Durapid Technologies is partnering with a leading enterprise in the Airline Industry to recruit a world-class Enterprise Data & AI Architect for a transformational cloud-first data and AI platform program in the UAE (Dubai / Abu Dhabi). This is a prestigious, senior-level architecture role requiring 15+ years of experience — driving enterprise-wide data strategy, GenAI and Agentic AI innovation, Azure Lakehouse architecture, and cloud modernization at scale across one of the aviation sector’s most ambitious digital transformation programs. If you have deep expertise in Azure Databricks, Azure OpenAI, Delta Lake, RAG pipelines, and TOGAF enterprise architecture — with airline or aviation industry exposure — this is the career-defining opportunity you have been waiting for.
About the Role — Enterprise Data & AI Architect, Airline Sector UAE
Recruiter: Durapid Technologies — Technology Talent Partner for UAE Enterprise
Client: Leading Airline / Aviation Enterprise — UAE (Abu Dhabi / Dubai)
Mandate: Build next-generation intelligent, cloud-first data and AI platforms for a major airline
Architecture Scope: Enterprise data strategy · Azure Lakehouse · GenAI · RAG · Agentic AI · Cloud modernization
Experience: 15+ years of enterprise data and AI architecture — senior leadership level required
Why This Enterprise Data & AI Architect Role in Abu Dhabi Is a Career-Defining Opportunity
Airline Scale: Architect AI and data platforms for one of the aviation sector’s most technologically ambitious enterprises — work that shapes how millions of passengers are served
GenAI Frontier: Lead RAG pipeline design, Agentic AI architecture, and Azure OpenAI integration at enterprise scale in one of the most data-rich industry environments in the world
Executive Leadership: Operate at CTO/Chief Architect level — influencing enterprise AI strategy, technology roadmaps, and digital transformation direction
UAE Tax-Free: Highly competitive senior architecture compensation — zero personal income tax in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Position Overview
This Enterprise Data & AI Architect role — placed by Durapid Technologies for a leading UAE airline enterprise — is a senior, executive-facing architecture position responsible for shaping the entire enterprise data and AI ecosystem for one of the aviation industry’s most significant digital transformation programs. You will define and drive enterprise data strategy, design and architect Azure-based cloud-first Lakehouse platforms using Databricks and Delta Lake, lead GenAI and Agentic AI solution development with Azure OpenAI and RAG architectures, govern enterprise architecture and data governance frameworks, modernize legacy data infrastructure to scalable cloud-native systems, design secure API and integration architectures, and engage with C-suite and executive stakeholders as a senior technology leader. This is a role for an architect who has done this before at genuine enterprise scale — someone who can walk into a room with airline executives and set the technical direction with confidence, credibility, and a commercial outcome focus.
Why This Enterprise Data & AI Architect Role in the UAE Is the Senior Technology Leadership Opportunity of 2026: Enterprise Data & AI Architects who combine 15+ years of architecture experience with Azure Lakehouse, GenAI, RAG, and Agentic AI expertise — and who can apply this within the operationally complex, data-rich, and commercially high-stakes environment of a major airline — represent one of the most rare and genuinely premium talent profiles in the global enterprise technology market. The UAE’s aviation sector is investing at unprecedented scale in AI and digital transformation in 2026, and the architects who shape these programs from the inside will define the future of airline technology across the entire MENA region.
What You’ll Lead — Key Architecture Domains
Enterprise Data & AI Strategy
- Define and drive the enterprise-wide data and AI strategy for one of the UAE’s most significant airline digital transformation programs — establishing the architectural vision, principles, and roadmap that align data platform development with strategic business objectives across passenger experience, revenue management, loyalty, and operations
- Lead the transition from fragmented legacy data landscapes to integrated, cloud-first enterprise data platforms — articulating the business case, technical approach, and phased implementation plan with sufficient clarity and credibility to secure executive buy-in and sustained investment commitment
- Operate as a senior technology leader at the interface between business strategy and technical execution — engaging C-suite stakeholders, translating commercial priorities into architectural requirements, and representing the data and AI architecture function with authority in executive governance forums
Azure Data Platform & Lakehouse Architecture
- Architect and oversee the design and implementation of the enterprise Azure data platform using Databricks, ADLS Gen2, Delta Lake, and Unity Catalog — building a governed, scalable, cloud-native Lakehouse architecture that serves as the single trusted data foundation for all analytics, AI, and operational data use cases
- Design data ingestion, transformation, and orchestration frameworks using Azure Data Factory and Event Hubs — ensuring reliable, governed, and performant data flows from diverse airline operational systems including PSS, Amadeus Altea, revenue management, loyalty, and cargo platforms
- Implement Unity Catalog data governance and Delta Lake ACID transaction management — establishing the data cataloging, lineage tracking, access control, and quality assurance frameworks that enterprise-grade regulated airline data environments require
- Apply expert knowledge of Delta Lake, Cosmos DB, and Azure AI Search to design the data storage, indexing, and retrieval architectures that enable fast, accurate, and scalable AI-powered data access across the enterprise platform
GenAI, RAG & Agentic AI Solutions
- Lead the architecture and delivery of Generative AI and Agentic AI solutions using Azure OpenAI, Semantic Kernel, and Azure AI Search — designing enterprise-grade RAG pipelines that ground LLM responses in accurate, governed airline operational data and deliver reliable, verifiable AI-powered passenger and operational experiences
- Define the Agentic AI architecture for autonomous airline use cases — designing multi-agent orchestration frameworks using Semantic Kernel that enable AI agents to safely and reliably execute complex multi-step operational tasks across passenger services, disruption management, and revenue optimization domains
- Establish MLOps and LLMOps frameworks using MLflow — designing the model training, deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement infrastructure that ensures AI model performance is maintained, governed, and continuously optimized in production
- Evaluate and recommend Generative AI use cases across the airline business — prioritizing initiatives based on technical feasibility, business value, data readiness, and governance risk to build a credible, staged GenAI adoption roadmap
Enterprise Architecture, Governance & Cloud Modernization
- Apply TOGAF-certified enterprise architecture methodology to govern the data and AI architecture across the enterprise — maintaining architecture principles, standards, patterns, and decision records that ensure consistency, interoperability, and strategic alignment across all platform development programs
- Drive cloud modernization and digital transformation initiatives — migrating legacy data workloads, on-premises systems, and siloed data stores to scalable, cost-efficient, cloud-native Azure architectures that improve operational agility and reduce total cost of ownership
- Design secure integration and API architectures using Azure Service Bus and Event Hubs — building the event-driven, API-first integration patterns that connect disparate airline operational systems reliably and securely across the enterprise technology landscape
- Apply SAFe Architect / SAFe Agilist frameworks to embed enterprise architecture governance within agile delivery programs — ensuring that architectural standards and technical decisions are maintained consistently even as development teams operate at speed across multiple parallel workstreams
About Enterprise AI Architecture in UAE Aviation 2026
Durapid Technologies is a specialist technology talent partner connecting UAE enterprise clients with the most capable data, AI, and cloud architecture professionals in the market — and this engagement with a leading UAE airline represents one of the most technically comprehensive and commercially significant enterprise architecture assignments currently active in the UAE’s aviation technology sector. The UAE aviation industry is in a period of extraordinary digital investment in 2026 — with major airlines accelerating cloud modernization, deploying Generative AI across passenger experience and operations, and building the intelligent data platforms that will power the next decade of aviation innovation. Enterprise Data & AI Architects with the Azure expertise, aviation domain knowledge, GenAI architecture credentials, and executive leadership presence to shape these programs from the inside are in critically short supply globally — and those who step into these roles in 2026 will be defining both the technology direction of UAE aviation and their own careers at the highest level of enterprise technology leadership.
Your Career Growth Path: Enterprise Data & AI Architect → Chief Data Architect → VP of Data & AI → Chief Technology Officer → Chief Digital & AI Officer — a globally prestigious, technically elite, and commercially consequential career trajectory at the absolute apex of enterprise data and AI architecture leadership.
Who Should Apply?
- Senior Enterprise Architects (15+ Years): With Azure Lakehouse, Databricks, Delta Lake, and Unity Catalog experience at enterprise scale who want a leadership architecture role in the UAE’s aviation AI transformation
- GenAI & RAG Architecture Leaders: With Azure OpenAI, Semantic Kernel, and Agentic AI design experience who can architect and govern enterprise-grade Generative AI platforms for complex airline operational use cases
- Airline / Aviation Technology Architects: With PSS, Amadeus Altea, revenue management, or loyalty system knowledge who want to apply aviation domain expertise alongside cloud-first AI architecture leadership
- TOGAF-Certified Cloud Architects: With enterprise governance experience, TOGAF certification, and Microsoft Azure platform expertise who want a C-level stakeholder-facing senior architecture leadership role
- Digital Transformation Leaders: With large-enterprise cloud modernization, data platform migration, and AI strategy experience who want to shape one of the most ambitious airline digital transformation programs in the UAE
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