Data Management Solution Lead
EXL · London
EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS) is a global data and artificial intelligence ("AI") company that offers services and solutions to reinvent client business models, drive better outcomes and unlock growth with speed. EXL harnesses the power of data, AI, and deep industry knowledge to transform businesses, including the world's leading corporations in industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, media and retail, among others. EXL was founded in 1999 with the core values of innovation, collaboration, excellence, integrity and respect.
We are headquartered in New York and have more than 60,000 employees spanning six continents. For more information, visit www.exlservice.com.
Role Title: SAVP – Data Management Solution Lead
BU/Segment: Data Management
Location: London, United Kingdom (Flexible hybrid working, with time on client site as required)
Reports to: VP2 – Data Management Leader (IMU / SGU Interlock Lead)
Employment Type: Permanent
Summary of the role:
The SAVP – Data Management Solution Lead is a client-facing solution architecture role aligned to strategic accounts within Banking & Capital Markets, Energy, Utilities and Travel. The role combines billable, project-based solution architecture on client engagements, approximately 60% of time, with solution design, pre-sales and proposition support for the Data Management practice, working under the direction of the Interlock Lead.
This is a data management role first and foremost: the core of the job is designing data architectures, platforms, pipelines and governance that are robust, scalable and production-ready. It also requires a working understanding of AI, how generative and agentic AI solutions consume and depend on well-managed data, and how modern AI capabilities can be applied within data management itself, so that the solutions designed today provide the data foundations clients need for AI adoption. It is not an AI architecture role; deep AI build expertise sits with EXL's AI engineering teams, with whom this role collaborates closely.
The successful candidate will be an experienced hands-on data solution architect with strong domain expertise within Banking & Capital Markets or Energy, Utilities and Travel sectors, comfortable moving between billable delivery on an engagement and shaping the solutions, estimates and proposals that win the next one.
As part of your duties, you will be responsible for:
60% Billable Solution Architecture on Client Engagements
Serve as the solution architect on assigned client engagements within aligned accounts, accountable for the technical integrity, scalability and deliverability of the data solutions designed.
Design end-to-end data management solutions: data architectures, platform and lakehouse designs, data pipelines and integration patterns, data models, migration approaches and target-state blueprints.
Define and apply standards for data quality, metadata, lineage and governance within engagement solutions, ensuring designs meet client regulatory and security requirements.
Understand how data underpins the priorities of Banking & Capital Markets clients – risk and regulatory reporting, customer insight, legacy platform modernisation and migration, and the data foundations required for AI adoption – and reflect this in solution designs.
Ensure solutions are designed with AI-readiness in mind: well-governed, well-described data that generative and agentic AI capabilities can safely and reliably consume.
Guide and review the work of engagement delivery teams, including multi-shore engineering teams, providing hands-on technical leadership through design, build, testing and deployment.
Conduct architecture and design reviews, manage technical risks and issues, and support estimation and planning for delivery workstreams.
30% Solution Design & Pre-Sales (under the direction of the Interlock Lead)
Lead the solution design for new Data Management opportunities within aligned accounts and the sector: shaping the approach, architecture, delivery model, team shape and estimates that underpin proposals and statements of work.
Contribute solution content to proposals, RFI/RFP responses and orals, working with Sales, Engagement Leads and the Interlock Lead.
Design and support proofs of concept, demos and technical accelerators that demonstrate EXL's data management capabilities to clients and prospects.
Participate in client workshops and discovery sessions, translating business challenges into solution options with clear articulation of value, effort and risk.
Provide solution assurance on in-flight pursuits, reviewing estimates, assumptions and technical approaches for deliverability and margin.
5% Practice & Capability Contribution
Convert solution designs and engagement experience into reusable practice assets: reference architectures, solution patterns, estimating models and accelerators.
Share knowledge across the practice through design reviews, internal enablement sessions and communities of practice.
Keep current with the evolving data and AI technology landscape and share relevant insight with the practice and aligned accounts.
5% Other duties as assigned or identified
Qualifications and experience we consider to be essential for the role:
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, IT or a related field, or 10+ years of relevant professional experience.
7+ years of professional experience designing and delivering enterprise data solutions: data warehouses, data platforms, data integration and data migration.
• 3+ years of experience working with Banking & Capital Markets organisations (e.g. retail banking, commercial banking, lending, payments, markets and wealth management) or Energy, Utilities and Travel organisations, either within a consulting services environment or directly in industry.
Hands-on experience architecting solutions on at least one major cloud data platform (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP, Databricks, Snowflake), including data pipeline and integration design.
Strong data modelling capability across conceptual, logical and physical models, with practical experience of data quality, metadata and governance design.
A working understanding of AI and generative AI, including how AI solutions depend on data foundations (e.g., data for RAG and retrieval, metadata and lineage for governed AI use) and how AI capabilities are being applied within data management.
Experience supporting pre-sales activity in a consulting services organisation: solution shaping, estimation, and contribution to proposals or RFP responses.
Experience providing technical leadership to delivery teams, including reviewing designs and guiding engineers.
Nice to have:
Experience with master data management and data governance frameworks and tooling.
Understanding of the data landscape and regulatory context of financial services (e.g., risk and regulatory data, data lineage and BCBS 239-style requirements, customer and counterparty data, cloud adoption in regulated environments).
Experience with large-scale platform migration or modernisation programmes (e.g., legacy warehouse or analytics estate migrations to cloud).
Exposure to AI-native and lakehouse platforms and services (e.g., Azure AI Foundry, Vertex AI, Bedrock, Databricks) from a data architecture perspective.
Relevant cloud or platform certifications (e.g., AWS/Azure/GCP data or architecture certifications).
Knowledge of project delivery methodologies, including Agile and Scrum.
Skills and Personal attributes we would like to have:
Ability to balance hands-on solution design with the commercial realities of a consulting engagement: effort, margin, risk and deliverability.
Ability to translate complex technical designs into clear options and recommendations for business and technology stakeholders.
Comfortable presenting solutions to client architects, senior managers and workshop groups with calmness and ease.
Ability to build trust and credibility with client technical and delivery stakeholders on aligned accounts.
Strong estimation capability: sizing solutions, teams and timelines with defensible assumptions.
Excels in a fast-paced environment where critical thinking and strong problem-solving skills are required for success.
Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpolate from abstract material.
Ability to partner across the organisation – sales, delivery, AI engineering, competency leads – to shape and land solutions.
Clear written and spoken communication, including high-quality solution documentation.
Demonstrates strong understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of leading data management technologies and tools, sufficient to hold a meaningful discussion with clients and team members.
Pragmatic and delivery-minded: designs solutions that teams can actually build and clients can actually run.
Curious about the evolving AI landscape and its implications for data management, without losing focus on data fundamentals.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
This position provides technical leadership and day-to-day guidance to engineers and designers on their assigned engagements, including reviewing work and coaching on solution quality. They provide feedback to the people managers and competency leads of the resources on their engagement teams. Formal people-management responsibilities, such as goal-setting and evaluations, are not a standing feature of this role but may be assigned for specific team members.
As part of a global data and artificial intelligence ("AI”) company, you can look forward to:
A competitive salary with a generous bonus, private healthcare, critical illness life assurance at 4 x your annual salary, income protection insurance, and a rewarding pension.
EXL provides everyday financial well-being solutions, such as cash back cards, in which you can earn cashback while enjoying discounts, promotions, and offers from top retailers. We also offer a Cycle Scheme where you can save money on bikes and cycling accessories.
At EXL, we are committed to providing our employees with the tools and resources they need to succeed and excel in their careers. We offer a wide range of professional and personal development opportunities. We also support a range of learning initiatives that allow our employees to build on their existing skills and knowledge. From online courses to seminars and workshops, our employees have the opportunity to enhance their skills and stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies.
As an Equal Opportunity Employer, EXL is committed to diversity. Our company does not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, age, or disability status.
EXL employees are eligible to purchase stock as part of our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP).
At EXL, we offer a flexible hybrid working model that allows employees to live a balanced, healthy lifestyle while strengthening our culture of collaboration.
To be considered for this role, you must already be eligible to work in the United Kingdom.