Smart City · Data Infrastructure · GovTech · 2023 to 2024
NEOM Data Mesh
A unified data intelligence platform for a city built from scratch
NEOM is generating data from energy grids, autonomous mobility, health systems and urban planning, with no legacy systems and no playbook. Data sat with separate domain teams, and every request for access went through engineering.
Five very different users (data engineers, domain owners, analysts, governance officers and city executives) needed the same platform to work for them, without a patchwork of tools that would fracture as the city grew.
I led the UX framework from zero, translating data-mesh principles into an interface non-technical stakeholders could use with confidence.
- [ 01 ]
Architecture to interface
Turned domain ownership, data-as-a-product, self-serve infrastructure and federated governance into a clear interface language.
- [ 02 ]
One platform, five journeys
Designed role-based information architecture so each of the five archetypes got the path they needed without compromising the others.
- [ 03 ]
Discovery engine
A catalogue with semantic search, lineage mapping and contextual metadata, so 60+ data products could be found in seconds rather than requested through tickets.
- [ 04 ]
Governance designed first
Three-tier role-based access, full audit trail and lineage designed as user experience, not bolted on afterwards, to prevent shadow IT.
- [ 05 ]
Real-time visualisation
18 custom chart components built for dense live data, working on war-room displays and analyst workstations alike.
Teams can now find and use data products self-serve, removing the engineering bottleneck on every data request.
A 120+ component design system, dark-mode native and RTL-ready, so the platform scales with the city instead of fracturing.
Next project
NEOM Bay Airport →