Data Solutions Architect

Salary - Between £80,000 - £90,000 (DOE) + annual bonus & benefitsWork Level - 2Location – Edinburgh, PermanentOffice Attendance – Our hybrid working model gives you the best of both worlds - flexibility to work from home and valuable face-to-face time with colleagues. This role typically requires 2 days per week onsite.Closing Date - Applications close on 22nd October at 5pmWhy this role?We’re looking for a Data Solutions Architect to play a key role in shaping and delivering data services utilising our new Microsoft Fabric data platform within Tesco Insurance and Money Services. This is a pivotal role at a critical point in our data journey. You’ll provide key technical and architectural skills across data modelling, analytics and platform design, ensuring our data foundations are robust, governed and built for long term use. You’ll work closely with engineers, analysts, product teams and senior stakeholders to translate business and regulatory needs into clear, scalable data architectures. The role combines strategic design with a particular focus on high quality conceptual, logical and physical data models that underpin analytics, reporting, AI and operational use cases across the organisation.What you’ll be doing • Define and own data architecture patterns, standards and target state designs for our Microsoft Fabric platform, ensuring consistency across ingestion, storage, semantic modelling and consumption layers. • Develop next-generation platform capabilities, including real-time ingestion, AI-driven insights and API-led integration • Lead the design and governance of enterprise and domain data models, from conceptual and logical models through to physical implementations optimised for Fabric (Lakehouse, Warehouse and semantic models). • Partner with data engineers, analytics engineers and platform teams to ensure data models are correctly implemented, performant and aligned to architectural intent. • Shape and assure the semantic layer (e.g. shared dimensions, facts and metrics), enabling trusted, reusable analytics and reducing duplication across teams. • Work with Product, Business and Data Owners to translate business concepts, KPIs and regulatory requirements into clear, well governed data structures. • Embed data quality, lineage, metadata and lifecycle management into all designs, aligned to data governance, privacy and regulatory obligations. • Provide architectural assurance across change initiatives, balancing speed of delivery with long term data integrity, resilience and operational sustainability. • Mentor and coach engineers and analysts on data modelling best practice, raising overall data architecture maturity across the organisation. What we’re looking for (minimum criteria) • Proven experience as a Data Architect working across modern analytics and data platforms. • Strong, hands-on expertise in data modelling, including: o Conceptual and logical enterprise data models o Dimensional modelling (facts, dimensions, star/snowflake schemas) o Experience designing semantic layers for self-service analytics • Experience designing data architectures on cloud-based platforms, ideally Microsoft Fabric, Azure Synapse, or equivalent lakehouse style platforms. • Deep understanding of how data models support analytics, reporting, AI/ML and operational use cases, not just storage. • Ability to work effectively in Agile and product led environments, providing clear architectural direction without becoming a delivery bottleneck. • Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to explain complex data concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.And if you have any of these, even better • Experience defining data solutions for AI, machine learning or conversational/ NLQ analytics capabilities • Background supporting or enabling AI/ advanced analytics through well designed data foundations • Experience working in regulated or customer critical environments (e.g. financial services, insurance), with an understanding of data risk, privacy and regulatory constraints. • Knowledge of Microsoft Fabric components such as Lakehouse, Warehouse, Data Factory, OneLake and Power BI semantic models. • Experience aligning data architecture with data governance, ownership models and operating frameworks. We welcome applications from everyone. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we’d still love to hear from you.What’s in it for you • A generous pension, with up to 7.5% employer contribution, depending on what you put in. • Private Medical Insurance (WL2+) and virtual GP Service for you and your family• Performance related annual bonus. • 7.2 weeks holiday, with the opportunity to buy more.• Colleague Clubcard discount (10-15% + second card to share with someone else). • Enhanced parental leave.• Opportunities to Save and Buy as you earn. • A place to get on - take advantage of our ongoing learning opportunities to help you achieve the job and career you want.InterviewsAs a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2), we’re committed to creating an accessible and supportive environment for all. We offer reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, including interviews, to ensure every candidate has a fair opportunity to succeed. We also know the importance of balancing work with life’s other commitments. Please talk to us at interview about the flexibility you need, as we’re committed to exploring part time and flexible working opportunities, at every level of the organisation.Interviews are expected to be held shortly after closing date. Don't miss out. We're assessing applications throughout the recruitment process and may close this opportunity ahead of the closing date if we receive a high volume of applications.