Data Architect – Insurance (Azure Data Platform)
Posted 7 days ago by Smartedge Solutions
Negotiable
Undetermined
Hybrid
London Area, United Kingdom
Summary: The role of Data Architect – Insurance (Azure Data Platform) involves designing and implementing scalable data architectures specifically for the insurance sector using Microsoft Azure technologies. The position requires extensive experience in data architecture, particularly within the insurance domain, to support enterprise data initiatives and digital transformation. The architect will collaborate with various stakeholders to ensure compliance with industry regulations and best practices. This hybrid role is based in London, UK.
Key Responsibilities:
- Define and design end-to-end enterprise data architecture for Insurance use cases.
- Develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models aligned to business needs.
- Architect modern data platforms including Data Lake, Data Warehouse, and real-time & batch data processing systems.
- Establish data integration patterns, ETL/ELT frameworks, and data pipelines.
- Design and implement solutions using Microsoft Azure Data Services, including Azure Data Factory, Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure Databricks, and Power BI.
- Ensure architecture adheres to cloud best practices for scalability, security, performance, and cost optimization.
- Define reference architectures and reusable frameworks.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to define enterprise data strategy and roadmap.
- Establish and enforce data governance, data quality, and metadata management frameworks.
- Ensure compliance with industry regulations (e.g., IFRS 17, Solvency II, GDPR).
- Translate Insurance business requirements into data models and technology solutions.
- Work closely with domain teams across Underwriting, Claims, Policy Administration, and Actuarial & Finance.
- Build reusable Insurance data models, canonical models, and accelerators.
- Provide technical leadership across data engineering and analytics teams.
- Review and guide implementation teams to ensure alignment with architecture.
- Conduct architecture reviews, design validations, and performance optimizations.
- Evaluate and recommend tools, technologies, and frameworks.
- Work closely with business stakeholders, program managers, and engineering teams.
- Present architectural solutions to senior leadership and clients.
- Act as a trusted advisor for data transformation initiatives.
Key Skills:
- Bachelor’s/master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field.
- 10–15+ years of experience, with at least 5+ years in Data Architecture roles.
- Strong experience in the Insurance domain (Life/P&C/Reinsurance).
- Expertise in Azure Data Platform, including ADF, Synapse, ADLS, Databricks, and Power BI or equivalent BI tools.
- Strong understanding of Data Warehousing, Lakehouse architecture, ETL/ELT design patterns, and data modeling (Kimball, Inmon, Data Vault).
- Familiarity with data governance tools and frameworks, security (RBAC, data masking, encryption).
- Strong understanding of end-to-end policy lifecycle, claims processing, and underwriting systems.
- Experience working with insurance data ecosystems and legacy modernization.
- Azure certifications (Azure Data Engineer / Azure Solutions Architect).
- Experience with real-time streaming (e.g., Kafka, Event Hubs).
- Exposure to AI/ML and advanced analytics platforms.
- Experience in cloud migration and legacy data platform modernization.
- Strong analytical and architectural thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
- Ability to simplify complex technical concepts and leadership and mentoring capabilities.
Salary (Rate): undetermined
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Working Arrangements: hybrid
IR35 Status: undetermined
Seniority Level: undetermined
Industry: IT
Detailed Description From Employer:
Smartedge’s Client is looking for an individual to help with their Data Architect – Insurance (Azure Data Platform) @ London, UK (Hybrid Working)
Key area: We are looking for a highly skilled Data Architect with deep expertise in the Insurance domain and strong experience in Microsoft Azure Data Platform. The role involves designing scalable, secure, and high-performance data architectures to support enterprise data initiatives, analytics, and digital transformation programs.
Key Responsibilities
- Data Architecture & Design
- Define and design end-to-end enterprise data architecture for Insurance use cases.
- Develop conceptual, logical, and physical data models aligned to business needs.
- Architect modern data platforms including: Data Lake / Lakehouse Data Warehouse Real-time & batch data processing systems
- Establish data integration patterns, ETL/ELT frameworks, and data pipelines.
- Azure Data Platform Leadership
- Design and implement solutions using Microsoft Azure Data Services, including: Azure Data Factory (ADF) Azure Synapse Analytics Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) Azure Databricks Power BI
- Ensure architecture adheres to cloud best practices for scalability, security, performance, and cost optimization.
- Define reference architectures and reusable frameworks.
- Data Strategy & Governance
- Collaborate with stakeholders to define enterprise data strategy and roadmap.
- Establish and enforce data governance, data quality, and metadata management frameworks.
- Ensure compliance with industry regulations (e.g., IFRS 17, Solvency II, GDPR).
- Insurance Domain Alignment
- Translate Insurance business requirements into data models and technology solutions.
- Work closely with domain teams across: Underwriting Claims Policy Administration Actuarial & Finance
- Build reusable Insurance data models, canonical models, and accelerators.
- Solutioning & Technical Leadership
- Provide technical leadership across data engineering and analytics teams.
- Review and guide implementation teams to ensure alignment with architecture.
- Conduct architecture reviews, design validations, and performance optimizations.
- Evaluate and recommend tools, technologies, and frameworks.
- Stakeholder Collaboration
- Work closely with business stakeholders, program managers, and engineering teams.
- Present architectural solutions to senior leadership and clients.
- Act as a trusted advisor for data transformation initiatives.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s/master’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field.
- 10–15+ years of experience, with at least 5+ years in Data Architecture roles.
- Strong experience in the Insurance domain (Life/P&C/Reinsurance).
- Technical Skills
- Expertise in Azure Data Platform, including: ADF, Synapse, ADLS, Databricks Power BI or equivalent BI tools
- Strong understanding of: Data Warehousing, Lakehouse architecture ETL/ELT design patterns Data modeling (Kimball, Inmon, Data Vault) API-based and event-driven data integration
- Familiarity with: Data governance tools and frameworks Security (RBAC, data masking, encryption)
- Domain Expertise (Insurance)
- Strong understanding of: End-to-end policy lifecycle Claims processing and underwriting systems Actuarial data flows and financial reporting
- Experience working with insurance data ecosystems and legacy modernization
- Azure certifications (Azure Data Engineer / Azure Solutions Architect)
- Experience with real-time streaming (e.g., Kafka, Event Hubs)
- Exposure to AI/ML and advanced analytics platforms
- Experience in cloud migration and legacy data platform modernization
- Strong analytical and architectural thinking Problem-solving and decision-making
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management
- Ability to simplify complex technical concepts Leadership and mentoring capabilities
If this sounds like a role you would be interested in or if you know someone in this field. Connect with me or email me at divyasree.n@smartedgesolutions.co.uk Alternatively, you can call me on Tel: +44(0)203 500 2108.