Data Architect

A career in Information Technology, within Internal Firm Services, will provide you with the opportunity to support our core business functions by deploying applications that enable our people to work more efficiently and deliver the highest levels of service to our clients. Our Information Technology Generalist - Practice Support team focuses on managing the design and implementation of technology infrastructure within PwC, developing and enhancing internal applications, and providing technology tools that help create a competitive advantage for PwC to drive strategic business growth.
A data architect delivers the vision for the organisation's use of data as set by the lead data architect, providing guidance in the architecture and design of data within the firm's application landscape.

They understand a broad range of Data Management disciplines and can easily converse with and translate between non-technical stakeholders and technical practitioners. They are accountable and responsible for the data architecture and design of all products and services to which they are assigned ensuring the product's data:-

- meets business requirements for the product/service

- is consistent (meaning, format and values) across the organisation.

- conforms to all data principles and data design standards

- is aligned with Business and IT architecture and strategy.

Data Architects:

• Undertake structured analysis of business data requirements, translating this analysis into data models and designs that comprise the data components of a solution in collaboration with technical and business architects and product teams in order to satisfy functional and nonfunctional requirements.
• Ensure data is of consistent design across the systems which use it.
• Create and maintain organisational knowledge about data and the systems it moves through enabling data to be managed as an asset.
• Can be consulted on the data design of a solution and are capable of providing reusable, data design patterns to ensure consistent data.
• Are familiar with a range of database and integration technologies so can be consulted on the data design of a solution.
• Can identify potential risks to data by poor design decisions and can explain these to stakeholders.
• Look for opportunities to collaborate and reuse data components, communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Work with Product Management and Technical Architects to define data roadmaps for products.
• Regularly connect with fellow architects to draw on and share expertise and experiences.
• Ensure data architectural decisions align to agreed standards and guidelines or seek exceptions as required.
• Contribute to populating and evolving the broader reference data architecture, best practice, and data leadership.

What skills they need:

• The ability to communicate effectively across organisational and technical boundaries. Translates data concepts between business users, software engineering, agile delivery management and product management so they are understood by all. Advocates the benefits of good data practice in response to challenge.
• Capable of making and guiding effective data decisions, explaining clearly how the decision has been reached and why. The ability to understand and resolve data design conflicts across varying levels of complexity and risk.
• The ability to work with business and technology stakeholders to translate business needs into technical data designs so processes have the trusted data they need. Creates an optimal design through an iterative process, aligning the user need with the organisational strategic data objectives.
• Produces data models and understands where to use different types of data models. Is familiar with different tools and can compare between different data models. Able to reverse-engineer a data model from a live system. Understands industry-recognised data-modelling patterns, methods and standards.
  
• The ability to create and maintain organisational knowledge about data and the systems it moves through enabling data to be managed as an asset. Understands a variety of metadata management tools. Designs and maintains the appropriate metadata repositories to enable the organisation to understand their data.
  
• Understands data governance and how it works in relation to other organisational governance structures. Able to support its evolution and practice through governance of data design. Participates in or delivers the assurance of a service.
  
• Develops and sets data standards for an organisation. Can communicate the business benefit of data standards, championing and governing those standards across the organisation.