Principal Data Solution Architect
Methods Business and Digital Technology
Principal Data Solution Architect
Methods Business and Digital Technology
Digital transformation for UK public sector
Methods Business and Digital Technology · Manchester, United Kingdom (Hybrid) · — · Posted 2026-08-13
Workplace: hybrid
About Methods:
Methods is a £100M+ IT Services Consultancy who has partnered with a range of central government departments and agencies to transform the way the public sector operates in the UK. Established over 30 years ago and UK-based, we apply our skills in transformation, delivery, and collaboration from across the Methods Group, to create end-to-end business and technical solutions that are people-centred, safe, and designed for the future.
Our human touch sets us apart from other consultancies, system integrators and software houses - with people, technology, and data at the heart of who we are, we believe in creating value and sustainability through everything we do for our clients, staff, communities, and the planet.
We support our clients in the success of their projects while working collaboratively to share skill sets and solve problems. At Methods we have fun while working hard; we are not afraid of making mistakes and learning from them.
Predominantly focused on the public-sector, Methods is now building a significant private sector client portfolio.
Methods was acquired by the Alten Group in early 2022. Alten is a global engineering firm with approximately 57,000 employees specializing in engineering and IT services.
Description
Job title: Principal Data Solution Architect
Team: Delivery
Methods is recruiting for a Principal Data Solution Architect to join our team a permanent basis.
This role will be mainly remote but require flexibility to travel to client sites (Manchester, Yorkshire or Derby).
What You'll Be Doing as a Principal Data Solution Architect:
Develop Fabric knowledge within both Methods and the customer team
Chair or lead: Architecture reviews. Design authorities, Technical governance forums and Data platform standards reviews
Advocate the business benefit of data standards, championing and governing those standards across projects and the organisation
Demonstrate an overall perspective on business issues and activities, determining patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements
Make and guide effective decisions, explaining clearly how decisions have been reached and resolving technical disputes across varying levels of complexity and risk
Communicate effectively across organisational, technical and political boundaries, making complex technical information accessible for non-technical audiences
Design how to expose data from systems (APIs, real-time streams), link data from multiple systems, and deliver modern data services
Ensure that risks associated with deployment are adequately understood and documented
Design end-to-end data solutions from requirements through implementation, including technical documentation and architecture blueprints
Lead complex data migration projects from legacy systems to modern cloud-native platforms
Evaluate and recommend appropriate technologies across the modern data stack to meet specific client needs
Your Impact:
Enable transformative business decisions through robust, scalable data architectures
Drive adoption of modern data platforms and AI-enabled analytics solutions
Establish technical standards and architectural patterns that ensure quality, security, and maintainability
Help cultivate a data-driven culture within client organisations and internally
Deliver architectures that seamlessly integrate traditional and modern data systems
You Will Demonstrate:
Deep knowledge of the Azure data stack (Azure SQL Server, CosmosDB, Azure Data Factory, Purview, Synapse, Event Hub, Azure Databricks/Fabric)
Extensive data modelling experience: both normalised relational models and de-normalised Star Schema/dimensional models
Excellent relational database design skills with expertise in diagnosing and optimising performance across SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and cloud databases
Proven track record with complex data migration projects (terabyte+ datasets, multiple legacy source systems, structures and unstructured data)
Proficiency with Parquet/Delta Lake or other modern data storage formats
Experience with streaming architectures using Kafka, Event Hubs, or Kinesis for real-time data processing
Knowledge of data architectures supporting AI/ML workloads, including vector databases, feature stores and MLOps pipelines
Experience processing and managing unstructured data types (text, images, logs, sensor data)
Understanding of Lambda and Kappa architectural patterns and when to apply each
You May Also Have:
Exposure to high-performing, low latency or large volume data systems
Knowledge of and/or experience with Government Digital Service practices across Discovery/Alpha/Beta/Live phases
Understanding of vector databases and similarity search for AI applications
Experience with Infrastructure as Code and modern DevOps practices
Knowledge of how to design and analyse operational logs for data processing, and triage incidents
Awareness of advances in AI technologies, data services, and architectural practices
Industry specialisation in specific sectors (Engineering, Manufacturing, Healthcare etc.)
Public sector or defence experience
Understanding of data mesh or data fabric architectural approaches
Relevant industry certifications such as TOGAF 9, CDMP (Certified Data Management Professional), or Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305)
Security Clearance:
UKSV (United Kingdom Security Vetting) clearance is required for this role, with Security Check (SC) as the minimum standard, either already held or with a willingness to undergo the process. As part of the onboarding process candidates will be asked to complete a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS); details of the evidence required to apply may be found on the government website GOV.UK – Government baseline personnel security standard. If you are unable to meet this and any associated criteria, then your employment may be delayed, or rejected. Details of this will be discussed with you at interview.
Working at Methods:
Methods exists to improve society by helping people make better decisions with data. Combining passionate people, sector-specific insight, and technical excellence to provide our customers an end-to-end data service.
We use a collaborative, creative and user centric approach to data to do good and solve difficult problems. Ensuring that our outputs are transparent, robust, and transformative. We value discussion and debate as part of our approach. We will question assumptions, ambition, and process – but do so with respect and humility.
We relish difficult problems, and overcome them with innovation, creativity, and technical freedom to help us design optimum solutions. Ethics, privacy, and quality are at the heart of our work, and we will not sacrifice these for outcomes.
We treat data with respect and use it only for the right purpose. Our people are positive, dedicated, and relentless. Data is a vast topic, but we strive for interactions that are engaging, informative and fun in equal measure. But maintain a steely focus on outcomes and delivering quality products for our customers.
We are passionate about our people; we want out colleagues to develop the things they are good at and enjoy.
By joining us you can expect
Autonomy to develop and grow your skills and experience
Be part of exciting project work that is making a difference in society
Strong, inspiring, and thought-provoking leadership
A supportive and collaborative environment
As well as this, we offer:
Development access to LinkedIn Learning, a management development programme and training
Wellness 24/7 Confidential employee assistance programme
Social - office parties, pizza Friday and commitment to charitable causes
Time off - 25 days of annual leave a year, plus bank holidays, with the option to buy 10 extra days each year
Volunteering - 2 paid days per year to volunteer in our local communities or within a charity organisation
Pension Salary Exchange Scheme with 4% employer contribution and 5% employee contribution
Life Assurance of 4 times base salary
Private Medical Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependents included)
Worldwide Travel Insurance which is non-contributory (spouse and dependents included)
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Digital transformation for UK public sector
Methods Business and Digital Technology helps UK public sector organisations upgrade their services with digital transformation. It partners with central government departments and agencies to move from old, siloed legacy infrastructure to a platform-based operating model, keeping costs low while improving front-end public services for citizens. The company provides specialist skills and deep public-sector expertise to transform operations, reduce reliance on expensive suppliers, and strengthen control over customer relationships and operating models. Its goal is to safeguard public-facing services, apply digital thinking to keep services citizen-centered, and deliver real savings and benefits for government and society.
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