Azure Data Architect

Reports to:

Head of Architecture

Team:
Architects and Data Engineering (DE + Python Engineers)

This role will require you to be in office, will need you to be hands on with the skills mentioned below and we are unable to sponsor a work visa. Please apply only if you meet these requirements.

We’re building a modern Azure lakehouse platform that powers a chat‑based natural language analytics interface for operational leaders. The goal: move beyond static dashboards to an experience where business leaders can ask complex questions in plain English, get trusted answers with provenance, and receive proactive alerts when trends go off track.

You will be the hands‑on technical leader who architects and builds this platform while mentoring a team of DE & Python engineers.

• Own the data platform architecture (Azure Data Lake Gen2, Delta Lake, Lakehouse)
• Collaborate with data engineering and Implement a semantic layer/metrics store to enable natural language → SQL/metric translation and consistent KPI definitions across the business.
• Design and operate real‑time and batch pipelines using ADF/Synapse/Databricks Workflows; implement medallion architecture, schema evolution, and data contracts.
• Build the retrieval layer for LLMs (embeddings, metadata, grounding context) using Azure OpenAI + Azure AI Search (or vectorized Delta tables) to support chat‑based analytics.
• Implement data quality, lineage, and observability (e.g., Great Expectations, Unity Catalog/Purview), plus cost governance (partitioning, Z‑order, compaction).
• Deliver automated anomaly detection and alerting (time‑series baselines, isolation forests, Azure ML pipelines, Event Grid/Functions).
• Partner with product/ops leaders to translate vague analytical questions into robust data models, metrics, and queries with clear SLAs.
• Lead, mentor, and uplevel a team of data & Python engineers; establish patterns, reviews, and documentation; own CI/CD and IaC (Bicep/Terraform).
• Drive security, privacy, and compliance by design (RBAC, least privilege, PII handling, encryption, auditability).

• 7+ years in architecture; 2–4+ years leading small teams while staying hands‑on (50–70%).
• Expert in Azure Data Lake Gen2, Delta Lake, Unity Catalog (or Fabric equivalent), PySpark, SQL, and Python.
• Strong command of Databricks (or Fabric Lakehouse), ADF/Synapse/Databricks Workflows, and monitoring/observability.
• Built or contributed to a semantic/metrics layer and query optimization for complex, multi‑join analytics.
• Practical experience with Azure OpenAI integrations, retrieval/RAG, embeddings, vector search, and grounding structured data.
• CI/CD for data (Git Hub Actions/Azure Dev Ops), IaC (Bicep/Terraform), testing frameworks for pipelines, data contracts.
• Excellent communication; able to translate business questions into data models and mentor engineers.
• Experience in operations/financial services/valuations domains.