Senior Data Architect

Sutherland; Saudi Arabia; On-site; SAR 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading data solutions firm is seeking a Senior Data Architect in Saudi Arabia to lead the design, development, and governance of enterprise data solutions across the bank. The ideal candidate will have 812 years of experience in data architecture, particularly in the banking sector, with proven expertise in data modeling and governance. Strong communication skills and Arabic fluency are mandatory. This role offers the opportunity to influence data practices in a dynamic banking environment.

Qualifications

• 812 years of experience in data architecture, preferably in banking or financial services.
• Proven expertise in data modeling (conceptual/logical/physical).
• Strong understanding of banking domain data, risk, finance, customer 360, and regulatory reporting.
• Demonstrated experience with data governance tools.
• Arabic fluency is mandatory (spoken and written).

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the bank's enterprise data architecture, ensuring alignment with business goals.
• Design scalable data models, data lakes, data warehouses, and real-time data pipelines.
• Lead data governance frameworks including data quality and security.
• Collaborate with business units to translate requirements into data architecture solutions.
• Ensure compliance with SAMA, local regulations, and internal data security standards.

Skills

Data warehousing

ETL/ELT tools

Database technologies

Cloud platforms

Big data technologies

Communication skills

Stakeholder management

Leadership skills

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering or a related field

Tools

Teradata

Oracle

Snowflake

Informatica

Talend

DataStage

Azure Data Factory

Hadoop

Spark

Kafka

Job description

About the Role

The Senior Data Architect will lead the design, development, and governance of enterprise data solutions across the bank. This role ensures that data platforms, models, and pipelines are optimized, secure, and aligned with business strategy and regulatory requirements in the KSA banking environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain the bank's enterprise data architecture, ensuring alignment with business goals and digital transformation initiatives.
• Design scalable data models, data lakes, data warehouses, and real-time data pipelines.
• Lead data governance frameworks including data quality, metadata management, lineage, MDM, and security.
• Collaborate with business units to translate requirements into data architecture solutions.
• Ensure compliance with SAMA, local regulations, and internal data security standards.
• Define and enforce standards for data integration, ETL/ELT processes, and cloud migration (if applicable).
• Assess existing systems and recommend improvements to enhance performance, scalability, and reliability.
• Provide architectural guidance to data engineers, analysts, and application teams.
• Participate in vendor evaluations, RFPs, and platform selection for data technologies.
• Drive best practices in data design, data lifecycle management, and data governance.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Engineering, or a related field.
• 812 years of experience in data architecture, preferably in the banking or financial services sector.
• Strong experience with:
• Data warehousing (Teradata, Oracle, Snowflake, or similar)
• ETL/ELT tools (Informatica, Talend, DataStage, Azure Data Factory, etc.)
• Database technologies (Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL)
• Cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP preferably Azure for KSA banking)
• Big data technologies (Hadoop, Spark, Kafka)
• Proven expertise in data modelling (conceptual/logical/physical).
• Strong understanding of banking domain data, risk, finance, customer 360, and regulatory reporting.
• Demonstrated experience with data governance tools.
• Arabic fluency is mandatory (spoken and written).
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with SAMA regulatory requirements.
• Certifications such as CDMP, TOGAF, Azure/AWS Data Architect, or equivalent.
• Experience in digital banking, open banking, or advanced analytics environments.