Join our team at the Guardian and be a part of a diverse and inclusive global organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism, and holds power to account. Our team of award-winning journalists, cutting-edge commercial professionals, and industry-leading digital experts are committed to making a difference and represent a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. We offer a challenging and exciting environment for career development, with a focus on training, growth and fostering an inclusive culture.
We are now looking for a Data Platform Architect focusing on data solutions architecture to join our Group Technology & Data team and be responsible for developing the data architecture in relation to our Google Cloud based data platform.
You will play a critical role in designing, implementing, and managing our data management infrastructure, ensuring it supports our AI strategy, strategic goals and operational needs.
The Data Platform Architect will provide technical leadership of our data solutions and overall platform architecture. This includes definition and implementation of architectural changes, standards, and patterns that enable the data platform to meet strategic business needs whilst upholding security, privacy and governance requirements.
About the role
- Evolve our existing GCP-based data platform architecture to meet strategic goals whilst enabling the platform to be scalable, robust and secure
- Be hands-on working with our engineering team when implementing new solutions and being part of our support processes.
- Supporting the data engineering team with implementing architectural, process or pattern changes
- Working with data governance to ensure their requirements are realised (e.g. data quality management and metadata management)
- Champion DataOps practices across the data team, focusing on automated testing, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and monitoring for data pipelines and infrastructure
- Manage data storage, retrieval, and archiving processes within BigQuery inline with our Information Security practices
- Oversee and provide guidance to the data teams in implementing ETL processes using Terraform, dbt and Airflow to streamline data flow
- Continuously assess and improve the data architecture to enhance performance, scalability, and security
- Participate in strategic planning and provide insights on data-related initiatives
About you
- Demonstrable experience as a Data Solutions Architect / Data Engineering Manager / Lead Data Engineer with a track record of working with cloud-based data lake and data warehouse environments
- Experience of working with information security and data privacy and realising their requirements (e.g. data access, data retention, vulnerability management etc)
- Expert knowledge of modern data stack in particular Google Cloud Storage (GCS), Google BigQuery (GBQ), Airflow and DBT or similar
- Demonstrated ability to assess needs of the relevant internal teams, creatively approach solutions, decide and influence appropriate courses of action
- Effective written and spoken communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical ideas in easy to understand concepts
- Technical Knowledge of Data Solutions Architecture Design & Principles
We actively encourage applications from groups traditionally underrepresented in the UK media
We operate in a hybrid environment working 3 days a week from our offices in Kings Cross and 2 days a week remotely.
We value and respect all differences (seen and unseen) in all people. We aspire to have inclusive working experiences and an environment that reflects the audience we serve, where our people have equal access to career development opportunities, their voices are heard and can contribute to our future. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Many of our staff work flexibly and we will consider all requests for flexible working arrangements.
How to apply
To apply, please upload your latest CV and a cover letter which outlines why you’d love to take on this role, and why you’re a great match for what we’re looking for.
We appreciate the time taken to prepare each application we receive. We do not use AI-assisted technology to review applications; every application is reviewed by a member of our recruitment team. Thank you for bearing with us during the screening process.
The closing date for applications is Friday 3rd July 2026.
All roles at the Guardian are open for everybody to apply. It is important to us that you feel supported and comfortable throughout your recruitment process, in order to perform your best. Please let us know if there are any changes we could make to help your application, this includes providing documents in accessible formats or personalising the process to better support your needs. Please contact Anna Vipers on [email protected] to discuss further so we can work with you to support you through your application.
Benefits at the Guardian
You'll have 30 days of annual leave per year (plus bank holidays) with the option to purchase an additional 5 days. Our pension scheme is generous; if you contribute 5% then we will contribute 8-12% (depending on your age). We believe in giving back, which is why employees are given 2 volunteering days annually and the option of payroll giving. Season ticket loans are also available.
You are entitled to private healthcare, life cover, income protection, and eye tests. You can also opt in to dental insurance.
We have enhanced maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave policies in place. We also support our employees by offering an IVF, menopause, baby loss, and trans equality policy.
Culture and wellbeing
We want everyone to feel like they belong at the Guardian and we champion diversity of thought. Our various employee forums provide a platform to use their voice to foster an inclusive workplace. We became the first major media organisation to achieve B Corp status.
We offer tools to help you prioritise your wellbeing including access to our employee benefits platform which provides tailored support for health and wellbeing. In addition, we also offer free yoga and pilates classes. These run alongside our corporate gym membership and cycle to work scheme.
Our canteen has views overlooking the Regents Canal and caters for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Learning and development
We encourage personal and professional growth. Employees have access to a broad range of tools and solutions, and we are happy to support the pursuit of professional qualifications through vocational courses and apprenticeships.
Skills Required
- Demonstrable experience as a Data Solutions Architect, Data Engineering Manager or Lead Data Engineer with cloud-based data lake/warehouse environments
- Experience working with information security and data privacy requirements (data access, retention, vulnerability management)
- Expert knowledge of Google Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Airflow and dbt (or similar modern data stack)
- Hands-on experience implementing ETL/processes using Terraform, dbt and Airflow
- Championing DataOps practices including automated testing, CI/CD and monitoring for data pipelines and infrastructure
- Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to explain complex technical ideas clearly
- Technical knowledge of Data Solutions Architecture design and principles
What We Do
Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com, one of the world’s leading English-language newspaper websites. It also has a presence in the US and Australia as Guardian US and Guardian Australia. Traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. In the UK, GNM publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer. The Guardian is renowned for its agenda-setting journalism including, most recently the Cambridge Analytica, Paradise and Panama Papers investigations as well as the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy-winning NSA revelations.
