Data Architect

Our MissionAt Vertical Aerospace, we are pioneering the way for electric aviation. The Valo, our eVTOL (electric, vertical, take-off and landing), 'zero emissions' aircraft will set a new safety standard for how we will navigate the sky.We won't realise our mission following the same legacy processes and traditions our predecessors followed, instead, we want to 'redefine' aerospace best practices. We are growing quickly from a prototype business to a scaling SME, and the next few years will be critical to our success and delivering on our ambitious goals. Valo is targeting airliner-level safety certification in 2029 ahead of entering service with our airline and operator customers.What to ExpectAs a Data Architect, you will be responsible for defining and maintaining the target data architecture across the organisation. This includes how data is structured, integrated, and exposed across platforms, ensuring consistency between enterprise and time-series domains.Alongside architectural ownership, you will be expected to contribute hands-on where needed, particularly in shaping and implementing pipelines, models, and platform components. The role requires balancing longer-term architectural direction with practical delivery, working closely with data engineers, BI developers, and software teams to ensure solutions are both well-designed and delivered effectively.What You’ll DoDefine and maintain the target data architecture, covering data platforms, data models, and integration patternsDesign and govern scalable data models for both enterprise and time-series data, ensuring consistency and reuseEstablish standards for data modelling, transformation, and pipeline design across analytical and operational use casesWork closely with data engineering teams to ensure pipelines align with agreed architectural patterns and support downstream analyticsContribute hands-on to the development of pipelines, models, and data platform components where requiredDefine how data is exposed through semantic layers and BI tools to ensure consistent metrics and definitionsSupport integration of data across systems, including engineering, test, and enterprise platformsIdentify and reduce fragmentation in data sources, pipelines, and reporting outputsContribute to platform and tooling decisions, ensuring alignment with long-term architectural goals while remaining practical to deliverEmbed best practices in data quality, lineage, and governance within the architecture and its implementationWhat You’ll BringStrong experience in data architecture, with hands-on data engineering experience in a complex, data-rich environmentProven ability to design scalable data models and architectures, and support their implementation in production systemsDeep understanding of modern data architectures, including cloud platforms, data lakes/warehouses, and pipeline designExperience working closely with data engineering teams, and contributing directly to delivery where neededStrong knowledge of data modelling techniques (e.g. dimensional modelling, normalisation, time-series considerations)Familiarity with both structured enterprise data and high-volume time-series data environmentsExperience defining semantic layers, metrics, and data structures for analytics and reportingAbility to balance long-term architectural integrity with short-term delivery needsStrong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to align technical and non-technical teams around common standardsWhat can you expect from us We're on a mission. Where others see limits, we see opportunity, and we work at pace. Working at Vertical isn't your average role but for those seeking a challenge, a flexible, supportive organisation and an incredible team; working here is an opportunity to do the best work of your career.Our approach promotes ingenuity and courage, while our environment builds success through diligence in safety and being open in the way we work. The only way we're going to assure the next chapter of aviation history is by working as a team, relentlessly, towards our goal. Our benefitsOur people matter - we're not going anywhere without them. Which is why our company benefits go beyond the essentials.26 days holiday, plus bank holiday5 extra days per year to buy (or sell)5 extra days holiday when you get married or enter a civil partnershipAdditional 4% of your salary to spend on extra benefitsAward-winning digital health and wellbeing service (Help@Hand)Company performance based bonus - rewarding company and individual performanceCompany Share Scheme - open to every Vertical employeeCompany Pension Scheme - 5% and we match itBreakfast on us, every dayWe may just be the hardest job you've ever had, but we're confident it will be the most rewarding. Join the team today and help us shape the future of Advanced Air Mobility.Disclaimer StatementWe encourage you to apply even if you may not have all the experience listed in the advert. We recognise that talent comes in various forms and we are committed to providing opportunities that create an environment of growth, diversity, and inclusion for everyone. As part of our desire to review and make our processes fair, we may ask you questions related to these aspects during the application process. For more information on how we will use your data, see our Legal section.LocationBristol OfficeEmployment TypeFull timeDepartmentDigital VA