Senior Data Architect

Job description

At Datashift, we help organizations become truly data-driven by building solutions that answer real business questions with data. We combine deep technical expertise with a pragmatic consulting mindset.

We are looking for a Senior Data Architect who designs and leads the next generation of data platforms.

You work on modern, scalable and secure data architectures for organizations in regulated sectors such as healthcare, financial services and government, where security, compliance and responsible data usage are critical by design.

You combine strategic thinking with strong technical depth: convincing a CTO about an architectural direction, and shortly after diving deep with engineers into topics such as data protection, encryption, identity & access management, network isolation and distributed data processing.

You stay ahead of new technologies, challenge existing approaches and actively share your expertise — internally and in the broader data community.

Your role

As a Senior Data Architect, you:

• Design and implement modern cloud data architectures using technologies such as Azure, Microsoft Fabric, AWS and Databricks

• Define and enforce architecture principles for scalable, secure and compliant data platforms

• Design platforms that are secure by design, including aspects such as encryption, key management, data access control and network security

• Ensure platforms comply with regulatory and compliance requirements (e.g. GDPR, data governance standards, sector-specific regulations)

• Act as a trusted advisor for clients and guide architectural decisions at both strategic and technical level

• Lead technical and architectural governance within projects and across teams

• Translate business and regulatory requirements into a robust and future-proof architecture

• Take the architectural lead in pre-sales and proposals, including defining solution approaches in regulated environments

• Design platforms that are ready for AI, with strong foundations in data quality, governance, lineage, traceability and access control

• Mentor colleagues and help grow the technical and architectural expertise within Datashift

• Communicate complex topics clearly to engineers, architects and senior stakeholders

• Contribute to Datashift’s knowledge culture through internal sharing, community events or conferences

Your profile

• 7–10+ years of experience in data engineering, data architecture or cloud data platforms

• Proven experience designing enterprise-grade data platforms in complex environments

• Strong knowledge of modern data architecture patterns and distributed data processing (SQL, Spark)

• Hands-on experience with Azure, Microsoft Fabric, AWS or Databricks

• Solid experience with security, compliance and data governance in regulated environments

• Experience translating regulatory requirements into technical architecture (e.g. GDPR, data protection, access control)

• Experience working in or with regulated sectors (healthcare, finance, government) is a strong plus

• Experience mentoring colleagues and leading architecture discussions and decisions

• Strong communication skills: able to switch between strategic advisory and technical depth

• A proactive mindset and the drive to continuously improve and innovate

Nice to have

• Deep understanding of cloud security and networking concepts (IAM, private networking, encryption, key management)

• Experience with data governance frameworks, data mesh or modern data platform concepts

• Experience with secure data sharing and multi-tenant architectures

• Active participation in the data community (blogs, talks, meetups)

Languages

• Fluent in English

• Dutch or French is a plus