Data Architect in London

Valorem Reply is the UK branch of the global Reply group, a leading Microsoft-focused digital transformation consultancy. We blend the agility of a local business with the resources of a global enterprise, specialising in Azure to simplify how businesses modernise their IT, data, and analytics. Our strapline "modernisation, simplified..." highlights our mission to make cloud journeys straightforward and effective.

Role Overview

As a Data Architect, you will design practical, scalable, and secure data solutions for clients, with a strong focus on Microsoft Azure and modern data platform services. You will work closely with customers, delivery teams, and internal stakeholders to understand business requirements, define data architectures, and support the successful delivery of analytics and data platform solutions. This role is suited to someone with a solid background in data engineering or data solution design who is ready to take the next step into architecture, shaping end‑to‑end solutions across ingestion, storage, transformation, modelling, governance, and consumption. You will help clients improve the quality, accessibility, structure, and value of their data, ensuring solutions are robust, maintainable, and aligned to business goals while considering security, performance, resilience, and cost. This is a hybrid role either based in Manchester or London.

Responsibilities

• Design end‑to‑end data solutions across ingestion, transformation, storage, modelling, and consumption.
• Work with clients to understand business goals, reporting needs, data challenges, and technical constraints.
• Produce high‑quality architecture documentation, solution designs, and data models.
• Design secure, scalable, resilient, and supportable data platforms and solutions.
• Define patterns for data integration, transformation, storage, and analytics.
• Support the design of lakehouse, warehouse, and reporting solutions using Azure‑based services.
• Ensure data quality, lineage, governance, and security are incorporated into solution design.
• Collaborate with engineers and consultants and facilitate workshops and design discussions with clients and delivery teams.
• Evaluate design options and contribute to best practices, reusable assets, and mentoring of junior team members.

Qualifications

• Experience in data engineering, data solution design, or data architecture roles, with strong expertise in Microsoft Azure data services and modern cloud platforms (e.g., Databricks).
• Good understanding of end‑to‑end data architecture, including ingestion, transformation, storage, modelling, and reporting.
• Experience with Azure services such as Data Factory, Databricks, Synapse Analytics, Fabric, or Data Lake Storage.
• Strong understanding of data modelling concepts, including logical, physical, dimensional, and analytical models.
• Ability to design practical, maintainable data solutions aligned to business and technical requirements, and produce architecture artefacts and technical documentation.
• Experience working in customer‑facing roles, engaging effectively with clients and stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of data quality, security, access control, and governance principles, with good communication, facilitation, and problem‑solving skills.
• Self‑sufficient and collaborative, with the ability to work independently, alongside a structured, detail‑oriented, and outcome‑focused approach.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, lakehouse architectures, and hands‑on development using Python, SQL, or Spark would be advantageous, along with familiarity with integration technologies.
• Knowledge of DevOps practices, Infrastructure as Code, data governance tools (e.g., Purview), Power BI, other cloud platforms, and exposure to AI/ML use cases would be beneficial.

Benefits

Reply offers competitive remuneration and benefits, but details are not provided in the description.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Reply is an Equal Opportunities Employer and committed to embracing diversity in the workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type regardless of age, sexual orientation, gender, identity, pregnancy, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, medical history, skin colour, marital status or parental status or any other characteristic protected by law. Reply is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.