Principal Data Architect

The Principal Architects operate within the CTO function and take responsibility for the product or service's target design and end-to-end technology architecture value chains. 

Reporting directly to the Chief Architect, the Principal Data Architect is responsible for the following:

• Understanding the end-to-end architecture of the data environment, interdependencies and inter-relationships within the Data environment and the wider Admiral environment (e.g. Guidewire, Regulatory Reporting, Finance etc.).  
• The stability of the end-to-end platform and the components within it.
• The short to medium-term technology strategic target, both infrastructure and Applications. 
• Working closely with key members of the Agile Release Trains, tribes, and teams to effect all of the above.  
• Develop a close working relationship with the Principal Engineers and the Solution Architect.

Department Vision

Admiral IT has a long history of supporting business innovation and bringing new products to market. For example, the department refreshed the core policy administration systems in 2016 to facilitate continued innovation within an increasingly digital marketplace.

The department continues to build on top of and around the core systems to bring more innovation and technical excellence, including Cloud adoption, Big Data, machine learning and data analytics technologies and furthering our digital offerings with a focus on digital customer engagement.

Who are we looking for?

We take on many different roles within IT, but we consistently look for people who are:

• Positive attitude.
• A continual learner (curious with a desire for self-improvement).
• Proactive and will take the initiative; they understand what needs to be done and delivered.
• Excellent communicator, verbal and written.
• Collaborative in approach / a team player.
• Focussed on delivering business value above technology or architectural purity.
• Passionate about what they do.
• Comfortable and willing to speak up / make their voice heard.
• Self-motivated, creative, and highly disciplined.
• Solutions driven.
• Able to work with all levels of seniority across IT and the wider business.

Requirements / Technologies

You will have worked with many technologies across all aspects of IT with demonstrable experience across much of our core data technology, including:

• Data Lakehouse and Data Warehouse technologies and architectures.
• GCP technologies such as BigQuery, Looker etc.
• AI / ML technologies.
• Graph DB technologies.
• Data visualisation tools (e.g., MicroStrategy, Looker).
• Azure EventHub, Google Pub/Sub.
• General DB technologies (e.g., Oracle DB, SQL Server). 
• A solid understanding of infrastructure systems, including:
  • Networking
  • Servers and Server components
    • Memory
    • CPU
  • Storage

Experience

The ideal candidate will:

• Be a data technology expert with approximately 15 + years of experience.
• Have knowledge of a broad brush of non-data technologies and experience of having been.
• Have created numerous end-to-end High-Level Designs, including data and non-data technologies, possibly having worked in a general Solution Architecture role.
• Maintain expertise in staying current in Data technologies through research and other means.
• Have a track record of solving complex problems and challenges.
• Produced numerous Data technology strategies. 
• Continuously identify and promote innovative ways of using technology to maximise business value.

Responsibilities

• To develop and maintain a deep understanding of the end-to-end data environment, dependencies, integrations and supporting infrastructure. 
• To use this understanding to:
  • Support the development of safe change and general platform availability.
  • Lead the development of the 1–2-year Data Strategy with other Architects and closely collaborate with the Principal Engineer and wider team/tribe. 
• To work with the Enterprise and Domain Architects to understand the business goals and vision and contribute to longer-term (+2 years) Enterprise Roadmaps.
• Work closely with the Tribe / Projects leads, supporting them as required. 
• Producing documentation of a high-quality and detailed level. 
• Developing and maintaining communications with all key stakeholders.
• Proactively address project risks and issues, escalating high-priority issues to management with suggested solutions.
• Provide consultancy services to internal customers by offering technical guidance and ensuring architecture principles, design standards and operational requirements are met.
• Act as a Coach and provide consultancy services and advice to senior developers, Tech Leads and Head of Tech.
• Supporting the delivery of projects on time and to budget by adopting delivery-focused working practices and methodologies.
• Maintain and comply with best standards and practices regarding solution architecture deliverables and relevant governance frameworks. 
• Attend and actively promote the Technical Design Authority forums and act as an escalation point for wider Enterprise governance.
• Contribute to the architecture repository using approved modelling tools and language.

Our Commitment to You

At Admiral, we are committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace. Admiral is proud to be an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other legally protected status.

All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment.

Salary, Benefits, and Work-Life Balance

We do not have a set salary for this position, as it will be dependent on the successful candidate’s experience. We are happy to see CVs from all candidates who meet the requirements and will be happy to discuss the remuneration package.

At Admiral, we are proud to be a diverse business where we put our people and customers first. We have great benefits to ensure employees have a great work-life balance; it's one of the reasons we’re consistently voted one of the Sunday Times Best Big Companies to work for in the UK. We want you to have an element of freedom to define a working lifestyle that supports this, so accommodate flexible hours wherever possible.

All colleagues will receive 33 days holiday (including banks holidays) when they join us, and this will increase with length of service, up to a maximum of 38 days (including banks holidays). You also have the option to buy or sell up to five days of annual leave in addition to your allocation.

You can also view some of our other key benefits here.

#LI-NT1