Lead Data Architect

Founded in Switzerland in 1968, Zühlke is owned by its partners and located across Europe and Asia. We are a global transformation partner, with engineering and innovation in our DNA. We're trusted to help clients envision and build their businesses for the future – to run smarter today while adapting for tomorrow’s markets, customers, and communities. Our multidisciplinary teams specialise in tech strategy and business innovation, digital solutions and applications, and device and systems engineering. We excel in complex, regulated spaces including health and finance, connecting strategy, tech implementation, and operational services to help clients become more effective, resilient businesses.

If you share our values and want to do the best work, for the right reasons, we can offer you the chance to do it on a global scale and play a real role in shaping our exciting journey.

The Role

We are looking for a Lead Data Architect to help deliver robust, scalable, and future-proof data solutions across a range of industries. You will play a key role in designing data architectures and guiding project delivery, working closely with clients and internal teams to bring data strategies to life.

You’ll work under the direction of a Principal Architect or Head of Data, contributing technical leadership while remaining hands-on with solution design and implementation.

How You’ll Make an Impact:

• Collaborate with clients to understand data challenges and help define practical, high-impact architectural solutions.

• Support the design and delivery of modern data platforms, products, and services in cloud and hybrid environments.

• Work alongside cross-functional teams (engineers, analysts, scientists) to translate business needs into technical data architectures.

• Lead architectural design sessions, contributing to key decisions on tools, platforms, and approaches.

• Ensure delivered solutions meet functional and non-functional requirements around performance, scalability, availability, security, and sustainability.

• Guide and mentor data and DevOps engineers within your team, supporting their growth and ensuring engineering best practices.

• Contribute to estimating work and selecting appropriate technologies aligned with client goals and budgets.

• Support data governance, privacy, and compliance efforts (e.g., GDPR), integrating these into design and implementation.

• Promote Agile ways of working, including iterative delivery and continuous feedback, while helping de-risk technical implementation.

• Remain technically hands-on, staying up to date with emerging tools, cloud services, and design patterns.

• Participate in internal knowledge sharing, collaborating with the broader architecture and data communities.

• Travel occasionally to client sites or other company offices in Europe as needed.

What we offer

• Work life blend: we offer a safe & healthy workplace, with flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home

• Profit share scheme: In addition to your annual salary, you may receive a profit share defined by the company’s success in the previous year
• Global and Diverse Zühlke community: witness how colleagues from all our 17 offices across the globe come together to create a unique, positive and inclusive work culture, learning from one another at annual team camps, and celebrating year-end parties and other local festivities.
• Committed to development: we are committed to the growth of our people and are investing in your development. We’re empowering you to build the skills you need to make a positive impact, both personally and for our clients, today and in the future.

If you feel you don't meet all the requirements, we are still happy to get to know you, learn more about your ambitions and ideas and look forward to receiving your application!  

We welcome people from all backgrounds, regardless of their gender, personality, national origin, race, religion, colour, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, disability or veteran status.