Data Architect

Sanderson Government & Defence; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent recruitment partner in the United Kingdom is looking for an experienced Data Architect to lead a major data and analytics programme for a government department. The successful candidate will have deep data modelling expertise, experience in designing scalable data platforms, and a proven track record with cloud environments including AWS and Azure. This role requires excellent communication skills and the ability to manage technical and non-technical stakeholders effectively.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Data Architect or Senior Data Engineer.
• Strong expertise in data modelling and data warehouse design.
• Experience with cloud-based data platforms like AWS or Azure.

Responsibilities

• Design and own conceptual, logical, and physical data models.
• Define and evolve data warehouse and data lake architectures.
• Provide architectural leadership across databases.

Skills

Data modelling expertise

SQL skills

Cloud data platforms

Data governance understanding

Architectural leadership

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

ETL/ELT tools

Analytics platforms

Job description

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Data Architect to support a Central Government department on a major data and analytics programme. This role suits someone with deep data modelling expertise and a strong background designing scalable, well-governed data platforms within complex or regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Designing and owning conceptual, logical, and physical data models
• Defining and evolving data warehouse and data lake architectures
• Providing architectural leadership across relational and NoSQL databases
• Advising on data integration patterns, including ETL/ELT and streaming architectures
• Supporting cloud-based data platforms across AWS, Azure, and/or GCP
• Embedding data governance, metadata management, and master data principles
• Translating business requirements into clear, scalable data designs
• Ensuring architectures meet security, compliance, and government standards

About You

• Essential Experience: Proven experience as a Data Architect, Senior Data Engineer, or Data Modeller; strong expertise in data modelling (conceptual, logical, and physical)
• Demonstrable experience designing data warehouses and data lake architectures
• Advanced SQL skills and strong understanding of relational and NoSQL databases
• Experience with cloud data platforms (AWS, Azure, and/or GCP)
• Knowledge of ETL/ELT, data integration, and streaming architectures
• Solid understanding of data governance, metadata, and master data management
• Excellent communication skills, able to engage technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Nice to Have: Experience with modern analytics and BI platforms
• Knowledge of big data technologies (e.g. Spark, Hadoop)
• Experience with real-time or event-driven architectures
• Familiarity with data cataloguing and lineage tools
• Experience working in regulated or data-sensitive environments
• Relevant certifications (e.g. TOGAF, cloud data certifications)

Reasonable Adjustments

Reasonable Adjustments: Respect and equality are core values to us. We are proud of the diverse and inclusive community we have built, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and perspectives. Our success is driven by our people, united by the spirit of partnership to deliver the best resourcing solutions for our clients.

If you need any help or adjustments during the recruitment process for any reason, please let us know when you apply or talk to the recruiters directly so we can support you.