Senior Data Architect - Department for Transport - G7

Birmingham, Hastings, Leeds, London

Can you turn complex data challenges into clear, innovative solutions that shape a smarter, more connected future for transport? Do you thrive on collaborating with diverse teams to design flexible data architectures that drive meaningful digital transformation? If so, we'd love to hear from you! The Department for Transport (DfT) is a high‑profile department at the heart of government that plans and invests to make journeys better. At the heart of digital evolution in DfT, you will join a talented, experienced, cross‑disciplinary architecture team imagining and shaping the delivery of next‑generation digital and data services. You will lead on developing the data architecture for an organisation that has data at its core and uses this to deliver innovative transport policy agenda. In recent years DfT’s digital and data teams have implemented a range of advanced data services, using the latest cloud technologies to deliver the services and platforms that our users need.

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• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary (Read more about Civil Service Pensions).
  
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days) plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday.
  
• Flexible working options that encourage a great work‑life balance.
  

You will work as part of our talented Architecture team, collaborating closely with the Data Engineering team and acting as an ambassador for the best in flexible data architecture across Digital Services and the wider DfTc. Your responsibilities will include:

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• Be responsible for all data architecture within DfT, providing designs for a number of data solutions and understanding interdependencies between different data stacks.
  
• Shape and deliver DfT’s data architecture strategy, roadmap and plans, ensuring the underlying architecture supports the goals of the organisation and government.
  
• Lead and develop DfTc’s data architecture to support a growing data ecosystem with multiple analyst users and third‑party builders.
  
• Influence data decisions throughout policy lifecycles by demonstrating technology value, risk and opportunity.
  
• Develop data solutions aligned to business needs, capability and the DfTc digital and technology strategy.
  
• Manage a range of staff and third‑party contractors to design repeatable data solutions aligned with your vision for data architecture, ensuring an enterprise approach is adopted.
  
• Support key business stakeholders by providing technical assurance and governance at boards such as the Architecture Change Board.
  

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• An inclusive and welcoming working environment where you can be yourself at work.
  
• A chance to work in a high‑performing team at the leading edge of government digital service design.
  
• Excellent personal development opportunities.
  
• Industry‑leading pension and employee benefits package.
  

You are an experienced data professional with a background in data architecture, data engineering, or a blend of the two. You bring deep technical foundations and the confidence to influence, guide, and collaborate across a complex organisation. You are highly proficient with Google Cloud Platform, or an expert user of AWS or Azure, and you are keen to apply your skills within a new cloud environment. You are comfortable with both practical and strategic aspects of architectural thinking, able to shape data strategies, policies and designs, and produce patterns that are robust, scalable and aligned to organisational priorities. You communicate complex ideas with clarity and empathy, adapting your language to suit technical colleagues, policy teams, analysts, delivery partners and senior leaders. You enjoy working where disciplines overlap, helping others understand architectural direction, translating business needs into coherent designs, and playing a leading role in effective architecture governance and review. You have significant experience in data modelling, and are confident in developing and reviewing conceptual and logical data models. You are comfortable working with a wide range of data storage technologies, including modern data warehousing solutions, relational and NoSQL technologies, and can apply modelling tools and methodologies to large and complex data. You bring leadership experience, whether through managing teams, guiding multidisciplinary project groups, or providing architectural direction, and you balance long‑term thinking with the pragmatism required to deliver tangible improvements.

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• Demonstrable experience in shaping and implementing data architecture strategies, policies and designs within a complex organisation.
  
• Expertise with large and complex datasets; application of data modelling tools and methodologies, engineering enterprise data storage solutions, and/or metadata management.
  
• Strong understanding of architecture governance, including presenting designs, providing challenge, and participating in review or approval forums.
  
• Experience communicating complex technical and architectural concepts clearly and effectively to a wide range of technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
  
• Proven experience designing and operating cloud‑based data solutions, selecting technologies that ensure efficiency, security, scalability and cost‑effectiveness.
  

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only – while all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.