Head of Data Architecture

Position Overview  This role is responsible for defining and delivering ZURU’s next-generation data architecture—built for global scalability, real-time analytics, and AI enablement. You will lead the unification of fragmented data systems into a cohesive, cloud-native platform that supports advanced business intelligence and decision-making.Sitting at the intersection of data strategy, engineering, and commercial enablement, this role demands both deep technical acumen and strong cross-functional influence. You will drive the vision and implementation of robust data infrastructure, champion governance standards, and embed a culture of data excellence across the organisation.Position Impact In the first six months, the Head of Data Architecture will gain deep understanding of ZURU’s operating model, technology stack, and data fragmentation challenges. You’ll conduct a comprehensive review of current architecture, identifying performance gaps, security concerns, and integration challenges across systems like SAP, Odoo, POS, and marketing platforms.By month twelve, you’ll have delivered a fully aligned architecture roadmap—implementing cloud-native infrastructure, data governance standards, and scalable models and pipelines to support AI and analytics. You will have stood up a Centre of Excellence for Data, formalised global data team structures, and established yourself as a trusted partner to senior leadership. What are you Going to do? Lead Global Data Architecture: Own the design, evolution, and delivery of ZURU’s enterprise data architecture across cloud and hybrid environments. Consolidate Core Systems: Unify data sources across SAP, Odoo, POS, IoT, and media into a single analytical platform optimised for business value. Build Scalable Infrastructure: Architect cloud-native solutions that support both batch and streaming data workflows using tools like Databricks, Kafka, and Snowflake. Implement Governance Frameworks: Define and enforce enterprise-wide data standards for access control, privacy, quality, security, and lineage. Enable Metadata & Cataloguing: Deploy metadata management and cataloguing tools to enhance data discoverability and self-service analytics. Operationalise AI/ML Pipelines: Lead data architecture that supports AI/ML initiatives, including demand forecasting, pricing models, and personalisation. Partner Across Functions: Translate business needs into data architecture solutions by collaborating with leaders in Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain, R&D, and Technology. Optimize Cloud Cost & Performance:  Roll out compute and storage systems that balance cost efficiency, performance, and observability across platforms. Establish Data Leadership: Build and mentor a high-performing data team across India and NZ, and drive alignment across engineering, analytics, and governance. Vendor and Tool Strategy: Evaluate external tools and partners to ensure the data ecosystem is future-ready, scalable, and cost-effective. What are we Looking for? 8+ years of experience in data architecture, with 3+ years in a senior or leadership role across cloud or hybrid environments Proven ability to design and scale large data platforms supporting analytics, real-time reporting, and AI/ML use cases Hands-on expertise with ingestion, transformation, and orchestration pipelines ( Kafka, Airflow, DBT, Fivetran) Strong knowledge of ERP data models, especially SAP and Odoo Experience with data governance, compliance (GDPR/CCPA) , metadata cataloguing, and security practices Familiarity with distributed systems and streaming frameworks like Spark or Flink Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to influence both technical and business teams Experience building and leading cross-regional data teams Tools & Technologies Cloud Platforms: AWS (S3, EMR, Kinesis, Glue), Azure (Synapse, ADLS), GCP Big Data: Hadoop, Apache Spark, Apache Flink Streaming: Kafka, Kinesis, Pub/Sub Orchestration: Airflow, Prefect, Dagster, DBT Warehousing: Snowflake, Redshift, BigQuery, Databricks Delta NoSQL: Cassandra, DynamoDB, HBase, Redis Query Engines: Presto/Trino, Athena IaC & CI/CD: Terraform, GitLab Actions Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, OpenTelemetry Security/Governance: IAM, TLS, KMS, Amundsen, DataHub, Collibra, DBT for lineage  What do we Offer?   Competitive compensation ⌛️ 5 Working Days with Flexible Working Hours