Data & AI Solutions Architect

Apr 20, 2026

Data & AI Solutions Architect

Role Overview
The Data & AI Solutions Architect is a trusted technical advisor and design authority within a Data & AI practice. This role works directly with clients to lead discovery, assessment, and architecture engagements across the full spectrum of modern data and AI solution delivery – from greenfield platform builds to legacy modernisation programmes.
The architect translates business strategy and technical requirements into clear, well-structured architectural designs across conceptual, logical, and detailed levels, grounded in the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities
Advisory & Assessment

  • Lead or contribute to data and AI advisory engagements, including current-state assessments, maturity evaluations, and technology gap analysis
  • Facilitate structured discovery workshops with stakeholders across business, data, and technology functions
  • Produce findings and recommendations in the form of assessment reports, roadmaps, and business cases
  • Advise on platform strategy decisions, including build vs. buy, cloud-native vs. hybrid, and migration sequencing

Architecture Design

  • Develop conceptual architectures to communicate vision and key design decisions to executive and business audiences
  • Produce logical architectures defining components, data flows, integration patterns, and system interactions
  • Create detailed technical architectures to guide implementation teams, including infrastructure, security, networking, and data design
  • Ensure alignment with enterprise standards, governance frameworks, and non-functional requirements such as scalability, resilience, and cost optimisation

Solution Domains

  • Design modern data analytics platforms, including data lakehouse, medallion architecture, and real-time streaming solutions
  • Architect data modernisation pathways from legacy on-premises platforms (e.g. SQL Server, Teradata, Hadoop) to Azure-native equivalents
  • Design AI and machine learning solutions, including predictive analytics, generative AI integrations, and MLOps platforms
  • Advise on data governance, data mesh, and data product operating models

Client Engagement

  • Build and maintain trusted relationships with client architects, technology leads, and senior stakeholders
  • Present architectural proposals and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences
  • Support pre-sales activities, including solution scoping, estimation, and proposal development
  • Contribute to practice development through reusable assets, reference architectures, and thought leadership

Required Skills & Experience
Technical

  • Strong hands-on and design experience across the Microsoft Azure Data & AI stack, including:
    • Azure Synapse Analytics
    • Microsoft Fabric
    • Azure Data Factory
    • Azure Databricks
    • Azure Data Lake Storage
    • Azure OpenAI Service
    • Azure Machine Learning
    • Microsoft Purview
  • Proficiency in architectural patterns such as Lambda, Kappa, medallion/lakehouse, and event-driven architectures
  • Understanding of data modelling approaches, including dimensional modelling, data vault, and semantic layer design
  • Familiarity with DevOps and DataOps practices, including CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code (Bicep/Terraform), and version control
  • Working knowledge of data security, identity, and governance patterns in Azure

Architecture & Consulting

  • Proven experience producing architecture artefacts at conceptual, logical, and detailed levels
  • Ability to facilitate workshops and drive stakeholder alignment across complex organisations
  • Experience conducting technology assessments and developing actionable roadmaps
  • Strong documentation skills with the ability to produce clear, professional deliverables

Interpersonal

  • Confident presenting and defending architectural decisions to senior audiences
  • Strong collaboration skills across multidisciplinary teams
  • Ability to manage ambiguity and bring structure to complex, evolving situations

Desirable Experience

  • Exposure to non-Microsoft data platforms (e.g. Snowflake, AWS, GCP, Databricks on non-Azure)
  • Experience working in Agile delivery environments
  • Background in an industry such as financial services, retail, or public sector
  • Familiarity with enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF or Zachman

Certifications (Preferred)

  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate (DP-203)
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)
  • Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (DP-600)
  • Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Engineer Associate (AI-102)

Success Metrics

  • Quality and consistency of architecture deliverables
  • Client satisfaction and strength of trusted advisor relationships
  • Contribution to pre-sales pipeline through technical credibility and proposal quality
  • Development of reusable assets and reference architectures

Desired Skills:

  • Azure
  • CI/CD
  • Togaf
  • Enterprise architecture
  • AWS
  • DevOps

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