Lead Data Architect in Edinburgh

Lead Data Architect in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Temporary 60000 - 80000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
ASA Recruitment

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead the design and governance of data architecture, ensuring alignment with business needs.
  • Company: Public Sector organisation in Edinburgh with a focus on innovation.
  • Benefits: Competitive daily rate, hybrid work model, and potential for contract extensions.
  • Other info: Opportunity to work with modern tools and advance your career in data.
  • Why this job: Make a significant impact on data strategy while working in a dynamic environment.
  • Qualifications: Proven experience in data architecture, leadership, and data integration.

The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.

ASA Recruitment’s client, a Public Sector organisation in Edinburgh, are currently looking to recruit a Lead Data Architect for an initial 10 month contract (with potential extensions) on a rate of £735/day inside of IR35 (based on experience). This is a hybrid role with 2 days onsite per week in Edinburgh City Centre and 3 days remote.

Responsibilities

  • Design, govern and oversee data models and metadata systems, ensuring alignment with business needs.
  • Provide strategic leadership on data architecture across the programme, supporting the overall architecture lead and data architect vision.
  • Ensure systems are designed in accordance with agreed data architecture principles and standards.
  • Champion data architecture practices, standards and ways of working across teams.
  • Manage data-related risks, resolve complex data issues, and drive continuous improvement.
  • Ensure effective integration of data across products, services and external partners.

Essential Skills & Experience

  • Data Strategy & Architecture: Ability to define and deliver a scalable data architecture strategy aligned to programme objectives and external standards (e.g. ONS).
  • Data Modelling & Standards: Strong expertise in developing and governing data models, ensuring consistency and interoperability across systems and other government partners.
  • Data Integration & Flow: Experience designing end-to-end data flows, enabling seamless data collection, processing, and dissemination at scale.
  • Leadership & Governance: Proven leadership in complex programmes, establishing data governance, quality standards, and effective stakeholder engagement.

Desirable Skills

  • Advanced architectures: Data mesh, data fabric, real-time/event-driven systems.
  • Modern tools: Databricks, Snowflake, Kafka, dbt.
  • Cloud engineering maturity: CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code, DataOps, containers.
  • AI/ML enablement: Supporting MLOps and advanced analytics platforms.
  • Analytics expertise: BI tools and semantic data layers.
  • Certifications & frameworks: TOGAF, DAMA, cloud certifications.
ASA Recruitment

Contact Details:

ASA Recruitment Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Lead Data Architect in Edinburgh

Tap into Online Data Science Communities

Join online communities focused on data science like Kaggle, LinkedIn groups, or Reddit threads. These are goldmines for temporary gigs, as you can network with professionals and potentially hear about opportunities at companies like ASA Recruitment before they're even advertised!

Show Off Your Skills With Projects

Got some cool data science projects? Showcase them on platforms like GitHub or create a personal portfolio website. This visibility is crucial for landing temporary roles—let recruiters see your actual skills in action, which can set you apart from the crowd.

Check Out Specialist Job Boards

For temp roles, hit up job boards dedicated to tech and data science, like Stack Overflow Jobs or DataJobs. These platforms often feature openings that you won’t find on general job sites, including contracts with companies like ASA Recruitment.

Leverage University Resources

If you're currently at uni or recently graduated, tap into your school's career services. They often have connections with companies looking for temporary data science interns or contract workers, and they might even host job fairs with employers like ASA Recruitment.

We think you need these skills to ace Lead Data Architect in Edinburgh

SQL
Problem-Solving Skills
Data Governance
Python
Communication Skills
Automation
Data Engineering

Some tips for your application 🫡

Highlight Your Data Projects:When applying for a temporary data science role at ASA Recruitment, make sure to showcase any relevant projects you've worked on. Whether it's a personal project, an academic undertaking, or contributions to an open-source initiative, detailing these experiences can really set you apart and demonstrate your practical skills.

Emphasise Your Analytical Skills:In your CV and cover letter, focus on the specific analytical skills that are key to data science. Mention any experience with statistical tools, programming languages like Python or R, and data visualisation software. Don't forget to include any certifications that may bolster your expertise!

Show Your Flexibility:Since this is a temporary role, it's important to convey your adaptability and willingness to learn. In your cover letter to ASA Recruitment, emphasise how quickly you can get up to speed with new tools or projects. Highlight any previous experiences where you've had to adjust to new environments or challenges.

Craft a Unique Data-Driven Cover Letter:Instead of the usual generic cover letter, spice it up with some data! Maybe you’ve improved a process by 20% in a past role or cleaned a dataset with over a million entries. Use these stats to your advantage to grab ASA Recruitment’s attention and show the tangible impact of your work.

How to prepare for a job interview at ASA Recruitment

Showcase Your Analytical Skills

For a data science gig, it's crucial to demonstrate your analytical abilities. Be ready to discuss previous projects and the methodologies you used. Think about how you can quantify your impact—did your analysis improve efficiency or save costs? These are the stories that will stick with interviewers at ASA Recruitment.

Brush Up on Technical Skills

You might face technical questions on tools relevant to data science, like Python, R, or SQL. Prepare to solve a problem live—perhaps they'll ask you to write a simple query or code snippet. It’s cool to talk about them, but we need to show we can do it in practice, especially in a temporary role where quick results matter.

Highlight Your Adaptability

Since this is a temporary position, emphasise your ability to learn quickly and adapt to new tools or workflows. Share examples of how you've thrived in fast-paced environments before, and how you can hit the ground running at ASA Recruitment.

Prepare a Portfolio of Your Work

Bring your portfolio to the table—showcase projects where you've leveraged data science techniques to solve problems. Whether it’s a GitHub repository or a set of case studies, having tangible examples of your work will help you stand out and show what you bring to the team at ASA Recruitment.