Lead Data Architect - Secure environment

Sanderson Government & Defence; Cheltenham; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson Government & Defence is seeking an experienced Lead Data Architect to shape secure, large-scale data solutions for mission-critical programmes. You will define data strategy, design resilient cloud architectures, and lead teams on complex data platforms.

You will engage senior stakeholders, deliver scalable data platforms, and guide cross-functional teams on best practices while ensuring compliance with government regulations.

Qualifications

• 6+ years' experience in data architecture on complex, secure programmes.
• Strong hands-on AWS experience with EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, Redshift; Azure or GCP a bonus.
• Proven experience using Apache Flink for real-time data processing.
• Experience leading, mentoring and developing technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Engage with senior stakeholders to understand requirements and provide strategic data architecture guidance.
• Design and deliver secure, scalable data platforms aligned to performance and regulatory requirements.
• Architect cloud-native batch and real-time data solutions using AWS and other public cloud platforms.
• Provide technical leadership across cross-functional teams and set best practice standards.
• Design data models, ETL pipelines, warehousing solutions and distributed systems.
• Build and support real-time streaming platforms using Apache Flink and related technologies.
• Ensure compliance with industry standards and government regulations.
• Track delivery against designs and manage design deviations.
• Support pre-sales and bids with technical input and solution design.
• Advise on data standard breaches and remediation approaches.
• Stay current with emerging data, cloud and security technologies.

Skills

Data architecture

AWS cloud

Stakeholder engagement

Team leadership

Secure-by-design

Data modelling patterns

Real-time streaming

DevOps basics

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Apache Flink

Job description

We're hiring an experienced Lead Data Architect to shape and deliver secure, large-scale data solutions for high-profile, mission-critical programmes. You'll play a key role in defining data strategy, designing resilient cloud architectures, and leading teams working on complex, sensitive data platforms.

What you'll be doing

• Engaging with senior stakeholders to understand requirements and provide strategic data architecture guidance
• Designing and delivering secure, scalable data platforms aligned to performance and regulatory requirements
• Architecting cloud-native batch and real-time data solutions using AWS and other public cloud platforms
• Providing technical leadership across cross-functional teams and setting best practice standards
• Designing data models, ETL pipelines, warehousing solutions and distributed systems
• Building and supporting real-time streaming platforms using Apache Flink and related technologies
• Ensuring compliance with industry standards and government regulations
• Tracking delivery against agreed designs and managing design deviations
• Supporting pre-sales and bids with technical input and solution design
• Advising on data standard breaches and recommending remediation approaches
• Staying current with emerging data, cloud and security technologies

What we're looking for

• 6+ years' experience in data architecture on complex, secure programmes
• Strong hands-on AWS experience (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, Redshift); Azure or GCP a bonus
• Proven experience using Apache Flink for real-time, high-throughput data processing
• Experience leading, mentoring and developing technical teams
• Confident engaging with senior technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Knowledge of recognised data modelling patterns and standards
• Experience working in sensitive or regulated data environments
• Exposure to cyber security teams and secure-by-design principles
• Desirable experience with Scala, Spark and wider big data ecosystems
• Strong understanding of cloud operating models, DevOps and modern delivery practices

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.