Senior Data Architect

Senior Data Architect 

Hybrid - Newcastle onsite once a month

Must be SC Cleared or Eligible for SC Clearance

The Company: Eligible

At Amber Labs, we are a cutting-edge UK and European technology consultancy that prioritises empowering autonomy, promoting experimentation, and facilitating rapid learning to provide exceptional value to our clients. Our company culture is centred around collaboration, where all colleagues, regardless of their role, work together to minimise risk and shorten delivery times. Our team consists of highly-skilled cross-functional consultants, analysts, and support staff.

Our clients have the opportunity to earn R&D credits that can be used towards our areas of expertise: Data, Governance, and Cloud Engineering, allowing us to drive customer-focused innovation. Our work extends across both the public and private sectors, providing our colleagues with a diverse and interesting landscape of experience.

This role is seeking an architect familiar with the technical designs and implementation of basic, enterprise-level data capability (ingestion; lake, warehouse, and lakehouse implementation; obfuscation and PII data handling; and onward use via data pipelines, ETL, etc.). Must be able to interpret and generate architectural designs, bring knowledge and experience around implementations and pitfalls, and strength in explaining, evidencing, and advocating for a solution design directly with clients. Proficiency in AWS (S3, EMR, Lambda, and related ecosystem), as well as Databricks will be key in this effort. Familiarity translating designs to engineering as well as non-technical stakeholders and review boards will be needed as well.

Job Description Requirements
• design data models and metadata systems
• help chief data architects to interpret an organisation’s needs
• provide oversight and advice to other data architects who are designing and producing data artefacts
• design and support the management of data dictionaries
• make sure that your teams are working to the standards set for the organisation by the chief data architects
• work with technical architects to make sure that an organisation’s systems are designed in accordance with the appropriate data architecture
• listen to the needs of technical and business stakeholders, and interpret them
• effectively manage stakeholder expectations
• manage active and reactive communication
• support or host difficult discussions within the team or with diverse senior stakeholders
• understand the appropriate media to communicate findings
• shape communications for the audience
• undertake data profiling and source system analysis
• present clear insights to colleagues to support the end use of the data
• evolve and define data governance
• take responsibility for supporting and collaborating around wider governance
• assure and integrate data services to meet the needs of multiple business services
• work proactively to ensure the organisation designs architecture that considers data
• understand the impact on the organisation of emerging trends in data tools, analysis techniques and data usage
• produce relevant data models across multiple subject areas
• explain which models to use for which purpose
• understand industry-recognised data modelling patterns and standards, and when to apply them
• compare and align different data models
• develop and set data standards across multiple subject areas
• act as the escalation point for breaches of data standards and make recommendations about how the organisation should resolve them
• design an appropriate metadata repository
• suggest changes to improve current metadata repositories
• understand a range of tools for storing and working with metadata
• advise less experienced members of the team about metadata management
• ensure that the right actions are taken to investigate, resolve and anticipate problems
• co-ordinate the team to investigate problems, implement solutions and take preventive measures
• work within a strategic context and communicate how activities meet strategic goals
• contribute to the development of strategy and policies
• design data architecture that deals with problems spanning different business areas
• identify links between problems to devise common solutions
• work across multiple subject areas, or a single large or complicated subject area
• produce appropriate patterns Key Technical Skills
• Has experience working with Data capabilities architecture and patterns – lakes, warehouse and cloud environments for data analysis / calculations
• Use strategic patterns to build out an approach and architectural diagram of a solution
• Work within an engineering team to guide team members on the best approach to take
• AWS focused
• Knowledge of Databricks and EMR
• Knowledge of Kafka
• Good communication and stakeholder management skills

Benefits:

• Join a rapidly expanding startup where personal growth is a part of our DNA.
• Benefit from a flexible work environment focused on deliverable outcomes.
• Receive private medical insurance through Aviva.
• Enjoy the benefits of a company pension plan through Nest.
• 25 days of annual leave plus UK bank holidays.
• Access Perkbox, a global employee rewards platform offering discounts, perks, and wellness resources.
• Participate in a generous employee referral program.
• A highly collaborative and collegial environment with opportunities for career advancement.
• Be encouraged to take bold steps and embrace a mindset of experimentation.
• Choose your preferred device, PC or Mac.

Diversity & Inclusion:

Here at Amber Labs, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace for all. Our commitment to diversity, equality, and inclusion includes:

• Valuing the unique experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds of all employees and creating an environment where everyone feels welcomed, respected, and valued.
• Prohibiting all forms of harassment, bullying, discrimination, and victimisation and promoting a culture of dignity and respect for all.
• Educating all new hires on our Diversity and Inclusion policies and ensuring they are aware of their rights and responsibilities to create a safe and inclusive workplace.
• By taking these steps, we are dedicated to building a workplace that reflects and celebrates the diversity of our employees and communities.

This role at Amber Labs is a permanent position, and all employees are required to meet the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). Please be advised that, at this time, we are unable to consider candidates who require sponsorship or hold a visa of any type.