Role Purpose

The Senior Data & Integration Architect is responsible for designing, implementing, and governing the organisation’s enterprise data and systems integration platform, centred on Snowflake as the core data warehouse and Power BI as the primary business intelligence platform.

This role ensures seamless integration between SAP Business One, eCommerce platforms, POS systems, logistics partners, and third-party applications, while delivering highly reliable, governed, and scalable analytics across multiple retail brands.

The position plays a critical role in enabling omnichannel retail operations, inventory optimisation, financial reporting, and executive decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

1. Enterprise Integration & Systems Architecture

• Design, implement, and maintain integrations between:
• SAP Business One
• Shopify and eCommerce platforms
• Point-of-Sale systems
• Warehousing and logistics platforms
• Financial and planning systems
• Bespoke/ Other 3^rd party applications.
• Architect API-based, flat-file, and hybrid integration frameworks.
• Develop and manage REST, SOAP, RFC, JDBC, FTP/SFTP, and webhook integrations.
• Implement payload validation, schema enforcement, and error-handling mechanisms.
• Develop complex data mappings using XML, JSON, and XSLT.
• Translate omnichannel transactions into SAP Business One and Data Warehouse.
• Maintain and optimise SAP B1 Integration Framework and HANA Service Layer ( Integrations)
• Ensure third-party vendors deliver standardised, maintainable integrations.

2. Enterprise Data Platform & Warehouse Architecture

• Own the architecture, development, and optimisation of the enterprise data platform.
• Design hybrid warehouse and lake house environments using:
• Snowflake
• Microsoft Fabric (Data Engineering, Data Factory, Blob Storage, Integrations between SAP B1 and Snowflake.)
• Implement multi-layered data architectures (Raw, Staging, Curated, Analytics).
• Enable interoperability between Snowflake, Fabric, and Power BI.
• Develop advanced Snowflake SQL, including:
• Complex analytical queries
• Window functions
• Procedural SQL
• Stored procedures (JavaScript/Python)
• Implement or assist 3^rd Party Vendor with Snowpark workloads for advanced transformations.
• Assist IT Department to configure security, role hierarchies, etc.
• Monitor and optimise performance, scalability, and platform costs.
• Work with IT to design high-availability and disaster recovery architectures.

3. Data Engineering, ELT/ETL & Orchestration

• Design and manage end-to-end data pipelines using:
• Microsoft Fabric Data Factory
• Azure Data Factory
• dbt
• Snowflake Tasks and Streams
• Develop ingestion pipelines for APIs, flat files, ERP, POS systems and other 3^rd party applications.
• Implement data ingestion and transformation patterns.
• Build reusable, metadata-driven transformation frameworks.
• Support batch, near real-time, and streaming workloads.
• Implement automated reconciliation and monitoring processes.
• Maintain data lineage, metadata, and dependency management frameworks.

4. Power BI & Enterprise Analytics Ecosystem

• Lead the design, governance, and optimisation of the Power BI and analytics platform.
• Develop enterprise semantic models and shared datasets.
• Implement schemas and dimensional models optimised for analytics.
• Build and optimise advanced DAX measures and KPIs.
• Implement Direct Lake, Import, and DirectQuery models.
• Configure row-level and object-level security.
• Optimise refresh strategies and dataset performance.
• Design executive dashboards and operational reporting solutions.
• Enable governed self-service BI across all brands.
• Manage deployment pipelines and workspace governance.

5. Retail Analytics & Business Enablement

• Develop advanced retail analytics including:
• Inventory optimisation
• Size-level aggregation (“size curves”)
• Sell-through and margin analysis
• Markdown and promotional performance
• Channel and brand performance
• Implement omnichannel identity resolution.
• Build inventory reconciliation and stock accuracy frameworks.
• Support buying, planning, merchandising, finance, and operations teams.
• Enable predictive, AI-driven, and advanced analytics use cases.
• Translate operational data into actionable business insights.

6. Data Governance, Security & Quality Management

• Establish enterprise data governance frameworks.
• Define data ownership, stewardship, and accountability models.
• Implement master data management processes.
• Enforce modelling, naming, and documentation standards.
• Develop audit, validation, and compliance reporting.
• Implement security and access control frameworks.
• Ensure regulatory and data privacy compliance.
• Perform regular code, pipeline, and integration audits.

7. Automation, Optimisation & Innovation

• Eliminate manual reporting, reconciliation, and data preparation processes.
• Develop automation using technologies mentioned.
• Implement monitoring, alerting, and self-healing pipelines.
• Support AI/ML and advanced analytics integrations.
• Drive continuous platform modernisation and optimisation.
• Evaluate and introduce emerging data technologies where appropriate.

8. Stakeholder Engagement & Technical Leadership

• Act as the organisation’s technical authority for data and integration platforms.
• Partner with executives, business leaders, IT teams, and vendors.
• Translate complex technical architecture into clear business value.
• Lead technical design and governance forums.
• Mentor engineers, analysts, and developers.
• Support enterprise change management and transformation initiatives.

Technical Skills & Experience:

Data Warehousing & Analytics

• Expert level experience with Lake house and Warehouse Design (architecture, performance, security, optimisation).
• Advanced SQL and procedural SQL development.
• Snowpark (Python/SQL) development. (Desirable)
• Dimensional and analytical data modelling.
• Master data management and hierarchy modelling.

Business Intelligence

• Advanced Power BI development and administration.
• Expert-level DAX mastery.
• Enterprise semantic model design.
• Row level and object level security.
• Composite and hybrid query models.
• Power BI tenant governance and administration.
• Performance tuning and capacity management.

Integration & Middleware

• Extensive experience with REST, SOAP, XML, JSON, RFC, JDBC, FTP/SFTP.
• SAP Business One Integration Framework expertise.
• XSLT and transformation frameworks.
• Webhook and event-driven architecture management.
• Payload validation and schema management.

Programming & Development

• Strong proficiency in:
• Python
• .NET and C# desirable, but not essential.
• Java / Oracle Java
• JavaScript / TypeScript
• ReactJS (advantageous)
• API and microservices development.
• Stored procedure development in Snowflake (JavaScript/Python).

Cloud & Platform Engineering

• Strong experience with Microsoft Azure.
• Data Factory pipeline development.
• Infrastructure automation.
• CI/CD and DevOps pipeline integration.

Desirable / Advantageous Skills

• AI/ML pipeline integration experience.
• GraphQL development.
• Advanced SAP HANA SQLScript.
• Data mesh or domain-oriented analytics architectures.
• Microsoft Fabric or Snowflake certifications.
• Retail ERP and supply chain optimisation systems.
• Real-time analytics and event streaming platforms.

Experience & Qualifications

• Experience in enterprise data engineering, analytics, and systems integration.
• Proven experience in large-scale retail, wholesale, or distribution environments.
• Track record of delivering enterprise data and BI platforms.
• Experience supporting multi-brand, multi-system organisations.
• Cloud, data, or architecture certifications (advantageous).

Perks & Benefits

• You get to work for a distributor with multiple aspirational brands
• Gym & Shower facilities
• Personal Trainer
• Yoga/Pilates
• Pension Fund
• Medical aid with Gap cover
• Bi Annual Staff Uniform Allocation 
• Staff discount (30-50% off for you and your family across all the brands within the group)
• Healthy Lunch subsidy
• Company performance incentive scheme
• Long-service incentives
• Holistic Employee Wellness programme
• The group prides itself in its effort to drive continuous employee engagement activities to enable a connected culture.