Data Architect in Portsmouth

A Data Architect, ready to define and lead the data architecture underpinning a hybrid navy, integrating crewed platforms, uncrewed systems, sensors, and digital services across ship, shore, and cloud environments.

Skills

• You will set the technical direction and architectural standards for how data is collected, secured, processed, and exploited to deliver operational advantage.
• This role balances strategic design with hands‑on technical leadership, working closely with engineers, security teams, and operational stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the end‑to‑end data architecture for hybrid naval capabilities.
• Designing architectures for low‑bandwidth, denied, or intermittent connectivity.
• Design secure, resilient, and scalable data platforms spanning edge, tactical, and cloud environments.
• Establish architectural patterns for real‑time data ingestion, streaming, and analytics.
• Lead the integration of sensor, platform, and mission data using common data models and standards.
• Ensure data architecture aligns with defence security (JSP452), accreditation, and interoperability requirements.
• Provide architectural governance, including design assurance, technical decision making, and risk management.
• Mentor engineers and influence delivery teams to implement architectural best practice.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to MOD clients, translating operational needs into architectural decisions.

Requirements

• Comfortable working in agile, multi-disciplinary teams.
• Pragmatic and outcomes focused, balancing architectural rigour with delivery pace.
• Security first mindset, with an appreciation of operational realities.

Experience

Essential:

• Proven experience as a Senior Data Architect delivering solutions in complex, regulated, disconnected or mission critical environments, with accountability for end‑to‑end data architecture.
• Strong understanding of data modelling, data warehousing and data lake architectures (e.g. lakehouse patterns), and data integration using event driven and API led approaches.
• Experience designing architectures across hybrid cloud and on‑premise / edge environments, using platforms such as AWS or Azure, with a strong understanding of distributed systems and event‑driven architectures (e.g. Apache Kafka, AWS Kinesis, messaging and streaming patterns).
• Experience designing architectures for high volume, time critical, or sensor driven data, including streaming, time series, and geospatial data (e.g. PostgreSQL/PostGIS, Elasticsearch, InfluxDB).
• Strong technical leadership and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to set architectural direction, assure designs, and influence multidisciplinary delivery teams.
• Knowledge of data security, information assurance, and access control in high‑security contexts, including secure data pipelines, encryption, identity and access management, and awareness of Zero Trust principles.

Desirable:

• Experience working with MOD, Defence Digital, SDA, or wider UK public sector defence clients.
• Ability to communicate complex architectural and data concepts clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders, including senior leaders.
• Hands‑on experience with modern cloud native data platforms, such as: MODCloud – ICE, ACE environments, AWS data services (e.g. S3, Redshift, EKS, Kinesis), Azure data services (e.g. Data Lake, Synapse, AKS), GCP Kubernetes‑based platforms and containerised data services.
• Understanding of NATO data standards, interoperability requirements, or multi‑national data sharing constraints.
• Experience supporting systems operating in degraded, denied, or disconnected environments, including low bandwidth architectures and edge processing patterns.