Data Architect

Data Architect

Working hours: This role is available on a part-time, job-share or full-time basis.

Location: Fareham, Swindon, Farnborough or London

Salary: Attractive salary and benefits package

Closing date for applications: 28th January 2026

As an insurance company, Zurich understands that data is the biggest asset we have (other than our people!). If you’re looking for a role that will excite, challenge, and inspire you and you share our passion for data then we have a great opportunity for you to join our award-winning central data team.

Under our Chief Data Officer, the central data team are connected to almost every part of the business - dedicated to providing innovative and comprehensive solutions and data products right across the organisation. The Data Architecture team are right at the heart of it all - custodians of our strategic data direction, responsible for the end to end data lifecycle. We are currently seeking a skilled and motivated Data Architect to join the central CDO office – a role that requires a strong ability to translate business requirements into workable data solutions, standards and principles.

The ideal candidate will design, develop and manage our data architecture, ensuring efficient and secure handling of data. You’ll use a solid mix of business understanding and deep technical skills to understand requirements and design effective, compliant, scalable and robust data solutions that drive solid customer outcomes.

If you’re truly passionate about data, can think strategically whilst balancing with the pragmatic, if you are prepared to challenge how things get done then you could be a key part of our team.

Many of our employees work flexibly in a variety of different ways, including part-time, flexible hours, job share, an element of working from home or compressed hours. This is because we want the best people for our roles, and we recognise that sometimes those people aren’t available full-time. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility you may need.

• Model best practise for data across the organisation.
• Work to embed a data led culture at the heart of our business.
• You will effectively operate as a Data Solutions Architect helping lead the design and implementation of innovative data strategies across our business.
• Build and maintain strong relationships across the UK and Group to learn and influence.
• Work across various domains and teams to translate business needs into effective, robust solutions.
• Develop and maintain reference architecture that optimises ingestion, storage, processing, analytics, reporting, visualisation and data science to best effect.
• Support the CDO and Data Strategy Lead in rollout of the UK Data Strategy, implementing the strategic roadmap across the business.
• Facilitate and manage the provision of timely, accessible and trusted data which is seen by our customers as a genuine asset.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert – both as a technical go to for the data delivery teams and also offering consultancy across the business and upskilling business data teams.
• Own the governance around data; metadata management, reference data management and other architectural artifacts - define and maintain the reference architecture surrounding the data estate.
• Keep up to date with tools, frameworks and emerging trends across data and insurance and seek to incorporate them into our thinking where appropriate.

You’re an ideal candidate if you have:

• Proven practical experience working in a data role, with strong understanding of both the theory and application of data fundamentals – preferably as a data engineer, data scientist, data analyst, data architect, data modeller, or other similar role.
• Ideally you will be passionate about shaping data ecosystems, enabling actionable insights, and driving high-impact data solutions.
• Direct experience with cloud data technologies such as Snowflake, AWS and / or Azure would be hugely beneficial, though any background including SQL Server, MySQL, Postgres, No
  
  SQL, Oracle or Hadoop would be great to see.
• In depth knowledge of database structures, data analysis…