Principal Data Solution Architect

Overview

As Principal Data Solution Architect you will design and deliver distributed data platforms at global scale, enabling real-time digital experiences. You will collaborate with application teams to translate data access patterns into scalable, secure solutions and drive the roadmap from architecture to production. This role sits at the center of a data-led transformation, shaping streaming, storage and compute strategies. You will mentor engineers and push for compliant, cost-efficient platforms that unlock business impact.

Pay / Benefits

• Bonus scheme
• Uncapped holiday allowance
• Enhanced pension + private healthcare
• Life assurance and income protection
• 1,000 annual self-development learning fund
• Sharesave scheme

Responsibilities

• Design distributed data platforms at scale (real-time streaming, compute, object storage, SQL/NoSQL)
• Architect real-time streaming solutions using Kafka and Pulsar for low-latency data delivery
• Design data structures for distributed systems (e.g., Cassandra) optimized for read/write patterns and scalability
• Deliver cloud-native solutions on AWS leveraging Databricks, S3, and distributed compute frameworks
• Collaborate with application/engineering teams to translate data access patterns into scalable platforms
• Produce ADRs, data models and technical designs aligned to business goals
• Create pragmatic roadmaps balancing near-term delivery with target architecture
• Mentor engineers and architects on distributed data platform patterns
• Incorporate security, cost, performance and regulatory compliance throughout the design

Key requirements

• Extensive experience designing and implementing distributed data platforms at scale
• Proven track record in real-time, low-latency streaming platforms and event-driven architectures
• Hands-on Apache Spark and Databricks with scale performance tuning
• Experience with Cassandra or similar distributed databases (partitioning, consistency, optimization)
• Solid experience with OLTP databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
• Cloud-native delivery on AWS, GCP or Azure
• Experience delivering platforms in high-volume B2C environments at real scale
• Experience delivering compliant data solutions in regulated environments (PCI, SOX, HIPAA)
• Experience productionising ML/AI capabilities including feature stores, training pipelines and model serving
• Mentoring and guiding engineers
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Strategic thinking and roadmapping
• Apache Spark
• Databricks
• Kafka

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