A UK Government Security Check (SC) clearance or above is required for this role.  If you don’t hold SC clearance, we will support you to apply assuming you have lived and worked in the UK for a minimum of 5 years.

Aker Systems deliver secure cloud hosted solutions into the public and private sectors. We are rapidly expanding and are looking to hire a Principal Data Architect to support the delivery of innovative cloud solutions that meet the highest standards of data security and privacy, enabling our clients to operate securely and efficiently in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

You will play a critical role in shaping data strategy and ensuring the success of our client’s complex, critical high-profile projects. You will lead the design and implementation of secure, scalable, and resilient data architectures on AWS and other cloud platforms, while also serving as a mentor and leader to a team of skilled data professionals.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Engage with senior stakeholders, both internal and external, to understand business requirements, provide strategic guidance and ensure that data solutions meet their objectives
• Lead the design, development and implementation of data architectures that meet the needs of our clients, ensuring alignment with security, performance and scalability requirements
• Utilise extensive experience with AWS tooling and other cloud providers to architect and deploy secure, cloud-native solutions for batch and real-time data processing
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to cross-functional teams, ensuring best practices in data architecture, security and cloud computing
• Proficiency in data modelling, ETL processes, data warehousing, distributed systems and metadata systems
• Utilise Apache Flink and other streaming technologies to build real-time data processing systems that handle large-scale, high-throughput data
• Ensure all data solutions comply with industry standards and government regulations, maintaining the highest levels of data security and integrity
• Monitor technical deliverables against the designs, manage and report on design divergences
• Support the sales and pre-sales teams by providing expert advice and input on proposals, ensuring technical feasibility and alignment with client needs
• Act as the escalation point for breaches of data standards and make recommendations about how they should be resolved
• Stay up to date with the latest advancements in cloud technologies, data architecture, security practices and apply this knowledge to continuously improve our offerings

Essential Experience and Competencies

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, with a focus on secure, large-scale and complex projects
• Extensive experience with AWS services, including but not limited to EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda and Redshift. Experience with other cloud providers (e.g., Azure, GCP) is a plus
• In-depth knowledge and hands-on experience with Apache Flink for real-time data processing
• Proven experience in mentoring and managing teams, with a focus on developing talent and fostering a collaborative work environment
• Strong ability to engage with and influence senior stakeholders, understanding their needs and translating them into actionable technical plans
• Desirable skills in Scala and Spark to support wider programmes of work
• Hands-on Public Cloud experience in either AWS/Azure/Google Cloud Platform, both their ‘services’ and ‘how’ to work in the cloud such as DevOps-centric approach
• Having worked in sensitive data environments and ideally have experience facing off to cyber security specialists
• Understand and apply recognised data modelling patterns and standards