Data Governance Lead

About Sonata Software Sonata Software, with over $1.2 Billion Revenue, is a leading AI-first Modernization Engineering company, powered by our unique Platformation TM framework. Our 6400+ AI Engineers are helping enterprises transform from systems to intelligent business platforms leveraging partner ecosystem to drive speed, efficiency and growth. Our bouquet of Modernization Engineering Services with AI -first approach cuts across Cloud, Data, AI, Dynamics, Test Automation, and Managed Services. Sonata's AI-led modernization is enabled by a powerful suite of proprietary tools and assets. At the core is the Harmoni.AI Enterprise Platform, which includes Agent Bridge -a governance and observability framework; Agent Builder -a development toolkit for fungible agents integrated into enterprise systems; and the Agent Marketplace -an internal ecosystem for modular, reusable agents. Headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Sonata Software has a strong global presence, including key regions US, UK, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, DACH (Germany/Switzerland) & Nordics (Finland) . We are a trusted partner of Fortune 500 companies in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance; Healthcare and Lifesciences; Telecom, Media, and Technology; and Retail, Manufacturing and Distribution space. Deep collaborations with partners like Microsoft, AWS, Salesforce, and Snowflake strengthen our ability to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions. Our 30+years of partnership with Microsoft, and being part of the elite Microsoft Inner Circle, places us among the top 1% of global Microsoft partners. Sonata is now among the first companies to earn the Microsoft Frontier Partner Badge Also; Sonata Software is proud to achieve AWS Premier Tier Status in the AWS Partner Network. Role: Data Governance Lead Location: Onsite (Exeter, Devon EX2 7HR - UK) Mode of hire: work from office 3 days in a week Engagement: Permanent Experience: 12–15+ years Joining: Immediate Role Overview We are looking for a highly experienced Data Strategy, Governance & Solution Architect with 15+ years of experience across enterprise data strategy, data governance, data architecture, MDM and large-scale data transformation. The successful candidate will be responsible for defining the Data Strategy and Data Governance framework, developing the Data Roadmap, and translating the strategy into a portfolio of executable projects. Each project should have a clear business case, delivery objectives, benefits, dependencies and measurable outcomes. This is a senior, hands-on role requiring a combination of strategy consulting, architecture, governance and implementation experience. The individual should be a strong Solution Architect who can bridge business strategy and technical execution. Key Responsibilities Data Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and establish the enterprise Data Strategy, aligned to business objectives and technology strategy.
• Assess the current data landscape, capabilities, maturity, architecture, processes and pain points.
• Develop the target-state Data Strategy and operating model.
• Create a comprehensive Data Roadmap covering short-, medium- and long-term initiatives.
• Translate the overall Data Strategy into a structured portfolio of projects / initiatives.
• Prioritise projects based on business value, risk, regulatory requirements, dependencies, cost and complexity.
• Define clear outcomes, milestones, dependencies and success measures for each initiative.
• Ensure the roadmap is realistic, actionable and aligned with enterprise architecture. Strategy-to-Project Transformation
• Break down the overall Data Strategy into executable projects and workstreams.
• Develop a clear scope, objectives, deliverables and implementation approach for each project.
• Develop a business case for each project, including:
• Business problem / opportunity
• Expected benefits and business value
• Costs and investment requirements
• Risks and dependencies
• Resource requirements
• Delivery timeline
• KPIs and success criteria
• ROI / value realisation
• Support senior leadership in prioritising and approving the project portfolio.
• Provide architectural and strategic direction throughout project execution.
• Ensure individual projects remain aligned to the overall Data Strategy and target architecture. Data Governance
• Define and implement the Enterprise Data Governance framework.
• Establish data governance principles, policies, standards, processes and controls.
• Define Data Ownership, Data Stewardship, RACI and decision rights.
• Establish governance forums, councils and escalation mechanisms.
• Define and implement governance processes covering:
• Data Quality
• Metadata Management
• Data Lineage
• Business Glossary
• Data Classification
• Data Ownership & Stewardship
• Data Controls
• Master & Reference Data
• Define governance KPIs and maturity measures.
• Drive adoption of governance practices across business and technology teams. Data Retention & Archival
• Define and implement Data Retention and Data Archival strategies aligned with business, regulatory, legal and compliance requirements.
• Establish data retention policies, standards and ownership.
• Define archival principles and target-state archival architecture.
• Determine what data should be retained, archived, migrated or disposed of.
• Work with legal, compliance, security, business and technology stakeholders to establish appropriate retention periods.
• Ensure archival solutions consider accessibility, cost optimisation, security, auditability and data lifecycle management.
• Develop implementation roadmaps for retention and archival initiatives. Data Architecture & Solution Architecture
• Act as a senior Data / Solution Architect across the data transformation portfolio.
• Define current-state and target-state Data Architecture.
• Develop conceptual, logical and physical data architecture where required.
• Translate business requirements into scalable and sustainable technical solutions.
• Define integration, data flow, storage, processing and consumption patterns.
• Ensure solutions align with enterprise architecture principles and standards.
• Evaluate architectural options and provide recommendations and trade-offs.
• Review and govern solution designs delivered by project teams and technology partners.
• Ensure solutions are scalable, secure, resilient and fit for long-term business requirements. Master Data Management (MDM)
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of Master Data Management (MDM) concepts, principles and implementation approaches.
• Identify key master data domains and define appropriate ownership and governance.
• Understand master/reference data relationships and dependencies across the enterprise.
• Define MDM target-state architecture and roadmap where required.
• Support selection and implementation of MDM solutions and processes.
• Ensure MDM initiatives are aligned with the wider Data Strategy and Data Governance framework. Asset Historian / Operational Data
• Understand asset historian / historian data and its role within an asset-intensive environment.
• Understand how operational/industrial asset data is captured, stored, governed and consumed.
• Assess the relationship between asset information, historian data, master data and enterprise data.
• Define appropriate governance, architecture and integration approaches for historian and asset-related data.
• Identify opportunities to improve the accessibility, quality, lineage and value of asset data. Required Experience & Skills
• 15+ years of overall experience in Data Strategy, Data Architecture, Data Governance, Data Management or large-scale Data Transformation.
• Strong experience in Data Strategy development and execution.
• Proven experience developing and implementing Data Governance frameworks and operating models.
• Strong Solution Architecture / Data Architecture background.
• Demonstrable experience translating strategy into projects, programmes and implementation roadmaps.
• Experience developing business cases for data and technology initiatives.
• Strong understanding of Data Retention, Data Archival and Data Lifecycle Management.
• Strong understanding of MDM and Master/Reference Data.
• Experience working with asset data / historian environments is highly desirable.
• Experience working across business and technology functions to define target-state architecture.
• Strong consulting background with proven ability to work with senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrable hands-on implementation and delivery experience.
• Strong understanding of enterprise integration and modern data architecture patterns.
• Experience with Data Governance platforms such as Collibra, Alation, Atlan, Microsoft Purview, Informatica or equivalent is desirable.
• Strong programme, portfolio and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent communication, presentation, workshop facilitation and influencing skills. Ideal Candidate Profile The ideal candidate is a senior data leader and strong Solution Architect who can operate across the full lifecycle: Data Strategy → Data Roadmap → Business Cases → Project Portfolio → Architecture → Data Governance → Implementation → Benefits Realisation Why join Sonata Software? At Sonata, you´ll have an outstanding opportunity. The chance to use your skills and imagination to push the boundaries of what´s possible. To build never seen before solutions to some of the world's toughest problems. You´ll be challenged, but you will not be alone. You´ll be joining a team of diverse innovators, all driven to go beyond the status quo to craft what comes next.