King's College London

About us:

King’s College London is a leading university with a long-standing commitment to education, research and service to society. King’s Strategy 2030 is focused on serving society through academic excellence, with priorities including student success, research and education excellence, and building a sustainable future.

Enterprise Data Architecture within IT supports these priorities by establishing a consistent approach to how data is structured, governed, shared and reused across the University. It aligns data capabilities, standards and architecture with wider University needs, supporting trusted data, digital services and emerging AI capabilities. 

About the role:

 

We are looking for a Data Architect to develop and apply Data Architecture at King’s, with a particular focus on Data Products and Data Governance Architecture, supporting trusted, governed and reusable data across the University.

Reporting to the Head of Information Architecture, you will translate enterprise architecture direction into domain Data Architecture, models, standards and reusable architecture patterns. You will apply Data as a Product and Data Mesh principles, connecting data domains, governance and technology to support interoperability and effective data reuse.

A key focus of the role will be designing conceptual, logical, physical and semantic data models and architecture across modern data platforms, integration, storage, master and reference data, lakehouse and medallion patterns, microservices and reusable data services. You will apply Data Governance through ownership and stewardship, metadata, catalogue, lineage, data quality, classification, privacy, security, access and retention.

You will work collaboratively with Data Owners, Data Stewards, Data Custodians, data users, Data Governance, Data Solutions, Business Architecture, Cloud & Platform, Agile delivery teams, other Professional Services teams and external suppliers. You will translate data needs into practical architecture, support delivery through architecture enablers, features, implementation guidance and reusable patterns, and validate Data Product architecture through priority use cases, MVPs and PoCs.

This is a full-time post (35 hours per week), and you will be offered an indefinite contract.

About you:

 

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria 

1. Qualifications & Architecture Practice: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems or a related discipline, with experience applying Data Architecture across enterprise and domain environments using recognised architecture principles, methods and standards.  
2. Data Products & Data Mesh: Experience designing Data Products and Data as a Product approaches, with good knowledge of Data Mesh principles, including product boundaries, consumers, interfaces, discoverability, interoperability and federated approaches.  
3. Data Modelling & Semantics: Strong experience developing conceptual, logical, physical and semantic data models, including domain models, transactional and analytical structures and common business definitions.  
4. Data Governance: Practical experience applying Data Governance Architecture, including data domains, ownership and stewardship, metadata, catalogue, lineage, data quality, classification, privacy and security.  
5. Data Management & Lifecycle: Good knowledge and practical experience of architecture for master and reference data, data storage, access, retention and information lifecycle, and how these support trusted and reusable data across domains.  
6. Technology & Integration: Experience with modern data platforms and integration patterns, including APIs, event-driven integration, microservices, data pipelines and lakehouse/medallion architecture, with knowledge of technologies such as Microsoft Fabric, Purview, Azure and Python, and awareness of LLMs and AI-ready data patterns relevant to Data Architecture.  
7. Architecture Delivery: Experience working with Agile delivery teams, using SAFe or equivalent Agile frameworks, to translate Data Architecture into architecture enablers, features, backlog items and implementation guidance, including using MVPs and PoCs to validate approaches and demonstrate value.  
8. Data Stakeholder & Supplier Engagement: Strong collaboration, facilitation and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with Data Owners, Data Stewards, Data Custodians, data users, Data Governance, Data Solutions, delivery teams and external suppliers, and translate data needs into practical architecture.

Desirable criteria

1. Architecture Frameworks & Certification: Relevant certification in Data Architecture, Enterprise Architecture or data management, such as TOGAF, DAMA/CDMP, ArchiMate or equivalent.
2. Advanced Qualification: A relevant Master’s degree (MSc) in Data, Computer Science, Information Systems, Enterprise Architecture or a related discipline.
3. Technology Certification: Relevant professional certification in data, cloud or information technologies, such as Microsoft Azure, Fabric, Purview, Power Platform or equivalent.

Downloading a copy of our Job Description 

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the page. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

At King’s, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. 

The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. At times, this will include balancing rights and beliefs that can feel in tension.

We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.

When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King’s guidance.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the person specification section of the job description. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant’s own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment. Further guidance on the use of AI in recruitment can be found here.

We reserve the right to close adverts early due to the volume of applications we receive. While the closing date may change, all adverts will close at 23:59 to allow sufficient time for applications to be submitted on that day.

We encourage you to apply at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment as once we have closed a vacancy you will be unable to submit your application.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘How we Recruit’ pages.