Principal Data Architect

Job Description

Recruiter: Trevor Newman

Career Grade: D

Internal Closing Date: 19/01/26

Why this job matters

AWS system Architect principal is a senior technical expert at Amazon Web Services (AWS) who acts as a trusted advisor, designing complex, highly scalable cloud architectures for major customers, guiding large-scale cloud transformations, and evangelizing best practices (like the AWS Well-Architected Framework) to ensure security, performance, reliability, and cost efficiency for critical projects. They bridge business needs with deep AWS technical knowledge, influencing product roadmaps and driving significant cloud adoption.

What you’ll be doing

• Lead End-to-End Data Lifecycle: Own and manage the complete data lifecycle—from capturing learning interaction data to delivering consolidated insights—ensuring data is accurate, accessible, and actionable.
• Architect Scalable Data Solutions: Design and implement enterprise-grade data pipelines and architectures using AWS services (e.g. S3, Glue, Lambda, Redshift, EMR, Kinesis), optimised for analytics and scalability.
• Set Technical Direction: Define and guide technical decisions related to data conceptualisation, modelling, and visualisation within the organisation’s analytics ecosystem.
• Champion Data Governance and Access: Drive visibility into data usage and access, ensuring secure, compliant, and transparent data practices across the organisation.
• Communicate with Impact: Translate complex technical concepts into clear, non-technical language for business stakeholders and internal customers.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert: Serve as a go-to expert in data architecture, resolving complex issues and fostering thought leadership and technical excellence.
• Drive Standards and Best Practices: Lead the implementation of architectural guidelines and frameworks, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and consistency across solutions.
• Monitor and Optimise Services: Define and oversee service metrics, collaborating with stakeholders to meet performance standards and client expectations.
• Innovate and Evolve Architecture: Spearhead the conceptualisation and development of innovative data services and products, aligned with evolving business needs.
• Mentor and Develop Talent: Coach and support experienced professionals, building current and future capabilities within the data architecture team.
• Lead Continuous Improvement: Identify and implement process enhancements to improve the efficiency, quality, and agility of data architecture practices.
• Cloud Governance : Utilize tools such as IAM, resource tagging, cost management, etc. to enforce AWS governance policies and implement monitoring and alerting solutions to address issues proactively.

The skills you'll need

• A bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or any relevant field A master's degree is preferred but not mandatory.
• AWS Solutions Architect, Associate or Professional, is good to have and holds high weight.
• Strong knowledge of cloud concepts, architecture patterns, and best practices
• Proven experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining AWS solutions
• Hands-on experience with any cloud, preferably AWS, is preferred.
• Extensive background in software architecture and solution design, with deep expertise in microservices, distributed systems, and cloud-native architectures.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and Apache Spark, with a strong focus on ETL data processing and scalable data engineering workflows.
• In-depth technical knowledge of AWS data services, with hands-on experience implementing data pipelines using tools such as EMR, AWS Glue, AWS Lambda, Step Functions, API Gateway, and Athena.
• Proven experience in designing and delivering Lakehouse architectures, enabling unified analytics across structured and unstructured data.

Our leadership standards

Looking in:
Leading inclusively and Safely
I inspire and build trust through self-awareness, honesty and integrity.
Owning outcomes
I take the right decisions that benefit the broader organisation.

Looking out:
Delivering for the customer
I execute brilliantly on clear priorities that add value to our customers and the wider business.
Commercially savvy
I demonstrate strong commercial focus, bringing an external perspective to decision-making.

Looking to the future:
Growth mindset
I experiment and identify opportunities for growth for both myself and the organisation.
Building for the future
I build diverse future-ready teams where all individuals can be at their best.

About us

BT Group was the world’s first telco and our heritage in the sector is unrivalled. As home to several of the UK’s most recognised and cherished brands – BT, EE, Openreach and Plusnet, we have always played a critical role in creating the future, and we have reached an inflection point in the transformation of our business.

Over the next two years, we will complete the UK’s largest and most successful digital infrastructure project – connecting more than 25 million premises to full fibre broadband. Together with our heavy investment in 5G, we play a central role in revolutionising how people connect with each other.

While we are through the most capital-intensive phase of our fibre investment, meaning we can reward our shareholders for their commitment and patience, we are absolutely focused on how we organise ourselves in the best way to serve our customers in the years to come. This includes radical simplification of systems, structures, and processes on a huge scale. Together with our application of AI and technology, we are on a path to creating the UK’s best telco, reimagining the customer experience and relationship with one of this country’s biggest infrastructure companies.

Change on the scale we will all experience in the coming years is unprecedented. BT Group is committed to being the driving force behind improving connectivity for millions and there has never been a more exciting time to join a company and leadership team with the skills, experience, creativity, and passion to take this company into a new era.

A FEW POINTS TO NOTE:

Although these roles are listed as full-time, if you’re a job share partnership, work reduced hours, or any other way of working flexibly, please still get in touch.

We will also offer reasonable adjustments for the selection process if required, so please do not hesitate to inform us.

DON'T MEET EVERY SINGLE REQUIREMENT?

Studies have shown that women and people who are disabled, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse or from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification and criteria. We're committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace where everyone can be their best, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement on the Job Description, please apply anyway - you may just be the right candidate for this or other roles in our wider team.

BENEFITS:

• Annual On target bonus 15% (personal and company multipliers)
• Car allowance - worth £5500 a year (can be taken as cash)
• Private healthcare for you and your family
• BT Pension scheme; minimum 5% employee contribution, BT contribution 10%
• Life Assurance
• Direct share scheme
• Exclusive colleague discounts on our latest and greatest BT broadband packages
• 50% off EE mobile pay monthly or SIM only plans and 50% discount for friends and family on EE SIM only plans
• My Discounts gives colleagues access to unbeatable savings on everyday purchases at hundreds of retailers
• Discounted EE TV including TNT Sport and the NOW Entertainment membership
• Great support for working parents including pay whilst on maternity, adoptive, and paternity leave
• 25 days annual leave (not including bank holidays), increasing with service with buy holiday option
• Volunteering days so you can give back to your local community
• Brand new electric vehicle salary sacrifice arrangement, known as ‘My EV’