Senior Data Architect

Companies And Intellectual Property Commission; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 300 000 - 400 000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency in Pretoria is seeking a Senior Data Architect to lead the implementation of a comprehensive Data Governance Program. The successful candidate will design robust data architectures, optimize analytics processes, and guide a team through cloud-native data initiatives. Applicants should have a strong background in data architecture, excellent communication skills, and a degree in a relevant field, along with at least five years of experience.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of proven experience as a Data Architect or equivalent in data leadership.
• Deep understanding of cloud services relevant to data management including Azure and AWS.
• Strong knowledge of data modeling, data governance, and ETL processes.

Responsibilities

• Design and maintain data models and flow diagrams.
• Develop data strategies aligning with business objectives.
• Implement Data Lakehouse architecture across cloud platforms.

Skills

Cloud Data Platform Mastery

Deep Data Modeling Expertise

Advanced SQL & Programming

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Advanced Diploma in a related field

National Diploma in Information Technology

Tools

SQL

Python

Apache Spark

Job description

Senior Data Architect

Job Grade: P4, Ref No.

• Location: Pretoria
• Job Type: 5 years fixed term contract
• Job Purpose: The primary purpose of this role is to lead and implement a comprehensive Data Governance Program and establish a robust, future-proof Data Architecture across multi-cloud platforms.

This role is crucial to revolutionizing CIPC's data management, enhancing data quality, streamlining analytics processes, and creating a centralized data hub, including a Data Marketplace, to foster a data-driven culture and enable advanced analytics across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Data Architecture Strategy & Design: Design and maintain conceptual, logical, and physical data models, data dictionaries, and comprehensive data flow diagrams across the enterprise.
• Strategic Alignment: Develop forward-looking data strategies for data warehousing, data mining, and data integration that align with CIPC's business objectives and technological roadmap.
• Tool Evaluation & Selection: Evaluate, recommend, and select appropriate data management tools, technologies, and platforms.
• Data Lakehouse Architecture: Design and implement a secure, scalable, and highly available Data Lakehouse architecture across multi‑cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Data Pipeline Development: Establish robust, end‑to‑end data ingestion (batch and streaming) and ELT/ETL pipelines to incorporate diverse data sources into the Data Lakehouse.
• Analytics Enablement: Develop optimized data transformation, processing, and storage solutions tailored for advanced analytics, reporting, and data science workloads.
• Governance Frameworks: Define and establish comprehensive data management frameworks for data ingestion, lake, warehouse, sharing, analytics, and quality.
• Data Marketplace & Sharing: Design and implement a Data Marketplace architecture to facilitate governed data sharing and collaboration among internal stakeholders.
• Quality & Observability: Define and implement data quality monitoring, validation, and improvement processes, including developing data observability solutions.
• Metadata Management: Champion Data Catalog tools for data discovery, metadata management, and lineage tracking.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate proactively with IT, business leaders, and security teams to prioritize data requirements, define SLAs, and develop governance policies and procedures.
• Mentorship & Support: Provide technical guidance and support to data analysts, engineers, and scientists.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all data systems and processes comply with relevant regulations, standards, and security policy.

Qualifications

Education

• Preferred: Bachelor's Degree or Advanced Diploma in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Statistics, Mathematical Sciences, Economic Sciences, or a related quantitative field.
• Alternative: National Diploma in Information Technology or related technical field.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of proven experience as a Data Architect, Solutions Architect, or equivalent senior data leadership role with strong focus on cloud‑native data architecture and governance.
• Deep understanding of cloud services and technologies relevant to data management and analytics, including Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud.
• Strong knowledge of data modeling, ETL/ELT processes, data warehousing, and data governance best practices.
• Proficiency in SQL, Python, Spark, and other relevant programming languages and tools.

Certifications

• At least two advanced professional certifications, including one strategic framework and one platform‑specific architect certification.
• Strategic Architecture / Governance: TOGAF 9 Certified (or equivalent).
• Alliance: Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) at Professional or Master level.
• Cloud Platform / Engineering: Databricks Certified Data Engineer (Associate or Professional), Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure Data Engineer Associate, Google Cloud Certified Professional Data Engineer or Professional Cloud Architect, AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional or Data Analytics – Specialty.

Technical Skills

• Deep Data Modeling Expertise – dimensional (Star/Snowflake), Data Vault, and relational models.
• Cloud Data Platform Mastery – proven experience designing and deploying scalable solutions on at least two major cloud platforms.
• Big Data Ecosystem – hands‑on experience with Apache Spark (PySpark/Scala) and streaming technologies (Kafka).
• Data Governance – implement solutions for metadata management, lineage, quality, and observability.
• Advanced SQL & Programming – expert proficiency in SQL and Python/Scala pipeline development.
• Architecture Frameworks – practical experience applying TOGAF and other enterprise architecture methodologies.
• Security & Access Control – design and enforce fine‑grained data access controls, encryption, and data masking.

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to work independently and lead a team of technical resources.

Applicants may be subjected to competency assessment. Successful candidates must undergo a security clearance process prior to appointment, and will be subject to qualifications and South African citizenship checks. Candidates with foreign qualifications must have them evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

Selection interviews will be scheduled at a date, time, and place determined by CIPC. CIPC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Preference will be given to candidates whose appointment will enhance representation in accordance with the approved employment equity plan.

Feedback will only be given to shortlisted candidates. CIPC reserves the right not to fill an advertised position.

Closing Date: October 31.

For further details regarding this position please visit the CIPC website. Kindly note that faxed, emailed, posted and/or hand‑delivered applications will not be considered. If you experience any difficulty in applying, please contact the CIPC Recruitment Office.