Senior Solutions Architect (Databricks Specialist)

Category: IT Services Location: We are seeking an experienced Senior Solutions Architect specializing in Databricks to provide strategic leadership and architectural oversight for a large-scale data modernization program within a leading Financial Services organization. The client is currently transitioning from a traditional SQL Server and Microsoft-centric data ecosystem to a modern Databricks-based platform to support its long-term data, analytics, and AI strategy. While the client has an established and capable Data Engineering team, they require a senior-level architect to provide strategic direction, implementation frameworks, architectural governance, and best-practice guidance to ensure a successful and cost-effective transformation. - This role will focus on defining the target-state architecture, establishing standards and governance, optimizing platform design, and ensuring alignment between technology investments and business objectives. Key Responsibilities - Provide strategic architectural leadership for the organisation's Databricks implementation and data modernization initiatives. - Design and define enterprise-scale data and analytics architectures aligned to business and AI objectives. - Develop and implement architectural frameworks, standards, patterns, and best practices for Databricks adoption. - Guide the Data Engineering team on solution design, scalability, performance optimization, security, and governance. - Assess current SQL Server and Microsoft-based environments and define migration strategies to Databricks. - Ensure architecture decisions support future AI, machine learning, advanced analytics, and reporting requirements. - Evaluate and optimize platform utilization to drive cost efficiency and maximize return on investment. - Establish governance, architecture review processes, and implementation roadmaps. - Provide executive-level insights and recommendations on technology direction, risks, opportunities, and investments. - Collaborate with business stakeholders, technology leadership, engineering teams, and vendors to drive successful outcomes. - Oversee solution quality and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture principles and regulatory requirements. - Identify technical risks, dependencies, and potential challenges, implementing mitigation strategies where required. - Mentor engineering teams and promote architectural excellence across the program Requirements Required Technical Skills Essential - Deep expertise in Databricks architecture, implementation, and optimization - Strong understanding of enterprise data platforms and modern data architectures - Data Lakehouse architecture design and implementation - Data governance, security, compliance, and data management frameworks - Data migration strategy and execution - Enterprise integration patterns and cloud-based architectures - Analytics, Business Intelligence, and AI/ML platform enablement Preferred - Experience with Microsoft Azure Data Services - Azure Data Factory - Azure Synapse Analytics - SQL Server - Delta Lake - Unity Catalog - DataOps and DevOps practices - AI and Machine Learning platform architecture Essential Experience & Qualifications - 10+ years of experience in Solution Architecture, Enterprise Architecture, or Data Architecture roles. - Demonstrated experience delivering large-scale data transformation and modernization initiatives. - Extensive experience designing and implementing Databricks solutions in enterprise environments. - Proven track record supporting cloud migration and modern data platform programs. - Experience within Financial Services, Banking, Insurance, or highly regulated environments. - Strong understanding of data governance, security, compliance, and risk management frameworks. - Experience developing enterprise architecture standards, frameworks, and governance models. - Relevant certifications in Databricks, Cloud Platforms (Azure