Principal Data & Infrastructure Platform Architect

Role Overview
We are seeking a Principal Data & Infrastructure Platform Architect to serve as both a hands-on technical authority and a senior client-facing leader for our European enterprise accounts. This is a hybrid role that sits at the intersection of deep infrastructure/database engineering, executive relationship management, and revenue-generating business development. The ideal candidate has spent 15+ years building and running mission-critical platforms in regulated industries, and is equally comfortable in a data center runbook, an RFP war room, or a boardroom with a CIO.
You will own technical solutioning for prospective and existing clients across Europe, lead complex bid responses, and drive the financial optimization of infrastructure and licensing spend — all while maintaining the operational credibility that comes from actually having run these platforms yourself.
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Key Responsibilities
• Own executive relationships — Serve as the primary technical point of contact for end-client C-level IT stakeholders (CIOs, CTOs, CISOs), translating platform strategy and risk posture into language that drives investment decisions and secures long-term trust.
• Lead and win RFPs — Drive the end-to-end lifecycle of complex Request for Proposals: solution design, technical narrative, pricing alignment, and executive sign-off — converting bids into signed, multi-year engagements.
• Expand the European footprint — Take direct accountability for acquiring new enterprise customers across the Europe region, partnering with sales and account teams to identify, qualify, and close net-new logos.
• Architect and prove new solutions — Design innovative technical solutions for prospective and existing clients, and lead Proof-of-Concept engagements that demonstrate measurable business value before full-scale commitment.
• Drive platform strategy — Define and own multi-year technical roadmaps across enterprise database and infrastructure estates (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, DB2 LUW, Oracle, MongoDB), balancing innovation, risk reduction, and operational stability. Lead platform modernization including automation and AI capabilities
• Optimize the cost base — Lead licence and infrastructure cost-optimization initiatives across on-premises and cloud environments, right-sizing platforms, consolidating estates, and negotiating cloud commitments to materially reduce total cost of ownership.
• Guarantee resilience and compliance — Own high-availability/disaster-recovery architecture (Always On, HADR, clustering, replication) and ensure audit-ready, regulator-aligned operations (FINMA or equivalent) across all managed platforms.
• Champion automation and modernisation — Drive automation-first operating models (Ansible, Python, CI/CD) and the adoption of AI-assisted engineering tooling to accelerate delivery and reduce manual operational risk.
• Mentor and lead cross-functional teams — Guide engineering squads, Product Managers, and Scrum Masters through Agile/SAFe delivery, representing the platform in executive governance forums.
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Required Technical & Business Skills
Technical Depth
• Enterprise database platforms: MS SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL/MariaDB, DB2 LUW, MongoDB
• High Availability & Disaster Recovery: Always On (AG/FCI), HADR, TSA/PureScale, Streaming Replication/Patroni, clustering, log shipping
• Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure: Microsoft Azure, GCP, AWS, hybrid on-prem/cloud migration
• Containers & Automation: Kubernetes, OpenShift, Docker, Helm, Ansible, GitLab CI/CD, Python/Bash/PowerShell scripting
• Performance & Observability: Query tuning, Grafana, SolarWinds DPA, Azure Monitor, SLA/SLO frameworks
• Security & Governance: CIS hardening, TLS lifecycle management, ITIL (Incident/Change/Problem), audit and regulatory readiness
Business & Commercial Acumen
• Proven ability to author and win competitive RFPs in enterprise/regulated markets
• Track record of new-logo customer acquisition and revenue growth across European markets
• Skilled in POC design and execution to convert technical evaluations into signed contracts
• Demonstrated success optimizing software licensing models and infrastructure spend (on-prem and cloud)
• Executive-level communication: confident presenting roadmaps, risk, and investment cases directly to C-level stakeholders
• Cross-cultural, multilingual working style suited to distributed European teams
AI / ML Enablement
• Strategic and hands-on experience integrating AI/ML capabilities into data and infrastructure platforms: GitHub Copilot, Azure OpenAI (GPT-4), LLM-powered data quality/anomaly detection, AI-assisted SQL and code review, and prompt-engineering for automated pipeline and test generation
• Track record leading AI adoption as a modernization pillar — not just tooling experimentation, but embedding it into standard engineering practice and governance