Data Architect

State of Play Hospitality; London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative firm is seeking a Data Architect / Backend Developer to enhance their data infrastructure for business intelligence and analytics. This role combines backend development with data engineering, focusing on creating scalable data models and optimizing data flows. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to ensure data is clean and accessible for reporting. If you are passionate about data-driven decision-making and enjoy solving complex challenges, this opportunity is perfect for you. Join a dynamic environment where your expertise will significantly impact the company's data strategy.

Qualifications

• 4+ years of backend development experience using PHP Laravel.
• Strong MySQL development skills in data-intensive environments.
• Familiarity with BI tools like Power BI and Tableau.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement database architectures and ETL pipelines.
• Develop backend services and APIs in PHP Laravel.
• Collaborate with BI analysts to understand data needs.

Skills

PHP Laravel

MySQL

ETL processes

Data modeling

Problem-solving

Tools

Power BI

Tableau

AWS RDS

Azure SQL

Job description

Join to apply for the Data Architect role at State of Play Hospitality

Job Title:

Data Architect / Backend Developer (PHP Laravel & MySQL for BI Systems)

Location:

London, although remote considered

Job Type:

Contract (5 months)

Department:

Data Engineering

Reports To:

Lead Developer

About The Role

We’re looking for a Data Architect / Backend Developer with strong experience in PHP Laravel and MySQL to help build and optimize the data infrastructure behind our business intelligence and analytics platforms. You will be responsible for working with our Lead Developer to help design scalable data models, developing backend services that feed BI tools, and ensuring data is clean, consistent, and readily available for reporting and analysis.

This role bridges backend development and data engineering—ideal for someone who thrives on enabling data-driven decision-making and enjoys solving complex data problems.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement database architectures and ETL pipelines to support BI tools and data analysis platforms.
• Develop backend services and APIs in PHP Laravel to expose data for dashboards, reporting tools, and analytics consumers.
• Write advanced Eloquent/MySQL queries, stored procedures, and views to transform and aggregate data for analytical use.
• Collaborate with BI analysts and business stakeholders to understand data needs and ensure the backend infrastructure supports reporting requirements.
• Optimize data flows for performance and reliability, especially in high-volume and near real-time environments.
• Implement data validation, monitoring, and logging mechanisms to ensure data quality and traceability.
• Work with front-end teams to integrate backend endpoints into visualizations and reporting interfaces (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, custom dashboards).
• Maintain documentation for data schemas, ETL processes, and backend services to support ongoing development and data governance.

Qualifications

Required:

• 4+ years of experience in backend development using PHP Laravel, ideally in data-intensive environments.
• Strong experience in MySQL development, including data modelling, performance tuning, and complex joins/aggregations.
• Familiarity with BI tools such as Power BI, Tableau, QuickSight, Looker/Data Studio or similar.
• Understanding of ETL best practices and experience working with structured and semi-structured data sources.
• Experience working with data warehousing and reporting use cases.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and the ability to translate business needs into technical solutions.

Preferred:

• Experience designing systems with Event Sourcing.
• Exposure to cloud data infrastructure (e.g., AWS RDS, Azure SQL, Fabric, Synapse, Google BigQuery).
• Familiarity with data versioning, data lakes, or columnar storage formats (e.g., Parquet, ORC).
• Experience integrating BI tools with backend APIs or embedding dashboards into web applications.
• Knowledge of data governance, access control, and data privacy standards.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

• Hospitality