Principal Data Architect – Azure Fabric / OneLake

Location: London / Hybrid

Rate: Up To £700 P/D

Overview

We are seeking an experienced Principal Data Architect to lead the design and delivery of secure, scalable and near real-time data replication solutions into Microsoft Azure Fabric (OneLake).

You will play a key role in defining enterprise data architecture, supporting multiple delivery teams and ensuring solutions meet technical, security and governance standards. The role will focus on replicating Database of Records (DBORs) from on-premises and non-Azure cloud environments into Azure Fabric, enabling downstream data products and data-as-a-service (DaaS) capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

1. Define, own and deliver end-to-end data replication architectures into Azure Fabric (OneLake).
2. Present architecture designs at Architecture Review Boards (ARBs), security reviews and governance forums.
3. Work closely with multiple data replication teams, resolving architectural queries and acting as the technical escalation point.
4. Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture principles, Azure reference architectures and security standards.
5. Design and govern initial data loads and Change Data Capture (CDC) replication strategies.
6. Define performance, resilience, monitoring and failure recovery approaches.
7. Identify technical, security and data risks, establishing appropriate mitigation strategies.
8. Develop and maintain architecture standards, templates and runbooks.
9. Mentor engineering and delivery teams on Azure best practices and enterprise architecture principles.

Required Skills & Experience

1. 12+ years of experience in Data Architecture or Data Integration Architecture.
2. Strong knowledge of Microsoft Azure, particularly:
3. Microsoft Fabric and OneLake
4. Azure Core Data Services
5. Azure networking, identity and security
6. Extensive database and replication experience, including Oracle and Oracle GoldenGate, SQL Server and PostgreSQL.
7. Experience designing Change Data Capture (CDC) and data replication solutions.
8. Familiarity with replication technologies such as Qlik Replicate, Debezium and SQL Server Fabric Mirroring.
9. Strong understanding of secure data movement into cloud platforms.
10. Knowledge of data warehousing and data engineering.
11. Experience with streaming data and on-premises technologies.
12. Previous experience working within financial services organisations.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity for a senior data architecture professional to take ownership of complex enterprise data solutions, influence architectural decisions and support the delivery of secure, high-performance data platforms within a financial services environment.

If you have the relevant experience and are interested in discussing the opportunity, please get in touch.