Senior Solutions Architect (Databricks Specialist)

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic architectural leadership for the organisation's Databricks implementation and data modernization initiatives.
• Design and define enterprise-scale data and analytics architectures aligned to business and AI objectives.
• Develop and implement architectural frameworks, standards, patterns, and best practices for Databricks adoption.
• Guide the Data Engineering team on solution design, scalability, performance optimization, security, and governance.
• Assess current SQL Server and Microsoft-based environments and define migration strategies to Databricks.
• Ensure architecture decisions support future AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, and reporting requirements.
• Evaluate and optimize platform utilization to drive cost efficiency and maximize return on investment.
• Establish governance, architecture review processes, and implementation roadmaps.
• Provide executive-level insights and recommendations on technology direction, risks, opportunities, and investments.
• Collaborate with business stakeholders, technology leadership, engineering teams, and vendors to drive successful outcomes.
• Oversee solution quality and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture principles and regulatory requirements.
• Identify technical risks, dependencies, and potential challenges.
• Mentor engineering teams and promote architectural excellence across the program.

Requirements

• Deep expertise in Databricks architecture, implementation, and optimization
• Strong understanding of enterprise data platforms and modern data architectures
• Experience with Data Lakehouse architecture design and implementation
• Knowledge of data governance, security, compliance, and data management frameworks
• Experience with data migration strategy and execution
• Proficiency in enterprise integration patterns and cloud-based architectures
• 10+ years of experience in Solution Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, or Data Architecture roles
• Demonstrated experience delivering large-scale data transformation initiatives
• Proven track record supporting cloud migration programs
• Experience within Financial Services or highly regulated environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Microsoft Azure Data Services (Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics)
• Experience with SQL Server or Delta Lake
• Knowledge of Unity Catalog
• Familiarity with DataOps and DevOps practices
• AI/ML platform architecture experience
• Certifications in Databricks, Azure, or TOGAF