Job Description

The RoleWe are looking for a Solution Architect to lead the design and implementation of smart, scalable data solutions that power how we understand and engage with our supporters.In this exciting role, you'll shape how data flows across our ecosystem, anchored in Azure and Databricks, and integrated with platforms like Tableau (BI), Cortex (CDP), and MS Dynamics (CRM). With GraphQL as a key enabler of real-time, flexible data access, you'll ensure our data is not just well-structured and secure, but also readily available and actionable across our club.This is a hands-on leadership role at the intersection of business needs and technical delivery. You'll be the crucial link between stakeholders, product owners, and technical teams - turning any complexity into clarity and shaping solutions that create genuine value.With a growing internal team and external partners under your guidance, you'll establish clear principles, champion best practices, and foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability. This is a chance to lead transformative change and build a modern data function that scales with ambition.Who we areWe are one of the most famous clubs in world football, with a rich heritage and history of success - read more about our history, .Beyond that, we are passionate about our and, behind the scenes, we have a wide variety of opportunities and career paths for all. We have a very defined purpose: to act for a winning team, culture and community. We achieve this by ensuring we are courageous in the pursuit of progress, we champion our community and each other, and that we do the right thing (even when no one is looking).Your day-to-day

• Manage data architecture strategy and design - you'll design and oversee the implementation of scalable and efficient data solutions across our architecture, including our MS Azure data environment, of which a major element is Databricks; including the strategic use of GraphQL to expose and orchestrate real-time data access across applications and services

• Collaborate with key colleagues across our club - you will take pride in acting as the main connection between the business, product owners and technical resources and you'll have the ability to interact with all groups, translating when required and ensuring cohesive, value driving solutions
• Lead and inspire a dedicated team - you will relish the opportunity to manage a team of 6, ensuring that all parts of the data team are connected, aware of and working towards overarching design principles and have a clear understanding of our club's priorities, and you'll proactively oversee our external agency partner relationships to ensure they achieve the vision you set out

• Provide effective data modelling - you'll design and and maintain logical and physical data models and schemas to support our data needs, ensuring data models are aligned with business requirements and optimised for performance and scalability

• Oversee data integrations - you will lead the design and oversee the implementation of robust integration and data pipelines, ensuring seamless data flows into the data environment and downstream to BI, analytics, and outbound campaign platforms and you'll leverage GraphQL to streamline and standardise access to data across consumer-facing applications

• Uphold compliance at all times - you'll establish and oversee data governance policies and procedures to ensure data quality, integrity, security and compliance with regulatory requirements across the supporter data ecosystem

• Optimise performance and costs - you will proactively identify opportunities to optimise data flows, query performance, and clould resource utilisation across the data technology stack, whilst diligently managing costs to ensure we are being as efficient as possible within the allocated budget

• Maintain our data platforms - you'll be entrusted to oversee the maintenance and administration of the data platforms and integrations, making sure configurations, testing, deployments and upgrades are executed efficiently and in accordance with best practices

What we are looking for

• Experience across data architectures - you come with extensive experience of working across enterprise-scale data architectures, ideally within a cloud environment such as Microsoft Azure and using tools like Databricks
• History of inspiring and leading teams - you're proud of your background in leading cross-functional data teams and managing third-party agencies or partners and you've delivered complex projects collaboratively and on time
• Hands-on experience with data pipelines - you're well versed in building and managing data pipelines and integrations across multiple platforms (CDPs, CRMs, BIs), with a strong understanding of data flow design and optimisation
• Track record in data modelling - you have a background in data modelling and schema design, with the ability to translate business needs into scalable, high-performance data structures
• Deep understanding of key principles - you're equipped with a solid grasp of modern data architecture principles, data modelling, and data integration patterns across cloud environments (particularly Azure and Databricks)
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills - you possess the ability to build impactful relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders and you're able to translate between business needs and technical solutions
• Forward-thinking mindset - you've got a demonstrated commitment to ongoing learning and you keep abreast with evolving data technologies and architectural best practices

Why choose usAt Arsenal, we want everyone to feel a sense of trust and belonging, so we are proud of both our club values and also what we offer to our employees. As one of our Gunners, you will receive:

• An exciting reward and recognition scheme
• Generous holiday allowance which increases with your length of service
• Great internal learning and development programmes
• A flexible hybrid working model
• Priority access to apply for match tickets
• A competitive health and wellbeing benefits package
• A leading Employee Assistance Programme
• Great discounts with some of our Partners

Arsenal for EveryoneArsenal for Everyone is our commitment to promoting and embracing equality, diversity and inclusion, so that everyone connected to the club feels like they belong to the same Arsenal family. We believe that diversity of background, skills and experience drives our success on and off the pitch.Disability Confident LeaderWe are a Disability Confident Leader. We actively welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you need disability-related adjustments to the recruitment process, please indicate this in your application.If you are likely to meet the definition of being a 'disabled person' according to the , you may be eligible to apply for an interview via the - please indicate this in your application form below. The information you share with us about your health or disability will not be used in recruitment decisions.Our Commitment to SafeguardingWe are committed to ensuring that our environments for children, young people and adults at risk remain safe and inclusive. We therefore require successful candidates to complete a DBS check and other essential background checks prior to starting their employment. Depending on the responsibilities of the role, a DBS will be either a basic, standard, or enhanced check.Application Closing Date - Sunday 11th May 2025Please note: we reserve the right to close the position early if application volumes are particularly high. We encourage you to get your application in sooner rather than later.Good luck!

Arsenal Football Club