Data Architect – Acute Healthcare (FDP / Foundry)
Role Summary
The Data Architect (Acute) is responsible for defining, governing, and evolving the canonical data model and semantic architecture representing an acute NHS Trust within the Foundry Data Platform (FDP).
The role focuses on clinical and operational data modelling, ensuring that data accurately reflects how healthcare is delivered in an acute setting, and that it can be reused reliably across analytics, operational reporting, research, and AI use cases.
This role is not a business change or reporting role. It is a deep technical data architecture role that bridges:
- clinical domain knowledge
- data engineering delivery
- platform governance and information standard
Role Objectives
- Define and maintain a canonical acute data model (“data twin of acute”) within FDP
- Ensure semantic consistency across ingestion pipelines and analytics use cases
- Reduce duplication of logic by embedding meaning once, then reusing it everywhere
- Enable scale across trusts, domains, and future national reuse
Requirements
Key Responsibilities
Acute Domain Data Modelling
Design and govern canonical data models representing acute healthcare operations, including (but not limited to):
- Patient administration (PAS)
- Admissions, discharges, transfers (ADT)
- Encounters and episodes
- Beds, wards, and patient movement
- Diagnostics and procedures
- Theatre activity and utilisation
- Workforce and rostering (where relevant)
Translate real -world clinical workflows into accurate, durable data structures.
Ensure that models reflect how care is delivered, not just how source systems store data.
Canonical Data Model (CDM) & Ontology
Define and evolve the CDM and ontology layer within FDP:
- entities, events, relationships
- temporal logic (e.g. point -in -time vs event -based data)
- versioning and lifecycle rules
Establish modelling standards:
- naming conventions
- grain definitions
- reference data usage
- handling of slowly changing dimensions
Act as design authority for semantic changes impacting multiple pipelines or use cases.
Collaboration with Engineering & Architecture
- Work closely with:
- Foundry Engineers (pipeline implementation)
- Foundry Architects (platform and governance design)
- Internal NHS SMEs and data engineers
Translate legacy warehouse logic and undocumented ETL rules into explicit, governed models.
Support engineers by providing clear, testable data specifications rather than embedding logic in code.
Data Quality, Lineage & Trust
Define data quality expectations aligned to clinical and operational usage.
Ensure that:
- data definitions are consistent across domains
- lineage from source â model â output is traceable
- assumptions and limitations are explicit
Support reconciliation between legacy and FDP outputs during transition.
Governance, IG & Assurance
Embed IG -by -design into data models:
- PII classification
- sensitivity tagging
- access boundaries
Support DPIA activities by clearly describing:
- what data exists
- how it is structured
- how it flows and is used
Act as a trusted technical voice during IG, assurance, and audit discussions.
Platform Transition Support
Operate effectively during live transition:
- parallel legacy and FDP platforms
- evolving source systems
- incomplete or changing requirements
Prioritise modelling decisions that reduce future rework and operational burden.
Essential Skills & Experience
Acute NHS Experience (Essential)
Demonstrable experience working with acute NHS data.
Strong understanding of:
- hospital operational workflows
- clinical and administrative data structures
Ability to speak credibly with clinicians, operational managers, and analysts about how data represents reality.
Data Architecture & Modelling
Strong background in:
- conceptual, logical, and physical data modelling
- canonical data model design
- semantic layers / ontologies
Experience modelling complex, event -driven and time -dependent data.
Platform & Delivery Context
- Experience working with modern data platforms (e.g. Foundry, Databricks, Snowflake, Synapse, Fabric).
- Comfortable operating in multi -stakeholder delivery environments.
- Experience translating legacy warehouse logic into modern architectures.
Governance & Quality
Strong understanding of:
- data quality management
- lineage and auditability
- regulated data environments
Experience supporting IG, DPIA, and assurance processes.
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Experience working within FDP / Palantir Foundry.
- Experience across multiple trusts or ICBs.
- Familiarity with NHS national datasets and standards.
- Experience supporting analytics, operational reporting, and research use cases from a single semantic model.
- Exposure to AI / ML enablement through strong data foundations.
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