Data Architect

Location: Dubai, UAE
Employment Type: FTE
Duration: 1 Year (Extendable)
Candidate Location Requirement: candidates currently working in the UAE will be considered.

Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science,
Experience Required: 10+ years of experience in Data Architecture, Data Governance, Data Warehousing, or Enterprise Data Management.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Data Architect to lead enterprise data architecture, governance, and management initiatives across cloud and on-premises environments. The ideal candidate will possess strong expertise in Enterprise Data Management, Data Governance, Data Quality, Metadata Management, Data Lineage, and Architecture Governance while driving the design of scalable data platforms that support analytics, business intelligence, AI/ML, and digital transformation programs.

The role requires close collaboration with business stakeholders, governance teams, data owners, and technology teams to establish trusted, secure, governed, and compliant enterprise data environments.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain enterprise data architecture standards, principles, policies, and target-state roadmaps.
• Establish and govern enterprise data architecture and data management frameworks.
• Define and implement Data Governance operating models, stewardship processes, and governance controls.
• Develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models for enterprise-wide data domains.
• Lead enterprise Data Warehouse, Data Lake, and Lakehouse architecture initiatives.
• Establish Data Quality frameworks, standards, monitoring processes, and continuous improvement practices.
• Define enterprise Data Classification standards and ensure implementation across business domains.
• Implement Metadata Management strategies to improve data discoverability, consistency, and governance.
• Establish Data Lineage frameworks to ensure end-to-end visibility and traceability of enterprise data assets.
• Drive Architecture Governance processes and ensure compliance with enterprise architecture standards.
• Define policies for data retention, lifecycle management, and regulatory compliance.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate business requirements into sustainable data architecture solutions.
• Partner with governance teams, data stewards, and business data owners to improve data management maturity.
• Design and implement scalable cloud and hybrid data platforms supporting reporting, analytics, and AI initiatives.
• Lead architecture reviews, governance forums, and design workshops.
• Provide architectural leadership and mentoring to data engineering, analytics, and delivery teams.

Must Have Skills

• Proven experience designing and implementing Enterprise Data Architecture and Enterprise Data Management frameworks.
• Strong experience leading Data Governance initiatives, governance operating models, and stewardship programs.
• Hands-on experience establishing Data Quality frameworks, controls, and monitoring processes.
• Strong knowledge of Data Classification, Metadata Management, and Data Lineage practices.
• Experience driving Architecture Governance and ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards.
• Proven experience leading large-scale Enterprise Data Warehouse, Data Lake, and Lakehouse programs.
• Experience designing cloud and hybrid data platforms using Microsoft Azure data services.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Azure Data Lake, Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL, and related Azure data technologies.
• Strong knowledge of data integration, ETL/ELT frameworks, and Change Data Capture (CDC).
• Experience working with SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL environments.
• Strong understanding of Enterprise Reporting, Analytics, and Business Intelligence architectures.
• Proven experience engaging business stakeholders, governance teams, data owners, and senior technology leadership.
• Experience leading enterprise-scale data transformation and modernization initiatives.

Good to Have Skills

• Experience with Master Data Management (MDM) solutions.
• Experience with Data Retention and Lifecycle Management frameworks.
• Experience designing Data Streaming and Real-Time Analytics solutions.
• Experience with API-led integration architectures and modern integration frameworks.
• Experience implementing PII protection, encryption, access controls, data masking, and tokenization solutions.
• Experience delivering government, telecom, transportation, banking, or other large enterprise data programs.
• Experience enabling AI/ML and Generative AI use cases through enterprise data platforms.
• Experience implementing Data Mesh or Domain-Oriented Data Architectures.
• Familiarity with sovereign cloud, data residency, and regulatory compliance requirements.