Lead Data Architect

Sword is a leading provider of business technology solutions within the Energy, Public and Finance Sectors. We are seeking a Lead Data Architect to play a pivotal leadership role within our growing Data & AI business unit.

Requirements

• Lead, mentor, and develop Senior Data Engineers
• Provide technical direction, guidance, and oversight across all data engineering projects
• Deliver technical assurance by reviewing solution designs, pipelines, architectures, and implementation approaches
• Oversee the design and delivery of scalable, cloud-native data solutions using Azure technologies
• Ensure engineering teams follow best-practice patterns for ETL/ELT, data modelling, data lakes, governance, and optimisation
• Support the Data & AI Technical Director in shaping the engineering strategy, standards, and capability roadmap
• Act as a senior technical advisor to clients, translating business requirements into modern data engineering solutions
• Facilitate discovery sessions, workshops, and technical design reviews with client stakeholders
• Support the sales team by joining client calls, providing technical expertise, and contributing to solution shaping
• Ensure all solutions meet governance, security, compliance, and data quality standards
• Promote strong engineering fundamentals including code quality, testing, automation, documentation, and CI/CD
• Identify delivery risks, propose mitigation strategies, and ensure predictable, high-quality project outcomes
• Collaborate with Data Architects, AI Specialists, and other cross-functional teams to design cohesive end-to-end solutions
• Keep the engineering team aligned with emerging technologies, tools, and cloud capabilities
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through automation, accelerators, and reusable components
• Contribute hands-on technical expertise when required to unblock teams or solve complex engineering challenges
• Engage in continuous improvement initiatives to advance engineering maturity and standardisation across the practice

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package
• Personalised Career Development
• Flexible working
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Enhanced family friendly benefits
• Pension scheme
• Access to private health, well-being, and insurance schemes