Lead Data Architect (AI)

Location: On-site in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Company

AI and data consultancy engineering secure, scalable data platforms and intelligent systems for financial services and banking organizations in the UAE.

What you will do

• Design, validate, and govern enterprise Lakehouse architectures using Databricks, Delta Lake, AWS, and Azure.
• Advise C-suite, CDO, and IT stakeholders and translate business challenges into architecture blueprints, statements of work, and delivery roadmaps.
• Lead cross-functional Data Engineering, Data Science, and MLOps squads through fixed-scope enterprise projects.
• Coach engineers and quantitative specialists while building a culture of psychological safety, learning, and technical excellence.
• Resolve project friction, align business and IT priorities, and present technical decisions to architecture review boards and risk committees.
• Design zero-trust security frameworks, fine-grained access controls, and audit trails compliant with Central Bank regulations and data sovereignty laws.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mathematics, Physics, Theoretical Physics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• Significant enterprise data architecture experience, including substantial team leadership in technology or management consultancies.
• Experience owning technical delivery for fixed-scope consulting projects, including milestones, scope, and technical risk.
• Deep expertise in Lakehouse patterns, distributed data processing, cloud storage topologies, and feature engineering pipelines for AI.
• Strong client communication, conflict resolution, organizational awareness, empathy, and leadership skills.
• Financial services, banking, or capital markets experience is advantageous.

Nice to have

• Experience designing concurrent multi-cloud architectures across AWS and Azure in regulated environments.
• Knowledge of vector databases, LLM data flows, and MLOps platform orchestration.
• Experience with enterprise procurement, UAE or GCC client dynamics, and local regulatory frameworks.

Culture & Benefits

• Individual visa sponsorship.
• Comprehensive Gold Level personal health insurance.
• Professional development, certification support, and role-related subscription reimbursement.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge AI projects with career advancement opportunities.
• Monthly employee incentive program.
• Inclusive environment supporting diverse thinking styles and accessible, predictable application and interview processes.