Principal Data Architect: Google Cloud & Enterprise Data

Zencore; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Zencore is seeking a Principal Architect, Data to lead our Data practice and client engagements across Google Cloud platforms. This role blends enterprise data architecture, hands-on implementation, and strategic client conversations in a senior technical capacity.

You will own end-to-end technical direction, define standards and patterns, mentor engineers, and collaborate with AI/ML teams to deliver scalable data solutions for complex enterprise environments in the UK. London preferred.

Qualifications

• Designing and delivering enterprise-scale data architectures.
• Strong experience with Google Cloud data ecosystem, BigQuery.
• Advanced SQL skills and strong experience with Python.
• Experience with dbt, Airflow/Cloud Composer and related tools.
• Experience designing scalable data platforms, pipelines, data models, and integration patterns.
• Strong understanding of data governance, security, quality, lineage, and observability.
• Ability to translate complex business and data requirements into a clear technical vision, architecture, and delivery roadmap.
• Ability to move comfortably between high-level architectural thinking and hands-on technical execution.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals and understanding of development best practices.
• Experience leading large-scale data modernization and transformation initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence both engineering teams and senior client stakeholders.
• Experience in professional services, consulting, or cloud partner environments is highly desirable.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical decisions clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Act as the senior technical referent for complex Data engagements, owning key architecture decisions and ensuring successful technical delivery.
• Work directly with clients to understand their business requirements, data landscape, and technical challenges, translating them into scalable solutions on Google Cloud.
• Define architectures across data platforms, pipelines, modeling, integration, governance, security, and scalability.
• Remain a hands-on technical practitioner, supporting engineering teams with complex implementation challenges and unblocking delivery when needed.
• Develop estimates around the skills, resources, and timelines required to deliver Zencore engagements and translate these into clear technical proposals.
• Partner closely with Data Engineers, Cloud Architects, and AI/ML teams to design solutions that connect Zencore’s Cloud, Data, and AI capabilities.
• Help establish and evolve architectural standards, reusable patterns, and engineering best practices across the Data practice.
• Mentor and enable engineers and architects, helping raise the technical bar across the organization.
• Support solutioning and pre-sales conversations when deep Data expertise is required, helping customers understand both the technical approach and business value of the proposed solution

Skills

Enterprise data design

BigQuery

SQL

Python

dbt / Airflow

Data architecture

Governance & security

Technical leadership

Stakeholder management

Consulting experience

Communication

Tools

dbt

Airflow

Cloud Composer

Job description

Zencore is seeking a Principal Architect, Data to lead our Data practice and client engagements across Google Cloud platforms. This role blends enterprise data architecture, hands-on implementation, and strategic client conversations in a senior technical capacity.

You will own end-to-end technical direction, define standards and patterns, mentor engineers, and collaborate with AI/ML teams to deliver scalable data solutions for complex enterprise environments in the UK. London preferred.