Careers

Principal Technical Consultant - Data Management

Department

Software engineering

Location

Cambridge|London

Salary

£113,700 - £127,900

plus an average of between

£19,000 - £25,250 in profit share

About Softwire

Softwire is one of the UK’s leading digital technology consultancies, offering services in data, AI, cloud, CX, innovation, design and software engineering. We deliver high-profile, mission critical, and transformational projects for household names across the public and private sectors.

Softwire was founded on one simple idea: be the outstanding place to work for smart, passionate technologists who want to make an impact. Attract the best, create a culture where people thrive, and offer our customers access to capabilities that are truly market leading.

And it seems to be working - we were recently voted number 1 company to work for in the UK at the Best Company awards; we employ outstanding people across all capabilities (typical destinations after Softwire include Google, DeepMind, start-up founder, algorithmic trading, and AI research roles); and we have helped our clients deliver some of the hardest, most interesting tech programmes, across private and public sectors.

A big part of this is our culture and values and we are looking for people who share our core beliefs about what makes a great place to work:

That if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.
That work should be fulfilling but can also be fun.
That kindness matters and should be extended to employees and clients alike.
That by being trusting and trustworthy as an organisation and as individuals we can dispense with tedious bureaucracy and rules.

When you work with Softwire, you’re not only becoming part of a team with in-depth technical skills and delivery expertise – you’ll be working in a high-trust environment alongside skilled, kind, fun people who are passionate about creating amazing services and experiences that solve real problems.

The Role

We are looking for a data management expert to join us as Principal Technical Consultant: an experienced consultant with equal parts deep data management knowledge and practical experience deploying that to deliver value in a business and industry context. You will help clients fix the data management problems that hold them back, such as unclear data ownership, poor data quality, open regulatory findings, or data that isn’t ready for AI. You will design practical solutions across governance, process and technology, and stay with them through to adoption. This is achieved via:

Your extensive data management knowledge and experience.
An outcomes-first focus on using technology and process to deliver business benefits.
Your curiosity and knowledge of our clients’ businesses and industries.
Your outstanding advisory and client communication skills.

We are looking for someone with a technical background. Practical experience in areas such as data architecture, data engineering or data analytics is preferred so you can help clients design and integrate data management solutions as well as define the governance around them.

You will build relationships with senior stakeholders based on your personal credibility and ability to add value for our clients. You will hold peer-level conversations with C-suite executives about business and data strategy, and can tell them something they did not already know about how technical and process changes could solve the problem in front of them.

Alongside working with clients, you will contribute to Softwire’s future growth, supporting our go-to-market teams with pre-sales, building Softwire’s reputation and brand, and developing your own professional network. A proportion of your time will also be spent mentoring and supporting junior colleagues.

This role sits in our Data Capability. Your time will be split between working directly with clients and contributing to the Data Capability via development of propositions, bids and thought leadership. Part of your time will be dedicated to client work, delivering and advising on live data management engagements. Your remaining time will be spent as a data management subject matter expert, leading the technical shaping of bids and pitches and building Softwire’s standing through writing, speaking and industry forums.

We want someone who combines data management expertise with deep industry knowledge from at least one of the sectors we operate in – Financial Services, Energy & Utilities, Public Sector, Health and Insurance.

The key responsibilities of the role are:

Client delivery and advisory:

Using your knowledge, skills and experience to devise and deliver real world solutions to our clients’ data management problems.
Taking overall responsibility for the quality of delivered solutions, either working individually or as part of a team with oversight over the quality within your area of expertise.
Building strong relationships with clients and using these to generate client loyalty and growth.
Mentoring and coaching junior colleagues in both technical and consultancy skills.
Working alongside Delivery Directors to ensure clients receive a great service and experience.

Data Capability:

Helping shape our data management offering: working with our go-to-market teams to decide which problems we go after, how we package those into repeatable offerings, and how we position them against the competition.
Leading the technical shaping of bids and pitches with a data management component: running early-stage client conversations, setting the solution direction, and writing the technical sections of proposals.
Acting as our subject matter expert on data management, giving our go-to-market teams the subject matter expertise to position credibly with our clients.
Building Softwire’s reputation in data management through published writing, conference and panel appearances, and taking part in forums and working groups.
Networking, representing Softwire at events, and developing your own professional network.

About You

You have 8+ years’ experience in data management roles, including at least 4 years in an agency/consultancy context.
You have deep knowledge and proven experience in data management with understanding across the core capabilities within this area (data quality, data governance, data privacy, metadata & lineage, records management, reference data etc.).
You have a proven track record designing and implementing data management frameworks, policies, and operating models. This is hands-on experience where you have navigated the challenges of securing stakeholder buy-in, tailoring approaches to specific organisations and business adoption.
You are familiar with data management maturity assessments and with designing and running remediation plans to enhance capabilities or respond to audit or regulatory findings.
You are familiar with the specific regulatory frameworks which govern data management within your sector (e.g. GDPR, BCBS239).
You have a strong understanding of how effective data management underpins effective use of AI and how broader data governance interacts with AI governance.
You have hands-on experience with common data management tooling and how to effectively implement these tools at organisations (e.g. Collibra, Purview, Ataccama, Informatica).
Ideally you have achieved relevant data management credentials (e.g. DCAM, CDMP).
You have worked within one of our sectors we operate in (Financial Services, Energy & Utilities, Public Sector, Health and Insurance) and you can hold a credible conversation about that sector from the first meeting: its commercial pressures, its regulatory environment, and the constraints that come with both. This is essential for the role.
You have a track record delivering high-value client outcomes through expert design and delivery of technical solutions.
You are comfortable working in ambiguous contexts, making decisions with incomplete information and working with multiple stakeholder agendas. You work to distil disparate needs, ideas and problems into clear, practical solutions with broad buy-in.
You are interested in not just the technology, but also the business and industry side. From the first meeting you show up knowledgeable about the client’s market and business strategy, and ready to advise and guide them on how they can use technology to deliver their goals.
You have built, or want to build, a public profile in the data industry. You may have written for a trade publication, spoken at an industry conference, contributed to a standards body, or sat on a sector working group. If you have not done any of this yet you should want to.
You have excellent consulting and advisory skills. You are able to lead, persuade, explain and communicate with all levels of stakeholders, including C-suite. You are comfortable presenting, have excellent writing skills, and a keen understanding of how to create a compelling message – you know how to tell a story.
You have a track record of forming strong relationships and leveraging these for on-sell and cross-sell of our services. You are proactive at finding additional areas we can add value for clients and shaping solutions they are willing to buy.
You are collaborative and your default approach is to work as a team, openly share information, resources and comms – you see all other colleagues as allies. You are comfortable in a culture which values and rewards collective success over personal attribution and that takes a “One Team” approach to everything we do.
You take a can-do approach and don’t mind getting your hands dirty and leaning into issues and opportunities that you identify. You don’t need a perfect environment to thrive and you are comfortable taking ownership of situations and problems with a positive approach to addressing them.
You have pre-sales experience in an agency/consultancy context, and you want more of it. Given this role covers capability and go-to-market development, we need someone who enjoys shaping opportunities and showing prospective clients that we are a good fit, rather than someone who tolerates it alongside delivery.
You are a leader: you understand how to inspire people to follow you and to create the conditions for success in your teams and across the company.

The Package

Softwire operates transparent pay scales and a profit share scheme based on role and overall company performance.

Base salary is based on experience and ranges from £113,700 - £127,900.
You can expect to receive an average of between £19,000 and £25,250 in profit share depending on your experience and company performance.
Pension: Additional 5% of salary.
25 days annual leave (with the option to buy and sell).
Time off for company-wide morale events, time off for charitable activities.
Free annual eye test, income protection, cycle to work, electric vehicle lease schemes, and payroll charity donations.

We are there for our clients and colleagues when needed. On average our teams do this working in person 3 days a week. We welcome applications from those with additional needs or caring responsibilities, and will look at where adaptions can support success in the role.

Working at Softwire

Here at Softwire, we are always on the lookout for talented individuals to join our team.

You’ll work with the industry’s smartest people and collaborate on leading-edge projects in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, refreshingly free of bureaucracy.

Principal Technical Consultant - Data Management

About the role