[Hiring] Database Architect @Heirs Technologies

Role Description

The Database Architect is the strategic owner of the platform's data architecture — the person who decides how data is structured, stored, replicated, and governed across a dual-cloud financial platform at continental scale. Working under the Enterprise Architect and providing technical leadership to the Database Engineers, you will define the data models, technology standards, and architectural patterns that every engineering team builds on. Where the Database Engineers own the build and operation, you own the blueprint — and the blueprint must be right.

What You'll Do

• Data Architecture & Strategy:
  • Define and own the platform's end-to-end data architecture.
  • Set structural principles, technology choices, and governance standards.
  • Ensure the data architecture is designed for continental scale from day one.
• Data Modelling & Standards:
  • Establish and enforce enterprise-level data modelling standards.
  • Review and approve data model proposals from product and engineering teams.
• Cross-Cloud Data Architecture:
  • Own the architectural design of the platform's cross-cloud data strategy.
  • Design the active-active (or active-passive) database architecture.
• Technology Governance & Selection:
  • Own the platform's approved database technology catalogue.
  • Evaluate new database technologies and tooling against the platform's requirements.
• Performance & Scalability Architecture:
  • Design the platform's data layer for performance at scale.
  • Define partitioning strategies, sharding approaches, and indexing standards.
• Data Security Architecture:
  • Define the platform's data security architecture.
  • Ensure compliance with PCI DSS, CBN, and applicable data protection regulations.
• Event-Driven & Integration Data Patterns:
  • Define architectural patterns for data flow across the platform's microservices.
• Data Residency & Compliance Architecture:
  • Design the platform's data residency architecture.
  • Assess cross-border data transfer risks.
• Reference Architectures & Technical Leadership:
  • Produce clear, well-documented reference architectures and architectural decision records (ADRs).
  • Provide technical leadership and architectural guidance to the Database Engineers.
• Architecture Review & Governance:
  • Participate actively in the platform's architecture review process.
  • Work closely with the Enterprise Architect and Sr. Cloud Architect.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in data or database architecture.
• Deep expertise in both relational and distributed NoSQL database paradigms.
• Demonstrated experience designing cross-cloud or multi-region database architectures.
• Strong command of data modelling.
• Solid understanding of database security architecture.
• Experience with cloud-managed database services across AWS and Azure.
• Ability to produce clear, well-structured architectural documentation.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience designing and implementing active-active database configurations.
• Experience with change data capture (CDC) tooling.
• Familiarity with data mesh or data lakehouse architectural patterns.
• Experience with data residency design across multiple African markets.
• AWS and/or Microsoft Azure data or solutions architecture certification.
• Experience with Redis architecture.

Benefits

• Impactful work — you'll design the data architecture of a platform built to serve hundreds of millions of Africans.
• World-class team — you'll work alongside architects, engineers, and security specialists from some of the best organisations on the continent and globally.
• Modern ways of working — cloud-native, architecture-led, and built on a dual-cloud (AWS + Azure) foundation.
• Lagos, Nigeria — based at our Lagos office, at the heart of Africa's most dynamic technology ecosystem.

How to Apply

To apply, please use the link provided in the job posting. Applications are managed through our recruitment platform and reviewed on a rolling basis.