Principal Enterprise Data Architect

F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG; Welwyn; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Roche Products Ltd. in Welwyn, United Kingdom seeks a Principal Data Architect to shape the enterprise data ecosystem, bridging business strategy and technical execution across cloud platforms, data platforms, and analytics.

You will champion data democratization, mentor staff, and align cross-functional teams on standards. As a senior leader, you will drive taxonomy, ontologies, and data models, orchestrate complex migrations, and design scalable, secure data pipelines while partnering with

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading complex enterprise data architectures in a large-scale environment.
• Proven track record deploying data warehouses, data lakes and transactional databases.
• Demonstrated experience implementing data frameworks (TOGAF, DAMA-DMBOK) and modern paradigms like Data Mesh.

Responsibilities

• Leads the definition and deployment of target-state enterprise data architectures, cloud data platforms, and data integration strategies.
• Establishes the enterprise-wide business glossary, conceptual data blueprints, and taxonomy/ontology frameworks.
• Oversees the creation and maintenance of enterprise conceptual, logical and physical data models.
• Mentors junior data architects, modelers, and engineers within the team.
• Addresses highly complex structural and data integration issues across legacy, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
• Resolves semantic ambiguity and structural conflicts to create a single source of truth.
• Ensures data structures are optimized for performance, security, and cost-efficiency.
• Liaises with senior leadership to translate business strategy into technical data requirements.
• Guides engineering and analytics teams on standards, patterns, and compliance.
• Drives high-impact projects shaping long-term data capabilities.
• Develops long-term strategies for data minimization and decoupled data sharing.
• Manages enterprise-level data models and real-time streaming pipelines.
• Designs reusable data patterns that scale across the organization.
• Acts as an expert in data technologies, cloud infrastructure, and advanced data modeling.

Skills

Data architecture

Information architecture

Data modeling

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Tools

Snowflake

AWS

Azure

ETL/ELT

API-led connectivity

Knowledge Graphs

Job description

At Roche you can show up as yourself, embraced for the unique qualities you bring. Our culture encourages personal expression, open dialogue, and genuine connections, where you are valued, accepted and respected for who you are, allowing you to thrive both personally and professionally. This is how we aim to prevent, stop and cure diseases and ensure everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Join Roche, where every voice matters.

The Position Job Description

The Principal Data Architect, Information Architect, and Lead Data Modeler drives the strategic vision, structural design, and semantic definition of the organization’s enterprise data ecosystem. This role bridges the gap between high-level business strategy and technical execution, leading the design of scalable data architectures, comprehensive information blueprints, and robust enterprise data models. As a Principal Data Architect, you will champion data democratization, mentor junior architects and modelers, drive cross-functional alignment on data standards, and act as a primary technical advisor to senior leadership on modernizing our data landscape for analytics, AI, and operational excellence.

Job Responsibilities

• Data Architecture: Leads the definition and deployment of target-state enterprise data architectures, cloud data platforms, and data integration strategies.
• Information Architecture: Establishes the enterprise-wide business glossary, conceptual data blueprints, and taxonomy/ontology frameworks to ensure a unified understanding of data across the business.
• Data Modeling: Oversees the creation and maintenance of enterprise conceptual, logical and physical data models
• Mentorship: Oversees and mentors junior data architects, modelers, and engineers within the team.
• Accountability / Problem Solving: Addresses highly complex structural and data integration issues across legacy, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments.
• Resolves semantic ambiguity and structural conflicts across diverse business units to create a cohesive, single source of truth.
• Ensures data structures are optimized for performance, scalability, security, and cost-efficiency.
• Stakeholder Management: Liaises directly with senior leadership, product owners, and business analysts to translate business strategy into technical data requirements.
• Guides and directs engineering, application, and analytics teams on structural compliance, modeling standards, and architectural patterns.
• Impact / Strategy: Leads high-impact infrastructure and modeling projects that significantly shape the organization’s long-term data capabilities.
• Develops long-term strategies for data minimization, retention‑by‑design, and decoupled data sharing.
• Complexity / (Product Size): Manages enterprise‑level data models and architecture systems, and real‑time streaming pipelines.
• Designs and implements advanced, reusable data patterns that scale frictionlessly across the organization.
• Business / Technical Ability: Acts as an expert in modern data technologies, cloud infrastructure, and advanced data modeling methodologies.
• Demonstrates a deep understanding of how data structures impact downstream AI/ML, advanced analytics, and business intelligence.

Qualifications

Education / Experience

• Extensive Experience: Leading the development, continuous improvement, and execution of complex enterprise data architectures and data modeling initiatives in a large‑scale corporate environment.
• Proven Track Record: Architecting, deploying, and optimizing enterprise data warehouses, data lakes, and transactional databases.
• Framework Mastery: Demonstrated experience implementing data frameworks (e.g., TOGAF, DAMA-DMBOK) and modern paradigms like Data Mesh.
• Project Leadership: Proven history of leading high‑impact migration, modernization, or master data management (MDM) projects that shape overarching corporate data policies.
• Technical & Business Skills:
• Data Architect: Expert proficiency in cloud data platforms (e.g. Snowflake, AWS, Azure).
• Deep expertise in data integration patterns (ETL/ELT, API‑led connectivity).
• Strong capability to design distributed, highly available, and secure data pipelines.
• Information Architect: Deep expertise in metadata management, master data management (MDM), and reference data management.
• Proven ability to construct enterprise taxonomies, ontologies, data lineages, and business glossaries.
• Strong understanding of semantic web technologies (RDF, OWL, Knowledge Graphs).
• Data Modeler: Expert proficiency in industry‑standard data modeling tools.
• Mastery of multiple modeling paradigms, e.g. Relational, Dimensional, and NoSQL/Document modeling.
• Advanced knowledge of database optimization, indexing strategies, and query performance tuning.
• Additional Qualifications:
• Exceptional Stakeholder Management: Ability to act as a key advisor and translate complex technical architecture into clear business outcomes for non‑technical senior leadership.
• Strong Leadership: Capabilities to guide, direct, and oversee cross‑functional engineering and product teams.
• Strategic Alignment: Ability to drive cross‑functional initiatives aimed at enhancing data trust, discoverability, and accessibility while ensuring strict alignment with overarching organizational business strategies.

Who we are

A healthier future drives us to innovate. Together, more than 100’000 employees across the globe are dedicated to advance science, ensuring everyone has access to healthcare today and for generations to come. Our efforts result in more than 26 million people treated with our medicines and over 30 billion tests conducted using our Diagnostics products. We empower each other to explore new possibilities, foster creativity, and keep our ambitions high, so we can deliver life‑changing healthcare solutions that make a global impact.

Let’s build a healthier future, together.

The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees, and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of Roche Products Ltd.

At Roche Products we believe diversity drives innovation and we are committed to building a diverse and flexible working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion or belief, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability or age.

We recognise the importance of flexible working and will review all applicants’ requests with care. At Roche difference is valued and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer where you are encouraged to bring your whole self to work.

We believe it’s urgent to deliver medical solutions right now – even as we develop innovations for the future. We are passionate about transforming patients’ lives. We are courageous in both decision and action. And we believe that good business means a better world. That is why we come to work each day. We commit ourselves to scientific rigor, unassailable ethics, and access to medical innovations for all. We do this today to build a better tomorrow. We are proud of who we are, what we do, and how we do it. We are many, working as one across functions, across companies, and across the world. We are Roche.