Data Architect

Data Architect - Outside IR35

Contract: 6 months initial
Location: Hybrid
Day Rate: £525 - £550 p/d
IR35: Outside
Start: ASAP

We're looking for an experienced Data Architect to join a complex data transformation programme focused on building secure, interoperable and well-governed data-sharing capabilities.

This role is particularly suited to a Data Architect with a strong background in data modelling, metadata, lineage, governance and secure data sharing, rather than someone focused purely on cloud infrastructure or data engineering.

You'll work across business, security, architecture and engineering teams to establish how data is structured, classified, governed and securely shared across multiple systems and organisations.

The Role

As the Data Architect, you'll define and evolve the data models and architectural standards that allow information to be consistently understood, governed and exchanged.

You'll work across the full data lifecycle, covering schemas, attributes, classifications, metadata, ownership, provenance and lineage, while helping establish authoritative sources of truth.

A key element of the role will also involve supporting Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC), translating business and security requirements into appropriate data classifications, attributes and access policies.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and deliver data architecture, modelling and governance activities
• Develop conceptual, logical and physical data models
• Define data schemas, attributes, classifications, taxonomies and controlled vocabularies
• Establish clear data definitions, ownership, stewardship and sources of truth
• Define and manage metadata across complex data environments
• Map data lineage and provenance across sources, transformations and consumers
• Design scalable structures for secure and interoperable data sharing
• Translate business, security and governance requirements into architectural designs
• Support the design of PBAC and attribute-driven access controls
• Establish data governance principles, standards and processes
• Ensure data quality, consistency, integrity and traceability
• Support data migration, integration and transformation programmes
• Work closely with engineering teams to translate logical models into technical implementation
• Maintain architecture, metadata, lineage and governance documentation

Essential Experience

We're looking for strong experience across:

• Data Architecture & Data Modelling
• Conceptual, logical and physical data models
• Data structures, schemas, entities, attributes and relationships
• Metadata management
• Data lineage & provenance
• Data classifications and taxonomies
• Data governance and stewardship
• Authoritative data sources / sources of truth
• Data lifecycle management
• Secure data sharing and interoperability
• Translating business and security requirements into data architecture
• Working with engineering, security and business stakeholders
• Agile delivery environments

Desirable Experience

Any experience across the following would be particularly valuable:

• Policy-Based Access Control (PBAC)
• Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC)
• Data catalogues and metadata management platforms
• Ontologies and semantic modelling
• Knowledge graphs / linked data
• Data interoperability standards
• API and data contracts
• Schema management
• Complex data migration and integration
• Data quality frameworks
• Audit, regulatory and compliance environments
• Policy lifecycle management