Data Architect

Quick Facts

Data Architect role focused on designing a large-scale GCP data platform for an enterprise telecommunications client. Starts part-time and scales to full-time.

Description

Lead the technical design of a lakehouse/medallion architecture on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Define ingestion, transformation, governance, cataloging, and analytics-serving layers using BigQuery, Dataflow, Pub/Sub, and GCS, and advise on migrating legacy ETL into modern lakehouse patterns.

Responsibilities

• Design and own the target-state lakehouse/medallion architecture for a multi-petabyte GCP data platform
• Translate transformation goals into scalable, secure architecture decisions and delivery roadmaps
• Define architecture for ingestion, transformation, curation, dataset registration/cataloging, governance, and analytics serving (BigQuery serving layer; dbt/Looker for transformation and reporting)
• Advise on migration strategy for legacy ETL pipelines, including undocumented/proprietary tooling
• Evaluate ingestion/transformation tooling (e.g., Fivetran, dbt, Airflow/Composer, NiFi) via proofs of concept
• Define data governance and cataloging strategy aligned with GCP native capabilities (e.g., Dataplex, BigQuery universal data catalog)
• Act as a senior technical reviewer for squad engineers to ensure architectural consistency, security compliance, and long-term maintainability
• Present and validate architecture decisions with client executives, enterprise architecture teams, and security stakeholders
• Operate within client-controlled toolchain and security constraints, including approved AI-assisted development environments

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in data architecture, solution architecture, or enterprise systems architecture
• Strong hands-on experience architecting data platforms on GCP (BigQuery, Dataflow, Pub/Sub, GCS) at enterprise/multi-petabyte scale
• Proven experience designing lakehouse or medallion architectures (bronze/silver/gold or equivalent)
• Experience defining enterprise data governance frameworks: data quality, lineage, metadata management, access controls, cataloging
• Experience advising on or leading migration of legacy ETL/data platforms to modern cloud-native architectures
• Strong understanding of ingestion/transformation tooling such as Fivetran, dbt, and Apache Airflow/Composer
• Experience working directly with enterprise clients as a trusted technical advisor
• Comfort operating in security-conscious enterprises with client-controlled toolchains and approved AI-assisted development tools
• Excellent communication and presentation skills across technical, business, and executive audiences
• Fluent English and daily comfort in a client-facing role
• Occasional travel to the client’s UK office (a few days at a time)

Benefits

• Growth through mentorship, internal TechTalks, challenging projects, and a dedicated annual learning budget
• Competitive compensation with regular performance and compensation reviews
• 100% remote work with flexible hours
• Meaningful modern projects using contemporary technologies
• Supportive, collaborative culture with zero micromanagement
• Well-being & support programs tailored to your location