Lead Data Migration Architect

We are seeking a Lead Data Migration Architect to lead the design, assurance, and delivery of secure, cloud-based data migration solutions for UK Central Government departments. The role combines architectural strategy with hands-on migration delivery oversight and testing governance—shaping target-state data platforms while ensuring data is migrated accurately, securely, and efficiently within regulated, security-conscious environments.

What you'll be doing:

This role places a strong emphasis on data migration validation, ETL testing, and pipeline assurance, particularly within AWS-based Data Lakehouse architectures. You will be responsible for defining and governing end-to-end migration testing strategies, ensuring successful transition of data from legacy data warehouses to modern cloud platforms. This position will suit an architect who can operate across both enterprise data architecture and modern cloud-native migration patterns, and who values precision, data quality, governance, and technical rigor. Candidates must be eligible for SC clearance (existing SC clearance desirable; BPSS minimum required).

What experience you'll bring:

• Leadership: Recent experience as a Lead Data Migration Architect, Lead Data Architect, or Data Solutions Architect in migration-focused programmes.
• Demonstrated ownership of end-to-end data migration strategy, execution, and testing assurance.
• Experience operating in consulting, systems integration, or delivery partner roles.
• Proven leadership of cross-functional migration teams, including engineers, testers, and architects.
• Experience working within UK Central Government or ALBs strongly preferred.

You will bring strong experience designing and delivering large-scale data migration solutions, including:

• Designing end-to-end data migration architectures from legacy systems to cloud platforms.
• Defining migration strategies including bulk data loads followed by incremental/delta processing, re-platforming and repointing of data pipelines.
• Leading migration programmes from legacy data warehouses to AWS Data Lakehouse architectures.
• Designing migration frameworks covering data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL/ELT), data staging, reconciliation, and validation, migration orchestration and monitoring.

Data Migration Testing & Assurance:

You will have strong, practical experience defining and overseeing data engineering testing within migration programmes, including:

• Testing end-to-end ETL/ELT data pipelines on AWS, including AWS Glue-based solutions.
• Validating data feed pipeline migrations, including repointing pipelines to new AWS Data Lakehouse architectures.
• Overseeing testing of pipelines underpinned by AI ETL accelerators, Python/PySpark, SQL transformations, YAML-driven configuration frameworks.
• Validating bulk migration loads followed by incremental/delta data processing from legacy data warehouses.
• Defining and implementing data completeness and accuracy checks, regression testing across migration cycles, establishing automated testing frameworks for large-scale data migration assurance.

Strong experience with AWS cloud-native data platforms, including:

• AWS Glue.
• S3-based data lakes.
• Lakehouse architectures using Apache Iceberg.

Familiarity with:

• Data lake and lakehouse patterns.
• Event-driven and streaming architectures (where relevant to migration).
• Understanding of where modern migration approaches add value vs traditional ETL patterns.

Who we are:

We’re a business with a global reach that empowers local teams, and we undertake hugely exciting work that is genuinely changing the world. Our advanced portfolio of consulting, applications, business process, cloud, and infrastructure services will allow you to achieve great things by working with brilliant colleagues, and clients, on exciting projects. Our inclusive work environment prioritises mutual respect, accountability, and continuous learning for all our people. This approach fosters collaboration, well-being, growth, and agility, leading to a more diverse, innovative, and competitive organisation.

What we’ll offer you:

We offer a range of tailored benefits that support your physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing. Our Learning and Development team ensure that there are continuous growth and development opportunities for our people. We also offer the opportunity to have flexible work options.

We are an equal opportunities employer. We believe in the fair treatment of all our employees and commit to promoting equity and diversity in our employment practices. We are also a proud Disability Confident Committed Employer - we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. We actively collaborate with individuals who have disabilities and long-term health conditions which have an effect on their ability to do normal daily activities, ensuring that barriers are eliminated when it comes to employment opportunities. In line with our commitment, we guarantee an interview to applicants who declare to us, during the application process, that they have a disability and meet the minimum requirements for the role. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know. Join us in building a truly diverse and empowered team.