Head of AI Labs Data Acquisition in London

Role type: Permanent

Corporate Title: Vice President

Department: Wholesale Data Technology

Location: London (Hybrid)

Company overview

Nomura is a financial services group with an integrated global network. By connecting markets East & West, we service the needs of individuals, institutions, corporates and governments through our four business divisions: Wealth Management, Investment Management, Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking) and Banking. Driven by the insights of some 28,000 people worldwide, we put our clients at the center of everything we do, delivering unparalleled access to, from and within Asia.

Department Overview

Data Services is a critical function responsible for delivering comprehensive global data solutions across the Wholesale Division. Operating through a globally distributed model, the team provides essential market and reference data capabilities that underpin the organization's core operations and strategic initiatives. The team structure comprises highly skilled Data Engineers and Product Owners, complemented by dedicated Project Management professionals. These project managers hold responsibility for executing and delivering complex, high-impact initiatives across the division, ensuring alignment with business objectives and technological capabilities.

Working in close collaboration with Global Markets Business, Risk, Finance, and Operations change teams, Data Services maintains strategic partnerships across the organization. The team's effectiveness is built upon strong stakeholder relationships and executive sponsorship within the business lines. Additionally, the function maintains robust partnerships with both internal and external technology partners, ensuring the delivery of cutting‑edge data solutions that meet evolving business requirements. This collaborative approach, combined with technical expertise and strategic vision, enables Data Services to deliver innovative solutions while maintaining operational excellence across the global enterprise.

Role Overview:

This position is for a technical lead for data acquisition within the AI Labs/Data Lake team. We are seeking a Lead Java Software Engineer to join our Wholesale Data and Operations Technology team. This position will serve as the technical leader for data acquisition processes and will be instrumental in shaping the architecture, implementation, and ongoing evolution of our comprehensive AI Labs/Data Lake platform. This role demands a seasoned professional who can seamlessly blend hands‑on technical expertise with strategic leadership capabilities to deliver robust, scalable data solutions that support our organization's analytical and operational requirements.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the end-to-end design, development, and maintenance of our enterprise‑grade Data Lake platform, with particular emphasis on optimizing data ingestion workflows and acquisition methodologies.
• Collaborate closely across various business lines to understand business requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
• Build and enhance sophisticated data quality tooling and frameworks to ensure the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of data throughout the acquisition pipeline.
• Architect and implement comprehensive data validation mechanisms, automated quality monitoring systems, and remediation processes that maintain the highest standards of data excellence.
• Drive technical initiatives that ensure our data infrastructure remains at the forefront of industry best practices while maintaining the highest standards of performance, reliability, and security.
• Collaborate closely with cross‑functional teams to translate complex business requirements into scalable technical solutions.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to junior team members while establishing architectural standards that guide development efforts.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend strategic improvements to enhance data acquisition capabilities and overall platform performance.
• Develop innovative approaches to data profiling, anomaly detection, and quality metrics reporting that provide stakeholders with comprehensive visibility into data health and lineage.
• Establish and maintain documentation standards, best practices, and governance frameworks for data acquisition and quality assurance processes.
• Lead architectural discussions and technical design decisions.

Skills, experience, qualifications and knowledge required:

Experience: Experienced Java Software Engineer with extensive professional development experience and a proven track record of delivering enterprise‑level solutions.

Experience: Technical leader and ability to execute, hands on technical with ability to lead a small technical team.

Primary Skills:

• Strong communication and documentation skills.
• Extensive expertise in architecting and developing enterprise‑level, highly scalable, and fault‑tolerant distributed systems with proven performance in mission‑critical environments.
• Advanced proficiency in Java ecosystem technologies including Spring Framework, Spring Boot, Hibernate, JPA, and microservices architecture patterns, with demonstrated experience in RESTful API design and implementation.
• Experience with Amazon Web Services (AWS) or alternative cloud platforms.
• Comprehensive knowledge of market data processing workflows across one or more asset classes including Fixed Income securities, Equity markets, and Foreign Exchange (FX) instruments.
• Hands‑on experience integrating and optimizing market data feeds from multiple third‑party vendor APIs, with understanding of data normalization and transformation requirements.
• Demonstrated leadership capabilities with a proven track record of mentoring and developing junior engineers, fostering technical growth, and knowledge transfer within development teams.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with the ability to create comprehensive technical documentation, present complex concepts to diverse stakeholders, and facilitate cross‑functional collaboration.
• GitLab or GitStash, gitflow.
• Jenkins, Ansible, CI/CD.

Desirable Skills:

• KDB.
• Python.
• AWS.
• Fixed Income Products / Investment Banking experience.

Nomura Leadership Behaviours

• Explore Insights & Vision: Identify the underlying causes of problems faced by you or your team and define a clear vision and direction for the future.
• Making Strategic Decisions: Evaluate all the options for resolving the problems and effectively prioritize actions or recommendations.
• Inspire Entrepreneurship in People: Inspire team members through effective communication of ideas and motivate them to actively enhance productivity.
• Elevate Organizational Capability: Engage proactively in professional development and enhance team productivity through the promotion of knowledge sharing.
• Inclusion: Respect DEI, foster a culture of inclusion and psychological safety in the workplace and cultivate a 'Risk Culture' (Challenge, Escalate and Respect).

Right to Work

The UK Government have taken steps to reduce net migration to the UK by limiting the number of overseas workers coming to the UK for employment. Please note that whilst we are able to consider applications from overseas workers from outside the UK (who require a Tier 2 Skilled Worker visa) we can only employ them if we can provide evidence that this is a genuine vacancy for a qualified role.

Diversity & Inclusion

Nomura is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to ensuring we best reflect the diversity of the communities we serve creating an inclusive environment for all our employees. We welcome all applications and do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender identity and gender expression, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. If you require any assistance or reasonable adjustments due to a disability or long‑term health condition, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Nomura is an Equal Opportunity Employer.