Title: Data Architect

Location: Cape Town

Client Description

The Data Architect, OT and Industrial Data Platforms will be responsible for leading the design, implementation, governance, and continuous improvement of industrial data systems supporting utility-scale renewable energy operations. He/she will ensure the reliable acquisition, integration, storage, and utilisation of operational data from wind, solar, substation, and grid-connected facilities during the Engineering and Construction, as well as Operations and Maintenance phases. He/she will work closely with ICT, Engineering, Operations, Data Science, Cybersecurity, key business partners, internal technology teams, and external vendors to deliver scalable, secure, and compliant data solutions that support operational excellence, advanced analytics, predictive maintenance, and business reporting. The Data Architect will also provide technical support to the Business Development Unit on industrial data platform architecture requirements, data integration feasibility, and related digital solution considerations.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement, maintain, and continuously improve industrial data architectures and historian systems supporting renewable energy operations.
• Administer and optimise the AVEVA PI System environment, including Data Archive, Asset Framework, PI Vision, interfaces, and connectors, ensuring availability meets agreed service levels.
• Develop and apply standards for operational data collection, storage, retention, naming, and lifecycle management, and contribute to the broader data governance framework.
• Develop high-availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions for critical operational data platforms.
• Design, implement, and maintain interfaces between plant SCADA systems and enterprise industrial data platforms using protocols such as OPC UA, IEC 61850, Modbus, and DNP3.
• Support commissioning, Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, and operational readiness activities for new plants and upgrade projects.
• Work with equipment vendors, engineering contractors, ICT, Engineering, Operations, Cybersecurity, and Network teams throughout project delivery and operational phases.
• Develop and maintain data quality frameworks, monitoring processes, dashboards, and KPI reporting for operational data platforms.
• Investigate and resolve data integrity, completeness, latency, and availability issues across the data acquisition chain.
• Define governance processes, ownership models, naming standards, and operational standards for industrial data management.
• Apply consistent data models and information architecture across operational assets to support analytics, predictive maintenance, and business reporting.
• Develop applications, integrations, and automated workflows that improve secure access to operational data and reduce manual effort.
• Apply modern authentication and secure integration patterns to control access to operational data.
• Work with stakeholders to identify and deliver opportunities for self-service reporting, workflow automation, and analytics enablement.
• Contribute to the design and delivery of cloud-hosted or hybrid architectures for industrial data systems, aligned with the enterprise technology roadmap.
• Lead or support migration and modernisation activities for OT data platforms while maintaining operational continuity.
• Ensure platforms under the role's responsibility comply with applicable OT cybersecurity standards and internal security requirements, working with Cybersecurity on hardening, monitoring, and vulnerability remediation.
• Provide technical leadership during incidents affecting critical operational data infrastructure and related integrations.
• Perform root cause analysis and drive corrective actions to improve availability, reliability, performance, and data integrity.
• Plan and execute maintenance, upgrades, patching, and change control for OT data platforms in line with change management processes.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, operating procedures, and support models for the area of responsibility.
• Act as the subject matter expert for operational data platforms, historian systems, and industrial data architecture.
• Provide guidance, training, and mentoring to engineers, analysts, operational users, and other stakeholders.
• Engage with regional and global stakeholders to drive technology adoption, standardisation, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.

Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, Automation, Mechatronics, or equivalent.
• Master's Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Information Security, and/or Business Administration will be considered an advantage.
• Professional registration will be considered an advantage.
• Proven experience in designing, implementing, and maintaining industrial data architectures, historian systems, and operational data platforms.
• Strong hands-on knowledge of AVEVA PI System infrastructure, including Data Archive, Asset Framework, PI Vision, Interfaces, Connectors, and related applications.
• Ability to design and implement high-availability, redundancy, failover, disaster recovery, and business continuity solutions for critical operational data platforms.
• Experience integrating plant SCADA systems, substations, grid-connected facilities, and OT environments with enterprise data platforms.
• Knowledge of industrial communication protocols and technologies, including OPC UA, OPC DA, IEC 61850, Modbus TCP, DNP3, IEC 60870-5-101/103/104, PROFINET, and ICCP/TASE.2.
• Solid understanding of SCADA, Industrial Control Systems, Operational Technology, Energy Management Systems, and renewable energy operational environments.
• Experience with commissioning, Factory Acceptance Testing, Site Acceptance Testing, operational readiness, and handover activities for OT and industrial data solutions.
• Strong knowledge of data modelling, asset frameworks, tag naming conventions, metadata management, data retention, and industrial data governance.
• Experience developing data quality frameworks, monitoring processes, KPI reporting, dashboards, and data integrity investigation procedures.
• Working knowledge of one or more of Python, PowerShell, or C#/.NET, applied to integrations, automation, or application development.
• Knowledge of OT/ICS cybersecurity principles, secure network segmentation, access control, vulnerability management, patch management, incident response, and change control.
• Familiarity with relevant OT/ICS security standards and guidance, including IEC 62443, IEC 62351, NERC CIP, NIST SP 800-82, and relevant ISO/IEC 27000-series standards.
• Experience with Microsoft Windows Server, Active Directory, networking architectures, virtualization technologies, monitoring tools, and secure infrastructure operations.
• Understanding of IP networking, the ISO/OSI layered model, routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, and application-layer services relevant to IT and OT environments.
• Experience designing cloud-hosted or hybrid architectures for industrial data systems and supporting technology modernisation initiatives.
• Knowledge of secure application integration patterns, modern authentication, APIs, data connectors, and controlled access to operational data.
• Experience designing or developing business applications, automation workflows, self-service reporting solutions, and analytics enablement capabilities.
• Ability to support advanced analytics, predictive maintenance, operational performance reporting, and data-driven decision-making use cases.
• Knowledge of project management methodologies, documentation standards, technical governance, vendor coordination, and lifecycle management practices.
• Experience in renewable energy, power generation, transmission, distribution, or grid-connected operational environments will be considered an advantage.
• SAP or ERP integration experience will be considered an advantage.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to translate business requirements into practical technical solutions.
• Strong project coordination and vendor management skills.
• High level of ownership, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively with local, regional, and global teams.
• Continuous improvement and innovation mindset.
• Strong interest in Industrial Control Systems, digitalisation, and renewable energy.
• Minimum 7 years of experience in industrial data systems, Operational Technology (OT), SCADA, or industrial automation environments.
• Demonstrated experience with historian platforms such as AVEVA PI System, OSIsoft PI, Canary, Ignition, or similar technologies.
• Experience integrating operational systems within renewable energy, utilities, power generation, manufacturing, mining, or industrial sectors.
• Experience coordinating technical projects and working with multidisciplinary teams.