Lead Architect, Cloud

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture and end-to-end delivery of Azure data platforms for clients, including landing zones, networking, and identity.
• Design and implement Azure Data Factory pipelines and data flows for ingestion and orchestration.
• Establish CI/CD for data and infrastructure using Azure DevOps or GitHub.
• Define and deliver infrastructure-as-code using Bicep and/or Terraform.
• Implement secure-by-default configurations including private endpoints, managed identities, and RBAC.
• Optimize performance and cost across compute and storage resources.
• Introduce DataOps practices such as automated testing and data quality checks.
• Define monitoring and observability for pipelines using Azure Monitor and Log Analytics.
• Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and code reviews for engineering teams.
• Lead technical workshops and produce architecture documentation like HLDs and LLDs.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience in cloud data engineering and architecture with a focus on Microsoft Azure.
• Proven leadership as a lead or principal engineer delivering Azure data platforms.
• Expertise with Azure Data Factory and either Synapse Analytics or Azure Databricks.
• Strong CI/CD experience using Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions.
• Proficiency in Infrastructure-as-Code with Bicep and/or Terraform.
• Solid data engineering fundamentals in SQL and Python or Scala.
• Experience with secure Azure configuration, including VNets, private endpoints, and Key Vault.
• Experience with observability tools like Azure Monitor and Log Analytics.
• Excellent client-facing communication and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with event-driven architectures (Event Hubs, Kafka, Functions).
• Knowledge of Lakehouse/Delta patterns and MLflow.
• Experience with data quality frameworks like Great Expectations or dbt.
• Familiarity with FinOps practices for Azure cost governance.
• Experience with Azure landing zones and Enterprise Scale architecture.
• Relevant Microsoft certifications (Azure Solutions Architect Expert or Azure Data Engineer Associate).
• Experience with GCP.

About the Company

WPP is the creative transformation company and a trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. Choreograph, a WPP Media brand, is a global data products and technology company on a mission to transform marketing through connected data platforms.