Application Architect

Company Overview

Xoserve is the Central Data Service Provider, that sits at the heart of Britain’s complex gas market as a specialised contract management and assurance company. Xoserve maintains accountability for the delivery of the Data Services Contract for the industry, which is delivered by a key outsourced service provider.

About the job

The Application Architect is responsible for designing, developing and maintaining enterprise-level application and solution architectures that support the business and align with the technology goals of the organisation. This role plays a critical part in ensuring that the enterprise\’s application and solution architectures are scalable, efficient and address the unique needs of our data-intensive systems.

The successful candidate will leverage TOGAF (The Open Group Architecture Framework) to develop a cohesive data architecture framework and ensure its alignment with other domains. An understanding of the challenges and complexities a large central data processing environment brings is preferred, though not essential.

Role Accountabilities

• Application Architecture Design: Lead the design and development of flexible, scalable and secure solution architectures that support business operations and align with the organisation\’s strategic objectives whilst meeting the needs of large data processing systems.
• TOGAF Implementation: Utilise TOGAF principles and methodologies to develop and implement comprehensive, modular application architectures, ensuring solutions are designed with flexibility and long-term business goals in mind.
• Large Data Processing Expertise: Provide knowledge and expertise in architectures that handle vast amounts of data efficiently, focusing on performance, security and scalability.
• Application Integration: Provide knowledge and expertise in solutions that ensure seamless integration with existing systems, services and data sources including internal and external applications.
• Collaboration with Stakeholders: Collaborate with business leaders, functional teams and other architects (business, data, and technical) to understand business needs, gather technical requirements and develop solutions that align with organisational goals.
• Performance Optimisation: Continuously monitor and optimise application architectures to ensure they meet business performance expectations, particularly in environments with high data volumes.
• Governance and Compliance: Establish an application and solution architecture governance thatensures compliance with the Architecture Principles, regulatory requirements, security standards and corporate policies.
• Documentation and Communication: Create and maintain detailed application and solution architecture documentation and artefacts, providing a contemporary holistic view of the architectural landscape. Communicate architectural collateral and subsequent strategies effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Technology Evaluation and Selection: Evaluate emerging technologies, frameworks and trends in the application and solution architecture space, including Low Code/No Code platforms, ML, GenAI and application integration.

Specialist/Technical Expertise

• Proven extensive experience in application or solution architecture, software development or enterprise architecture, within a data processing or IT-intensive organisation.
• Strong understanding of TOGAF and its application in application architecture.
• In-depth knowledge of large-scale data processing systems, data governance and distributed computing.
• Proficiency with application architecture design principles, microservices architecture, SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) and APIs.
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms and containerisation (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes).
• Familiarity with big data technologies (e.g. Hadoop, Spark) and data integration platforms (e.g. Boomi, Informatica).
• Knowledge of different development frameworks (e.g. Java, .NET, Python) and database technologies (SQL, NoSQL).
• Proficiency in the use of Visio or Miro.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Ability to simplify a problem or solution, especially regarding communication.
• Ability to work collaboratively across diverse teams and influence decision-making.
• TOGAF certification is highly desired.
• Experience in industries such as utilities, finance, healthcare, telecommunications, or large-scale cloud service providers is preferred.
• Familiarity with additional enterprise architecture frameworks or methodologies (e.g. Zachman, ArchiMate) and agile software development methodologies is preferred.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing and modern software development practices is also preferred.

What we offer:

• A competitive annual salary between £80,000 and £85,000 (may vary based on skills and experience)
• Discretionary individual bonus up to 15%
• Generous Pension Scheme – up to 12% employer contribution
• Generous Life Assurance provision – 4 x basic salary
• 28 days annual leave plus 8 statutory days in addition
• Income protection for employee after 12 months service
• Enhanced annual leave entitlement, with opportunity to buy additional holiday each year
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Commitment to provide learning & development opportunities
• Access to contributory Private Medical Insurance for employee and family (Bupa)
• Health cashback plan for employee plus up to four dependent children (Medicash)
• 24/7 virtual GP plus remote access to Physiotherapy, Mental Health Support and Medical Second Opinion (Help@Hand)
• Electric Vehicle Salary Sacrifice Scheme (Octopus EV)
• Free confidential Employee Assistance Programme (LifeWorks)
• A wide range of wellbeing initiatives
• Fantastic range of discounts on high street retailers, grocery stores, cinema tickets, holidays and more
• Volunteering hours for our local communities
• Financial support to help cover the cost of one annual professional membership subscription
• Hybrid working from our Solihull office with frequent days in the office expected

The Energy Industry is about to reform and change at pace, and it needs people like you to come and be part of its new design.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Xoserve, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace for everyone. So, if you’re excited about this role but your experience or qualifications don’t match the job description exactly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might just be the right person for our growing business in this role or another one.

Xoserve is an equal employment opportunity employer. We adhere to a policy of making employment decisions without regard to race, ancestry, place of origin, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability. We promise that your opportunity for employment with us depends solely on your qualifications.

If you are interested and consider you have the right skills and experience, please apply direct on LinkedIn or email your CV to people@xoserve.com. The closing date for applications is Friday 28 February 2025. We encourage candidates to submit their applications as early as possible and not to wait until the published closing date. Xoserve’s recruitment periods can and may vary. We reserve the right to remove this advert or close it to further applications at any point during the recruitment process.