Data Architect - Customer and Channels – 12m FTC

We’d all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That’s waiting for you at Sainsbury’s. Think about the scale it takes to feed the nation. The level of data, transactions and variety involved. Then you’ll realise this is a modern software engineering environment, because it has to be. We’ve made significant investment in the standards and principles that shape how we work. We iterate, learn, experiment and champion ways of working such as Agile, Scrum and XP. So you can look forward to exciting opportunities across everything from AI to reusable tech.

Joining our team at Sainsbury's means becoming part of a multi-channel, multi-brand business that serves millions of customers daily, providing a vast and diverse dataset that is truly exciting. With over 1.2 billion transactions each year, we have the opportunity to harness this data and build scalable, high-performance products using cutting-edge technology, such as our award-winning Smartshop app, to deliver an exceptional shopping experience for our customers.

As a Data Architect, you will play a crucial role in designing and building advanced data solutions and models, working closely with cross-functional teams to shape innovative products and services. In our inclusive and agile environment, you will have the freedom to explore, experiment, and tackle real-world challenges, witnessing the impact of your creations on millions of people across the UK. Additionally, you will benefit from a supportive culture that fosters innovation, collaboration, continuous learning, and personal ownership. Together, we strive to create a work-life balance that enables you to excel in your professional and personal aspirations.

What you’ll do

As a Data Architect within our multi-channel, multi-brand business, you will play a pivotal role in designing and building leading-edge data solutions and models. Working closely with colleagues such as Product Owners and the Engineering community, you will ensure the delivery of optimal data solutions that align with business requirements. Your responsibilities will include triaging new requirements, assessing their impact, and providing estimates for modifying data models accordingly. You will also be responsible for developing and enhancing business physical data models to meet evolving needs while driving alignment as necessary. Acting as the custodian of data models, you will define and own modelling within delivery teams and ensure adherence to standards and principles. It will be your duty to create solutions that fulfil business needs and align with the end-state architecture, while simultaneously documenting, communicating, and centrally managing data models in an appropriate manner. Collaborating with the broader architecture community, you will share your expertise to promote alignment and innovation across Sainsbury’s Tech.

As an experienced Data Modeller or Architect, you will bring your passion for creating order within reporting structures, along with a comprehensive understanding of Data Warehousing/Analytic end-to-end architecture. Your proficiency with various modelling methodologies, such as 3NF, Dimensional, and Data Vault, will be essential, and your expertise in staying up to date with industry advancements, including machine learning and modern algorithmic techniques at scale, will be valuable in driving data design best practices. Strong communication and influencing skills will enable you to advocate for and implement these best practises at the Engineering and Product Manager levels.

Who you are

As a Data Architect for our multi-channel, multi-brand business, you are a skilled and experienced professional who thrives in working with vast and complex data sets. With a passion for creating order within reporting structures, you possess expertise in data warehousing, analytic end-to-end architecture, and various modelling methodologies such as 3NF, Dimensional, and Data Vault. Your knowledge of the latest industry developments, including machine learning and modern algorithmic techniques at scale, enables you to design and build leading-edge data solutions that deliver valuable insights and enhance the overall customer experience. You have experience in canonical modelling, publication service/microservice based schematic design. Your strong communication and influencing skills, combined with your curiosity and drive to understand business processes and leverage data for driving business value, make you a valuable asset in shaping and designing new products and services within the overall data architecture of our organisation.

Essential Criteria

• Experience working with semi-structured, high-volume data, ideally in Digital tagging or Analytics area.
• Strong skills in stakeholder management.
• Hands on experience in DV 2.0 and Kimball dimensional data modelling.
• Clear understanding of the differences between Conceptual, Logical, and Physical data modelling, and able to demonstrate these distinctions.
• Experience in a Matrix reporting structure.
• Ability to serve as the Architecture custodian for the squad, ensuring standards and principles are followed.
• Knowledge of Data products.
• Technical expertise in designing ELT pipelines.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new – whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business – and we take development seriously and promise to support you.

Benefits

When you join our team, we’ll offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

• 10-15% colleague discount on purchases at Sainsbury’s, Argos, TU and Habitat (discount increases at points during the year).
• Pension scheme and life cover.
• Eligibility for a performance-related bonus of up to 10% of salary, depending on performance.
• Annual holiday allowance with the option to buy up to an additional week of holiday.
• Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance and access to a wide range of retailer discounts.
• Employee assistance programme.
• Up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave, and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.

Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).