Lead Data Architect

**About the job**:
Synechron is a leading digital transformation consulting firm for the financial services industry, combining innovative technology and deep domain expertise. We collaborate with top-tier global banks to design and deliver cutting-edge solutions that drive meaningful business outcomes.

We are currently looking for an experienced **Lead Data Architect / Data Platform Lead**to drive the strategic design, development, and governance of a large-scale **Regional Data Platform**for a major banking client. This is a renewable contract opportunity.

**Role Overview**

As the **Lead Data Architect / Data Platform Lead**, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the architecture and operational excellence of the bank’s regional data platform. Your work will ensure alignment with enterprise-wide data strategies, compliance with regulatory requirements, and delivery of actionable insights that drive decision-making across the bank.

**Key Responsibilities**

**1. Data Platform Strategy & Architecture**
- Collaborate with the Head of Regional Architecture & Engineering to define the strategic roadmap for the regional data platform.
- Align platform design with enterprise architecture principles and long-term business goals.
- Architect scalable, secure, and efficient solutions that integrate with existing enterprise systems.

**2. Platform Development & Optimization**
- Lead the end-to-end design and delivery of the data platform including ingestion, transformation, and analytics pipelines.
- Drive performance tuning, cost optimization, and operational excellence.
- Ensure resilience, availability, and scalability of platform components.

**3. Data Governance & Compliance**
- Enforce regulatory compliance (e.g., MAS guidelines, BCBS 239) in collaboration with data governance and compliance teams.
- Establish data quality, metadata, and lineage frameworks.
- Drive data security and privacy practices in line with enterprise policies.

**4. Enterprise Integration & Stakeholder Collaboration**
- Work closely with enterprise architects, IT, and business stakeholders to meet evolving data and analytics needs.
- Enable seamless integration of the data platform with business systems, reporting tools, and advanced analytics capabilities.

**5. Technology Evaluation & Innovation**
- Keep up with emerging trends in data engineering, cloud, and AI/ML.
- Evaluate and recommend modern tools and architectures to future-proof the data platform.
- Champion innovation and continuous improvement across the data ecosystem.

**Required Skills & Qualifications**

**Education**:

- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Science, or related field.

**Experience**:

- 10-12 years of experience in data engineering or enterprise data architecture within the **banking/financial**domain.
- Demonstrated expertise in building and managing enterprise-scale data platforms on cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Proven track record with technologies such as Apache Spark, Hadoop, Kafka, Snowflake, Databricks, etc.

**Technical Competencies**:

- Strong skills in data modeling, ETL/ELT, and pipeline orchestration (Airflow, DBT).
- Deep understanding of data governance, regulatory compliance (MAS, BCBS 239), and data privacy.
- Experience with API integrations, microservices, and DevOps/CI-CD pipelines.
- Ability to implement enterprise-wide data security and access control frameworks.

**Soft Skills**:

- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
- Strong leadership, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
- Collaborative and proactive mindset to work across cross-functional teams.

**Why Join Us?**
- Be part of a high-impact initiative at the intersection of banking, data, and technology.
- Collaborate with industry leaders in a fast-paced and innovation-driven environment.
- Drive data-driven transformation for one of the region’s leading financial institutions.

**Ready to architect the future of banking data?