Manager, Data Architect

  • Malaysia
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 9 days ago
About FWD Group FWD Group is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business that serves approximately 30 million customers across 10 markets, including BRI Life in Indonesia. FWD's customer-led and tech-enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience. Established in 2013, the company operates in some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world with a vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD Group is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code 1828. For more information, please visit FWD Technology and Innovation Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., known as FWD TIM, was established in late 2019. Strategically located in Kuala Lumpur, FWD TIM serves as a pivotal shared service location within FWD Group, providing services to multiple markets across the Group. FWD TIM houses a diverse and talented workforce focused on essential business and technology services such as information security, cloud operations, IT solutions delivery, digital and data, actuarial, finance, investments, and customer service, among many others. FWD TIM is dedicated to drive and deliver operational excellence and efficiency, foster innovation and ensure regulatory compliance across all business functions as well as maintain a competitive edge in the market. PURPOSE Enable FWD's data-driven strategy focusing on product simplicity, customer experience, multi-channel reach, and agility by partnering with the Data Architect and cross-functional teams to build and maintain scalable data and application architectures. Translate business requirements into actionable platform designs, ensuring seamless integration across Databricks, Confluent Cloud, Azure/AWS, Power BI, Informatica, and Azure AI Foundry. Lead proof-of-concept initiatives to evaluate new tools and approaches, validating their alignment with both business goals and technical requirements. Deliver efficient, cost-optimized data warehouse models and application frameworks that support BI and analytics, emphasizing reusability and performance. Define and uphold data engineering standards and best practices covering architecture, coding, security, and documentation to ensure consistency, quality, and compliance. KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES Build and optimize real-time data components on the One Data Platform for multi-BU, multi-tenant environments that perform reliably under high load. Design and maintain efficient data warehouse schemas and aggregates to support BI and analytics needs. Create reusable code libraries and frameworks to speed development and ensure consistency. Collaborate with product owners, data engineers, and analysts to translate requirements into robust, maintainable solutions. Present technical designs and project updates to leadership and stakeholders, incorporating feedback to align with strategic goals. Maintain clear documentation of architectures, data models, processes, and standards for knowledge sharing and compliance. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS On time delivery of initiatives and tasks. Customer satisfaction rate. Cost optimization achieved. Documentation completeness. EXTERNAL & INTERNAL CONTACTS Internal Report to Data Architect. Communication with other team members. Actively work together with other internal collaborators, such as Data Science and Data Product teams. Work closely with local BU stakeholders. External Digital and data delivery vendors. DECISION MAKING In accordance with delegated authority QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field. Minimum 8 years of hands-on experience in data engineering or data platform roles, including at least 3 years in a leadership or managerial position. Proven experience designing and implementing enterprise-scale data and application architectures. Strong background in data warehouse modelling techniques and BI/analytics solutions. Experience leading proof-of-concepts to evaluate new technologies, with clear business and technical justification. Prior involvement in the insurance or financial services industry is highly desirable. Technical Skills Deep expertise in Databricks (Delta Lake, DLT), Spark, and real-time streaming (Kafka, Confluent Cloud, or equivalent). Strong programming skills in either Python, Java/J2EE, and/or .NET C# Hands-on with cloud-native services on Azure (preferable) and AWS. Knowledgeable in API development and documentation (REST API, Swagger, Postman) and API management platforms (e.g., Kong, MuleSoft). Understanding of security best practices for data applications. Management Skills Strong analytical skills for practical, cost-effective solutions. Clear communication of technical concepts to stakeholders. Effective relationship-building, requirement gathering, and expectation management. Collaborative approach to align goals and share knowledge across teams. Adaptable and quick to learn new tools as priorities shift. Detail-oriented with a commitment to high-quality, well-documented work. OUR COMPETENCIES Competency in designing and implementing scalable data and application architectures that align with business strategy. Competency in evaluating emerging technologies through proof-of-concepts and driving adoption of best practices.

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