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Senior Data Architect

Senior Data Architect

Companies & Intellectual Property CommissionPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
6 days ago
Job description

Overview

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Senior Data Architect

Job Grade : P4

Ref No. : D

Location : Pretoria

Job Type : 5 years fixed term contract

Job Purpose

The primary purpose of this role is to lead and implement a comprehensive Data Governance Program and establish a robust, future-proof Data Architecture across multi-cloud platforms. This role is crucial to revolutionizing CIPC\'s data management, enhancing data quality, streamlining analytics processes, and creating a centralized data hub, including a Data Marketplace, to foster a data-driven culture and enable advanced analytics across the organization.

Required Minimum Education / Training

Candidates must meet one of the following requirements :

  • Formal Education Pathway (Preferred) : Education : Bachelor\'s Degree / Advanced Diploma in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Data Analytics, Data Engineering, Statistics / Mathematical Science / Economic Sciences, or a relevant quantitative field.

Required Minimum Experience

  • Experience : Minimum 10–15 years of proven experience as a Data Architect, Solutions Architect, or equivalent senior data leadership role, with a strong focus on cloud-native data architecture and governance.
  • Cloud Platforms : Deep understanding of cloud services and technologies relevant to data management and analytics, including Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud.
  • Technical Skills : Strong knowledge of data modeling, ETL / ELT processes, data warehousing, and data governance best practices. Proficiency in SQL, Python, Spark, and other relevant programming languages and tools.

    • Specialized Certification and Experience Pathway (Alternative)

  • Required Minimum Education / Training : Education : National Diploma in Information Technology or a related technical field.
  • Required Minimum Experience : Minimum 12–17 years of progressive experience in Data Governance, Data cataloging tools, and Data Lakehouse implementation, Data Engineering, and Data Architecture, demonstrating a career trajectory that has built the equivalent strategic and leadership capabilities of a Bachelor\'s degree holder.
  • Mandatory Certifications : The candidate must hold a combination of at least two advanced professional certifications, which must include one strategic framework and one platform-specific architect certification :
  • Strategic Architecture / Governance (MUST include one) :
  • TOGAF Certification (e.g., TOGAF 9 Certified or equivalent)
  • Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) (at Professional or Master level)
  • Cloud Platform / Engineering (MUST include one) :
  • Databricks Certified Data Engineer (Associate or Professional)
  • Microsoft Certified : Azure Solutions Architect Expert / Azure Data Engineer Associate
  • Google Cloud Certified Professional Data Engineer / Professional Cloud Architect
  • AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional / Data Analytics – Specialty

    • Minimum Functional Requirements (Technical Skills & Knowledge)

  • Deep Data Modeling : Expert-level proficiency in designing and implementing dimensional (Star / Snowflake), Data Vault, and Relational data models, with a clear understanding of trade-offs.
  • Cloud Data Platform Mastery : Designing and deploying scalable data solutions using at least two major cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP), including data warehousing, data lake, and compute services.
  • Big Data Ecosystem : Hands-on experience with Apache Spark (PySpark / Scala) and modern messaging / streaming technologies (e.g., Kafka).
  • Data Governance : Implementing solutions for Metadata Management, Data Lineage, Data Quality, and Data Observability.
  • Advanced SQL & Programming : Proficiency in complex SQL queries and programming in Python or Scala for pipelines.
  • Architecture Frameworks : Experience applying Enterprise Architecture methodologies and frameworks, such as TOGAF.
  • Security & Access Control : Designing fine-grained data access controls, encryption, and data masking across cloud data stores.
  • Technical Skills : Strong knowledge of data modeling, ETL / ELT, data warehousing, and governance best practices. Proficiency in SQL, Python, Spark, and related tools.
  • Soft Skills : Excellent communication, collaboration, and problem-solving; ability to work independently and lead a technical team.

    • Key performance areas

  • Data Architecture Strategy & Design

    • Architectural Blueprint : Design and maintain data models, data dictionaries, and data flow diagrams across the enterprise.

  • Strategic Alignment : Develop forward-looking data strategies for data warehousing, data mining, and data integration aligned with business objectives.
  • Tool Evaluation & Selection : Evaluate and select data management tools and platforms for performance, scalability, and cost-efficiency.
  • Data Lakehouse Architecture & Cloud Architecture

    • Design and implement a secure, scalable Data Lakehouse across multi-cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP).

  • Data Pipeline Development : Build end-to-end data ingestion (batch and streaming) and ELT / ETL pipelines.
  • Analytics Enablement : Support analytics, reporting, and data science workloads.
  • Data Governance & Management

    • Governance Frameworks : Define data ingestion, data lake, data warehouse, data sharing, data analytics, and data quality frameworks.

  • Data Marketplace & Sharing : Design a Data Marketplace to facilitate governed data sharing.
  • Quality & Observability : Implement data quality monitoring and observability across the data ecosystem.
  • Metadata Management : Use data catalog tools for discovery, metadata management, and lineage tracking.
  • Collaboration, Guidance & Compliance

    • Stakeholder Engagement : Work with IT, business leaders, and security to prioritize data requirements and define SLAs and policies.

  • Mentorship & Support : Guide Data Analysts, Data Engineers, and Data Scientists.
  • Regulatory Compliance : Ensure compliance with regulations, standards, and security policies.

    • Applicants may, as a step in the recruitment process, be subjected to competency assessment. The successful candidate must be prepared to undergo a process of security clearance prior to appointment.

    Qualifications and SA citizenship checks will be conducted on the successful candidate. It is the applicant’s responsibility to have foreign qualifications evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

    It is expected that candidates be available for selection interviews on a date, time, and place as determined by CIPC.

    CIPC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Preference will be given to candidates whose appointment will enhance representation in accordance with the approved employment equity plan.

    Feedback will only be given to shortlisted candidates.

    CIPC reserves the right not to fill an advertised position.

    For further details regarding these positions please visit the CIPC website at Note : the link in the original description has been simplified to the domain name for safety.

    Kindly note that faxed, emailed, posted and / or hand-delivered applications will not be considered.

    Should you experience any difficulty in applying please contact the CIPC Recruitment Office by dialing : , 7075, 7197 or

    Closing date : October 31, 2025

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    Data Architect • Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa