Lead Data Architect Senior - JP053946

Lead Data Architect (Azure Data Platform) – Part-Time Contract
Ghent, Belgium (On-site)
Duration: 4 months (11 May 2026 – 1 September 2026)
Workload: 1 day per week

We are looking for a Lead Data Architect to define, design, and guide the implementation of a modern, enterprise-grade data platform. This role ensures alignment between business, IT, and data teams while delivering a scalable, secure, and future-proof architecture.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and design the overall Azure-based data platform architecture (compute, storage, networking, security)
• Lead the implementation of modern data platform patterns and standards
• Establish and enforce DevOps practices (CI/CD pipelines, environments, monitoring, alerting)
• Ensure security, access control, and compliance (IAM, secrets management, GDPR-by-design)
• Define and oversee automation of platform operations to improve reliability and reduce manual effort
• Ensure the platform is production-ready, resilient, and operationally robust
• Monitor platform performance, reliability, and cost efficiency
• Align architecture with DevOps, DataOps, and MLOps practices across analytics and AI workloads
• Act as key technical advisor between ICT, governance, and data teams

Required Experience

• Extensive experience designing and delivering cloud-based data platforms, preferably on Azure
• Strong background in enterprise data architecture and modern data platform design
• Proven experience with CI/CD pipelines and platform automation
• Experience working within enterprise ICT governance, security, and compliance frameworks (GDPR, IAM, etc.)

Key Skills

• Strong expertise in Azure (networking, storage, compute, security)
• Solid experience with Data Modeling, ETL/ELT, and Data Architecture principles
• Hands-on knowledge of Databricks, SQL, MySQL, Power BI, and Git
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Bicep, ARM) and CI/CD tools (Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions)
• Strong understanding of DataOps concepts and modern data platform architecture
• Experience with IAM, network segmentation, private endpoints, and secrets management
• Ability to define and align architectural roadmaps

Profile

• Strong architectural leadership mindset with hands-on capability when needed
• Strong focus on automation, scalability, and long-term platform stability
• Pragmatic problem solver with enterprise delivery experience
• Strong collaboration skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Structured, disciplined, and documentation-driven approach
• Strong sense of accountability for platform quality and governance

Languages

• English: Full professional proficiency (required)
• Dutch: Nice to have