Data Architect (AI, AWS/ Azure) - Johannesburg - R1.2mil to R1.4mil per annum
- Johannesburg, Gauteng
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Serve as a trusted advisor to CIOs, CDOs, CAIOs, and other senior stakeholders on data modernization and AI readiness.
- Own the end-to-end architecture lifecycle, from strategic advisory and roadmap development to solution design and implementation.
- Design and govern modern, cloud-native data architectures including Lakehouse, Data Mesh, and Streaming Analytics.
- Lead the development of scalable batch and real-time data pipelines using tools such as Spark, Kafka, DBT, and Airflow.
- Architect and build data platforms to support AI/ML model deployment, monitoring, and feature engineering.
- Implement data quality, governance, lineage, privacy, and metadata management frameworks.
- Guide and mentor teams in delivering secure, scalable, and high-quality data solutions.
- Partner with Data Scientists to operationalize machine learning models using MLOps best practices.
- Bachelor degree in Computer Science or a related field
- Proven experience as a Data Architect or similar leadership role in large-scale data transformation programs.
- Strong background in either one cloud platform (Azure, AWS, or GCP) with expertise in data and analytics services.
- Hands-on experience with Spark, Kafka, DBT, Airflow and other modern data engineering tools.
- Deep knowledge of Lakehouse, Data Mesh, Streaming Analytics, and cloud-native architectures.
- Demonstrated ability to influence and engage C-level stakeholders with strong consulting and advisory skills.
- Experience implementing data governance, lineage, privacy, and compliance frameworks.
- Familiarity with AI/ML platforms, MLOps practices, and productionizing ML models.