Data & AI Architecture Lead – Africa

About the role

KPMG is seeking a senior‑level Data & AI Architecture Lead to shape the technical direction of data modernisation, artificial intelligence and intelligent automation projects across Africa. The role will act as the technical authority for data and AI solution design, ensuring proposals are robust, implementable and ethically sound.

Key responsibilities

• Design and review data architecture and AI/ML solution blueprints for major engagements, guaranteeing technical soundness before contract signing.
• Produce high‑quality architecture documents, AI solution designs and analytics‑as‑a‑service proposals.
• Lead client‑facing workshops on data platform engineering, model deployment and intelligent automation.
• Define and maintain standard data architecture patterns such as data mesh, lakehouse and MLOps pipelines.
• Provide architecture oversight on active deliveries, attending design and sprint reviews and steering committees.
• Serve as the authority on AI ethics, model governance and responsible AI frameworks.
• Conduct architecture health checks at key milestones to identify data quality or model performance risks.
• Maintain a reusable asset library of pipelines, model frameworks and analytics dashboards.
• Stay current with African data regulations (e.g., POPIA) and ensure compliance.
• Contribute to thought leadership and capability development within KPMG’s Data & AI practice.

Required profile

• Senior manager‑level experience in data architecture and AI/ML solution design.
• Proven ability to lead client workshops and deliver technical governance.
• Strong understanding of data regulations in Africa.
• Experience with cloud‑native data platforms and responsible AI practices.

Required skills

• Data architecture
• AI/ML solution design
• Data mesh
• Data lakehouse
• MLOps pipelines
• Azure Fabric
• Databricks
• AWS
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• AI ethics and model governance frameworks