Senior Data Architect
Location: UK based, hybrid working with occasional travel to Shivom and client locations
Employment Type: Permanent, Full Time
Salary: £80,000 to £90,000 per annum, depending on experience
Security Clearance: Applicants must either hold current Security Check (SC) clearance or be eligible to obtain SC clearance. Candidates without existing clearance must be willing to complete the required security vetting process as a condition of appointment.
About the role
Shivom Consultancy is looking for experienced Senior Data Architects to join our growing architecture practice.
You will provide architecture leadership across complex data estates spanning modern digital platforms, cloud services, operational databases, reporting services and long lived legacy systems.
The role will focus on how organisations structure, own, integrate, migrate, govern and use data across multiple applications, products and business services.
You will help define clear data architecture direction, improve data quality and consistency, establish appropriate ownership and boundaries, support legacy modernisation and enable reliable information sharing across complex technology environments.
You will work across both operational and analytical data, ensuring that transactional applications, integration services, reporting platforms and downstream analytics capabilities have clear and sustainable data architecture.
We are recruiting multiple architects and are interested in candidates with complementary strengths across areas such as:
- Enterprise and domain data architecture
- Operational and transactional data
- Data modelling
- PostgreSQL and Azure SQL
- Oracle and legacy data platforms
- Data migration and modernisation
- Data integration and information exchange
- Reporting and information services
- Data governance, quality and lineage
- Cloud data architecture
Candidates are not expected to be specialists in every area.
You will work closely with enterprise architects, solution architects, application teams, data engineers, integration architects, cloud specialists, cyber security teams, product teams and technology suppliers.
This role will support major UK public sector and enterprise transformation programmes within Shivom's client portfolio.
What you will be doing
You will:
- Lead data architecture across complex digital platforms, products and business services.
- Define current, target and transition data architectures.
- Develop enterprise, domain and solution level data architecture where appropriate.
- Define conceptual, logical and physical data models.
- Establish clear data ownership, stewardship and system of record principles.
- Help define appropriate boundaries between application data, shared data and analytical data.
- Design data architectures that support multiple products and services without creating unnecessary coupling.
- Define data flows across applications, APIs, messaging platforms, databases and downstream information services.
- Develop data architecture roadmaps covering modernisation, migration, consolidation and technical debt.
- Assess existing databases and data services and identify opportunities to simplify or rationalise the estate.
- Define migration approaches from legacy databases and applications to modern platforms.
- Architect data coexistence during phased transformation and migration.
- Define approaches for data reconciliation and migration assurance.
- Protect data integrity throughout migration and service transition.
- Define appropriate data retention, archival and disposal approaches.
- Support modernisation of long lived relational database estates.
- Define appropriate patterns for operational data, reporting data and analytical consumption.
- Design data architectures that support management information, operational reporting and downstream analytics.
- Improve data quality, consistency and accessibility across product and organisational boundaries.
- Define approaches for master, reference and shared data where appropriate.
- Establish metadata, lineage and traceability requirements.
- Support secure information exchange between internal systems and external organisations.
- Define data security, access control, privacy and audit requirements.
- Define resilience, availability, recovery and performance requirements for data services.
- Work with integration architects to define API, messaging, event and batch based data exchange patterns.
- Work with application architects to ensure data ownership and persistence decisions align with application boundaries.
- Work with engineering teams to translate data architecture into implementable designs.
- Review detailed data models, schemas and migration approaches.
- Identify data related architectural risks, dependencies and technical debt.
- Prepare and present architecture decisions through technical governance and design authority forums.
- Support proofs of concept, technology evaluations and migration feasibility exercises.
- Promote repeatable engineering, automation and auditable change across data platforms.
- Contribute to architecture peer reviews and continuous improvement across Shivom's architecture practice.
Essential experience and skills
We are looking for strong experience across most of the following:
- Significant experience as a Data Architect, Senior Data Architect, Solution Architect with a strong data specialism, or equivalent senior data architecture role.
- Experience working across complex enterprise data estates.
- Strong understanding of conceptual, logical and physical data modelling.
- Experience defining target and transition data architectures.
- Strong relational database architecture experience.
- Experience with PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL, Oracle or comparable enterprise databases.
- Experience defining data ownership and system of record principles.
- Experience designing data architecture across multiple applications or product teams.
- Strong understanding of operational and transactional data architecture.
- Experience supporting reporting, management information or analytical services.
- Experience with data integration and information exchange.
- Strong understanding of API, messaging, event driven and batch data integration patterns.
- Experience architecting data migration between legacy and modern platforms.
- Experience planning coexistence between old and new data services during phased migration.
- Strong understanding of data reconciliation, validation and migration assurance.
- Experience with data quality management.
- Understanding of metadata, lineage and traceability.
- Experience defining data retention, archiving and disposal requirements.
- Strong understanding of information security and data protection.
- Experience defining data access and authorisation approaches.
- Experience designing resilient and highly available data services.
- Experience addressing database performance, scalability and operational support considerations.
- Experience producing architecture artefacts including data models, data flow diagrams, roadmaps, options assessments and architecture decisions.
- Experience working within technical governance or architecture assurance processes.
- Experience working across multiple engineering teams and suppliers.
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Ability to explain complex data architecture to technical and non technical stakeholders.
- Ability to make pragmatic architecture decisions balancing strategic direction, data integrity, operational constraints and delivery needs.
Data modelling
Strong data modelling capability is important for this role.
You should be comfortable working across:
- Conceptual data models
- Logical data models
- Physical data models
- Domain models
- Entity relationship modelling
- Relational modelling
- Normalisation and denormalisation
- Data dictionaries
- Reference data
- Master data
- Data classification
- Schema design
- Data contracts
- Data ownership
- Business definitions
- Canonical models where appropriate
You should be able to use modelling to clarify ownership and relationships rather than producing models purely as documentation.
Operational and transactional data architecture
A significant part of this role may involve architecture for business critical transactional platforms.
You should understand:
- Transactional databases
- Application owned data
- Service owned data
- Database per service patterns
- Shared database risks
- Transaction boundaries
- Consistency
- Concurrency
- Referential integrity
- Caching
- Data access patterns
- Database scaling
- High availability
- Backup and recovery
- Audit data
- Historical data
- Operational reporting
You should be able to work effectively with application and platform architects when defining data boundaries within distributed systems.
Data ownership and architecture boundaries
We are interested in architects who can address one of the most common challenges in large technology estates: unclear ownership and unnecessary data coupling.
You should be comfortable defining:
- Authoritative data sources
- Systems of record
- Data ownership
- Domain boundaries
- Product boundaries
- Shared data
- Reference data
- Data replication
- Read models
- Data synchronisation
- Data distribution
- Data access interfaces
- Appropriate use of APIs and events
The objective is to make ownership explicit while enabling information to be shared safely and efficiently.
Data migration and legacy modernisation
Data migration is an important part of this role.
You should understand the architecture considerations associated with migrating long lived systems while protecting business continuity and data integrity.
Relevant areas include:
- Legacy database assessment
- Data profiling
- Migration strategy
- Source to target mapping
- Data transformation
- Data cleansing
- Data quality remediation
- Migration sequencing
- Incremental migration
- Bulk migration
- Delta migration
- Synchronisation
- Dual running
- Reconciliation
- Validation
- Cutover
- Rollback
- Archiving
- Retention
- Decommissioning
You should be able to define pragmatic migration strategies rather than assuming that every historic data structure can simply be moved unchanged to a new platform.
Data quality
You should understand how architecture can improve data quality across an organisation.
Relevant considerations include:
- Completeness
- Accuracy
- Consistency
- Timeliness
- Validity
- Uniqueness
- Data quality rules
- Validation
- Exception handling
- Reconciliation
- Remediation
- Ownership
- Monitoring
- Quality metrics
Data quality should be designed into services rather than addressed solely through downstream cleansing.
Data governance, metadata and lineage
You should have good understanding of:
- Data governance
- Data ownership
- Data stewardship
- Business glossaries
- Data catalogues
- Metadata management
- Data lineage
- Data classification
- Retention
- Disposal
- Auditability
- Traceability
- Data standards
- Sensitive data handling
- Privacy by design
Experience with enterprise data catalogue or metadata technologies is advantageous but strong architecture principles are more important than experience with a specific product.
Reporting and information services
The role may include architecture supporting operational reporting and wider information use.
You should understand the distinction between:
- Operational transactions
- Operational reporting
- Management information
- Analytical workloads
- Reporting stores
- Read models
- Data extracts
- APIs for information access
- Event driven data distribution
- Dashboards
- Historical analysis
You should be able to prevent analytical and reporting needs from creating inappropriate coupling or workload against operational systems.
Data integration and information exchange
Data rarely remains within a single application.
You should understand patterns including:
- REST APIs
- API based data access
- Azure API Management
- Azure Service Bus
- Messaging
- Queues and topics
- Event driven architecture
- Publish and subscribe
- Change propagation
- Batch integration
- Secure file exchange
- Data extracts
- Scheduled processing
- Reconciliation
- Idempotency
- Error handling
- Schema evolution
- Data contracts
You will work with specialist integration architects where appropriate but should be capable of defining the data architecture associated with these patterns.
Technology experience
Candidates do not need deep expertise in every technology listed below.
We are recruiting multiple Data Architects and are particularly interested in candidates whose strengths complement one another.
Relational and operational data platforms
Experience with several of the following would be beneficial:
- PostgreSQL
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL
- Azure SQL
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle Database
- Redis
- Relational database technologies
- Managed cloud databases
- Legacy database platforms
Microsoft Azure
Relevant experience may include:
- Microsoft Azure
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL
- Azure SQL
- Azure Storage
- Azure Functions
- Azure Service Bus
- Azure API Management
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Managed identities
- Azure Key Vault
- Azure Monitor
- Log Analytics
- Application Insights
Data and information services
Relevant experience may include:
- Operational data stores
- Reporting databases
- Data integration services
- Reference data services
- Master data
- Data catalogues
- Metadata management
- Data lineage
- Data quality tooling
- Power BI or comparable reporting technologies
- Power Platform and Dataverse
Experience with other cloud or enterprise data technologies is relevant where the underlying architecture capability is transferable.
Oracle and legacy data platforms
Some assignments may involve long lived enterprise systems and databases.
Experience in areas such as the following would therefore be valuable:
- Oracle Database
- Oracle based applications
- Legacy relational databases
- Traditional middleware
- Stored procedures
- Database integration
- Legacy schema analysis
- Database consolidation
- Data extraction
- Data migration
- Archiving
- Retention
- Decommissioning
You do not need to be an Oracle DBA, but candidates working on legacy modernisation should understand the architectural implications of moving data away from established enterprise database platforms.
Cloud data architecture
You should understand the implications of moving data services to cloud platforms, including:
- Managed database services
- Platform as a Service
- High availability
- Scaling
- Backup and recovery
- Encryption
- Private connectivity
- Identity based access
- Workload identities
- Secrets management
- Monitoring
- Automated deployment
- Environment separation
- Disaster recovery
- Cost and capacity
You should be able to determine whether an existing data platform should be retained, rehosted, replatformed, redesigned or retired.
Engineering and automation
Modern data platforms should be delivered through controlled and repeatable engineering practices.
Experience or architectural understanding across several of the following would be useful:
- Azure DevOps
- GitHub
- Source control
- CI/CD
- Database change management
- Schema versioning
- Automated database deployment
- Infrastructure as Code
- Terraform
- Bicep
- Automated testing
- Data validation automation
- Migration automation
- Environment promotion
You do not need to operate as a DevOps or Data Engineer, but should understand how data architecture translates into repeatable delivery.
Monitoring and operational support
Data services should be observable and supportable.
You should understand areas including:
- Database monitoring
- Performance monitoring
- Query performance
- Capacity monitoring
- Storage growth
- Connection monitoring
- Replication health
- Backup monitoring
- Availability
- Error monitoring
- Data pipeline monitoring
- Azure Monitor
- Application Insights
- Log Analytics
- Dynatrace
- Grafana
- Operational dashboards
- Alerting
Operational considerations should influence architecture from the outset.
Security and data protection
Data architecture must incorporate appropriate security and privacy controls.
You should understand:
- Data classification
- Sensitive data
- Personal data
- Encryption at rest and in transit
- Role Based Access Control
- Least privilege
- Managed identities
- Secrets management
- Key management
- Database access controls
- Data masking
- Audit logging
- Retention
- Disposal
- Privacy by design
- Data minimisation
- Secure information sharing
You will work with cyber security and privacy specialists where deeper specialist assurance is required.
Architecture and delivery alignment
This is not a role where the Data Architect operates separately from application and engineering teams.
You should be comfortable:
- Working closely with Solution Architects.
- Working with database specialists and Data Engineers.
- Reviewing application data models.
- Challenging inappropriate shared database designs.
- Reviewing database technology choices.
- Reviewing data migration approaches.
- Assessing integration and data flow designs.
- Supporting investigation of data quality issues.
- Reviewing performance and scalability concerns.
- Helping teams resolve ownership and data boundary questions.
- Supporting operational readiness.
- Updating architecture as implementation evidence emerges.
Our architecture approach
At Shivom, we place strong emphasis on:
- Clear data ownership
- Data as a strategic organisational asset
- Data quality by design
- Well defined systems of record
- Explicit data and service boundaries
- Reusable data patterns
- Secure information sharing
- API and event driven integration where appropriate
- Simplification and convergence
- Responsible legacy modernisation
- Safe data migration
- Protection of data integrity
- Privacy and security by design
- Resilience and operational readiness
- Automation and repeatability
- Engineering aligned architecture
- Sustainable technology choices
Our Data Architects are expected to maintain an enterprise perspective while remaining close enough to delivery to understand how data is actually created, changed, exchanged and consumed.
Desirable experience
It would be advantageous to have experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Large scale enterprise data architecture.
- Complex transactional digital services.
- PostgreSQL architecture.
- Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
- Azure SQL.
- Oracle database estates.
- Redis or distributed caching.
- Complex data migration programmes.
- Migration from legacy relational databases to cloud managed databases.
- Data quality improvement programmes.
- Master or reference data architecture.
- Data governance and stewardship.
- Metadata management and data catalogues.
- Data lineage.
- Operational reporting and management information.
- Enterprise information sharing.
- API and event driven data integration.
- Power Platform or Dataverse.
- Azure cloud architecture.
- Azure DevOps or GitHub.
- Infrastructure as Code.
- Dynatrace, Azure Monitor, Application Insights, Log Analytics or Grafana.
- UK central government or another regulated public sector environment.
- Large scale or business critical digital services.
- Sensitive or regulated information.
- Complex multi supplier delivery environments.
- Existing SC security clearance.
- Microsoft Azure Data or Architecture certification.
- DAMA/CDMP certification.
- TOGAF or equivalent architecture certification.
Professional certifications are desirable rather than mandatory where equivalent practical experience can be demonstrated.
Candidate profiles we are particularly interested in
As we are recruiting multiple Senior Data Architects, we are interested in complementary profiles.
You may have deeper experience in areas such as:
Operational and transactional data architecture
Relational data, product data ownership, PostgreSQL, Azure SQL, APIs, events and high volume transactional systems.
Data migration and modernisation
Oracle and legacy databases, migration strategy, reconciliation, coexistence, retention and platform retirement.
Enterprise data architecture and governance
Data models, ownership, quality, metadata, lineage, standards and information sharing.
Reporting and information architecture
Operational reporting, management information, read models, information services and downstream analytical consumption.
Candidates are not expected to cover every profile. We will assess both individual depth and how each candidate complements the wider architecture team.
What success looks like
You will be successful when you can:
- Understand complex data estates quickly.
- Establish clear data ownership and authoritative sources.
- Produce practical conceptual and logical data models.
- Define sustainable data boundaries between applications and services.
- Improve data quality and consistency.
- Reduce unnecessary duplication and coupling.
- Define secure and reusable information exchange patterns.
- Design appropriate architecture for PostgreSQL, Azure SQL, Oracle and other relational platforms.
- Develop realistic migration strategies from legacy platforms.
- Protect data integrity throughout migration and transformation.
- Define appropriate retention and disposal approaches.
- Support reporting and analytics without compromising operational services.
- Build security, resilience and operational support into data architecture.
- Produce architecture that engineering teams can practically implement.
- Work effectively with application, integration, cloud and security architects.
- Make clear recommendations when faced with competing data architecture options.
- Influence multiple delivery teams without becoming a bottleneck.
- Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, engineers, product teams and fellow architects.
Security requirements
Applicants must either hold current Security Check (SC) clearance or be eligible to obtain SC clearance.
Candidates who do not currently hold SC clearance must be willing to complete the required security vetting process as a condition of appointment.
The successful candidate will be expected to work in accordance with applicable client and government security policies when undertaking assignments involving sensitive information or systems.
Working arrangements
This is a UK based hybrid role.
You should be comfortable working remotely while also attending Shivom offices, client locations and other UK sites where collaboration, delivery activities or security requirements make in person attendance appropriate.
The frequency of on site attendance may vary depending on the nature and stage of individual assignments.
Benefits
At Shivom, we want our people to build long term careers while working on meaningful and technically challenging programmes.
Our benefits package includes:
- Private medical insurance
- Critical illness cover
- Worldwide family travel insurance
- Death in service life assurance at 5 times base salary
- Extended sick pay at 75% of salary
- Employer pension contribution
- Generous annual leave entitlement plus UK bank holidays
- Hybrid and flexible working arrangements, subject to client requirements
- Support for professional certifications and technical training
- Continuous professional development opportunities
- Access to architecture, data, cloud, security and engineering learning opportunities
- Support for maintaining and progressing professional and security clearances
- Career progression within Shivom's architecture and technology leadership practice
- Opportunities to work on major UK public sector and enterprise transformation programmes
- Regular knowledge sharing, technical forums and architecture communities of practice
- Employee wellbeing support
- Company sponsored social and team events
- Employee referral opportunities
- Recognition and performance related reward opportunities
About Shivom Consultancy
Shivom Consultancy is a UK based technology consultancy specialising in architecture, cloud, data, security, software engineering and digital transformation.
We work with organisations delivering complex and business critical technology services, helping them modernise legacy estates, improve their use of data, adopt cloud and digital platforms and build secure, resilient and sustainable technology capabilities.
Our architecture practice focuses on practical architecture that connects strategy with engineering. We believe architects should remain close to delivery, understand the operational consequences of their decisions and help teams make technology choices that remain sustainable beyond the immediate programme.
You will join a growing architecture community with opportunities to work across data, digital applications, cloud, integration, identity, security and enterprise platforms.
Why join Shivom?
You will have the opportunity to shape how complex organisations manage, modernise and use data while developing your career within a growing architecture practice.
You may work across enterprise data architecture, operational data, PostgreSQL, Azure SQL, Oracle modernisation, data migration, information sharing, reporting and cloud data services, depending on your background and assignments.
We combine the variety and technical challenge of consultancy with the opportunity to build longer term relationships with clients and delivery teams, influence architecture direction and see solutions progress from early design through implementation and live service.
Equal opportunities
Shivom Consultancy is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive working environment.
We welcome applications from suitably qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
We will make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process where required.
