Principal Data Architect

Chemify Limited; Glasgow; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Chemify Limited is seeking a Principal Data Architect to design and stand up an AI-ready data foundation for our rapid chemistry platform. You’ll define the data lakehouse on AWS, create a versioned feature store, and establish governance patterns that let researchers and AI models access data safely and efficiently.

You’ll architect graph models for reaction networks, enable vector search across large molecular sets, and design streaming pipelines for high-frequency robot and sensor data with

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a data architect in production systems.
• Strong Python and SQL skills for data engineering
• PostgreSQL experience on AWS RDS and cloud data stores
• Experience with graph databases and modelling highly relational domains
• Data governance, tenancy/segregation, data contracts, and secure cross-organisation sharing
• Ability to set direction independently and deliver within fixed timeframes
• Familiarity with modern data stacks: lakehouses, streaming, batch and real-time pipelines
• Exposure to scientific, chemical, or manufacturing data
• Chemistry or AI drug-discovery knowledge
• Prior involvement in SOC 2 or ISO 27001 programmes

Responsibilities

• Set AI-ready foundation: design ingestion/orchestration and stand up the initial data Lakehouse on AWS; create a versioned feature store.
• Model chemistry as data: architect graph models for reaction networks and define semantic ontologies for AI reasoning.
• Design the telemetry pipeline: specify streaming ingestion for high-frequency robot/sensor data with zero loss; sync edge and central training data.
• Set governance guardrails: define tenancy models, secure sharing, and groundwork for SOC 2/ISO 27001 readiness.
• Collaborate with ML and data engineering teams to deliver concrete systems within a six-month engagement.

Skills

Python

SQL

PostgreSQL

AWS

Graph databases

Data governance

Distributed data systems

Vector search

Stakeholder communication

MLOps

Tools

AWS RDS

pgvector

Pinecone

Lakehouse

Job description

Chemify is revolutionising chemistry. We are creating a future where the synthesis of previously unimaginable molecules, drugs, and materials is instantly accessible. By combining AI, robotics, and the world’s largest continually expanding database of chemical programs, we are accelerating chemical discovery to improve quality of life and extend the reach of humanity.

The Role:

At Chemify, robots run real chemical experiments around the clock, and every spectrum, video frame, and sensor reading is gathered to decide what to synthesise next. We're bringing in a Principal Data Architect on a focused six-month engagement to set the architecture that turns a firehose of scientific literature and robotic lab data into a clean, governed, ML-ready ecosystem that our scientists and AI models can build on.

You’ll define the blueprint and stand up the foundations during the engagement, working closely with our ML and data engineering teams so they can carry it forward. We're looking for someone senior enough to make the right calls quickly and pragmatic enough to deliver real systems in the time allocated.

Scope:

You’ll own how data flows across Chemify, including how it's stored, synchronised, governed, and shared, within real regulatory and contractual limits. Concretely, you'll aim to:

Set the AI-ready foundation. Partner with our ML and data engineering teams to design ingestion and orchestration that captures scientific and operational data in a form models can use immediately. You’ll define and stand up the initial data Lakehouse on AWS for the raw data coming off our robots, and design a versioned feature store that standardises chemical descriptors so there's a tight loop between lab execution and the discovery AI.

Model chemistry as data. Architect graph models for complex reaction networks, define the semantic ontologies that let AI reason across different chemical data types, and design vector search (e.g. pgvector, Pinecone) for similarity lookups across large molecular sets.

Design the telemetry pipeline. Specify streaming ingestion for high-frequency robot and sensor data, with zero loss of the "negative data" from failed experiments that's so valuable for training, plus a distributed pattern that keeps local lab "edge" data in sync with central training clusters without sacrificing consistency.

Set the governance guardrails. Define the tenancy and partitioning models that guarantee strict IP isolation for enterprise clients, secure sharing patterns for research partners, and the architectural groundwork for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 readiness.

We'll agree concrete deliverables and milestones with you up front, so success is clearly defined on both sides.

What you’ll bring:

• Extensive experience as a data architect, with production-grade Python and SQL
• Deep PostgreSQL experience, ideally on AWS RDS
• Hands-on work with graph databases and modelling highly relational domains
• A proven track record designing distributed data systems across multiple teams, services, or locations
• Demonstrable experience with data governance, data contracts, tenancy and segregation, replication and consistency patterns, and secure cross-organisation data sharing
• The ability to set direction independently, communicate clearly with both engineers and scientists, and deliver within a fixed timeframe
• Familiarity with modern data stacks: lakehouses, streaming, batch and real-time pipelines
• High-throughput telemetry, IoT, or industrial time-series systems
• Prior involvement in SOC 2 or ISO 27001 programmes
• Exposure to scientific, chemical, or manufacturing data
• Chemistry or AI drug-discovery knowledge

Why Join Chemify?

Impact:

You will help build the infrastructure that enables digital chemistry at scale — accelerating discovery, improving reproducibility, and unlocking new possibilities in science and medicine.

Autonomy:

Reporting directly to the CTO, you will have meaningful influence over the technical direction and data strategy of a Series B deep-tech rocket ship.

Ambition:

We are scaling rapidly, investing in world-class infrastructure, and tackling problems that sit at the frontier of robotics, AI, and chemistry. You will have the resources and mandate to build the right foundations for the future.