Principal Forward Deployed Architect in London

Principal Forward Deployed Architect in London

London Full-Time 80000 - 100000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Atlassian

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead transformative projects, designing AI-native workflows and engaging with strategic customers.
  • Company: Join Atlassian, a global leader in team collaboration software.
  • Benefits: Enjoy health resources, paid volunteer days, and flexible work options.
  • Other info: Opportunity to mentor others and represent Atlassian at conferences.
  • Why this job: Shape the future of work while making a real impact across various business functions.
  • Qualifications: Deep experience in customer engineering and enterprise architecture required.

The predicted salary is between 80000 - 100000 £ per year.

Working at Atlassian, Atlassians can choose where they work – whether in an office, from home, or a combination of the two. That way, Atlassians have more control over supporting their family, personal goals, and other priorities. We can hire people in any country where we have a legal entity.

Your Future Team: The Principal Forward Deployed Architect (FDA) is a trusted transformation architect who combines enterprise-grade technical design with consulting-grade business acumen to shape how strategic customers adopt Atlassian as their operating system for work. This is not a traditional Solutions Engineer role, nor a hands-on-keyboard engineering role. The FDA is the architect in the room - the person who turns a CIO's ambiguous “modernize how we work” into a credible, phased, AI-native architecture and the business transformation plan that makes it stick across HR, Finance, Marketing, PMO, Operations, and Engineering. You will be embedded with 1–3 strategic accounts at a time, typically for 3–9 months each, owning both the technical truth and the business transformation narrative end-to-end.

What You'll Do:

  • Business Transformation & Expansion: Design and deliver the customer's end-to-end System of Work — expanding Atlassian beyond engineering into every business function. Lead workflow transformation including operating model design, CoE structures, governance, and platform team design. Expand into HR, Finance, Marketing, PMO, and Operations through cross-functional workflow design. Drive AI adoption through practical use cases embedded into daily work. Own and evolve the System of Work blueprint based on outcomes and usage data.
  • Architecture & Technical Design: Own the target-state architecture for strategic enterprise customers across the full Atlassian System of Work — Plans, Goals, Work, Knowledge, Code, and AI. Design across the full stack: multi-tenant SaaS, identity (SAML/OIDC/SCIM), data residency, integrations (REST/GraphQL/event-driven), Forge & Connect, Marketplace, and migration paths. Co-design AI-native workflows — Rovo agents, knowledge grounding, Teamwork Graph enrichment, and human-in-the-loop patterns. Ship durable artifacts — reference architectures, ADRs, Forge prototypes, Terraform/IaC modules, Compass scorecards, and automation rule libraries.
  • Orchestration & Influence: Lead executive engagement and cross-functional delivery — translating business outcomes into capability roadmaps and phased plans. Orchestrate execution across SE, SA, TAS/FDE, Professional Services, Partners, and customer stakeholders. Close the loop with Product — convert field patterns into prioritised product and platform requirements. Mentor Senior Solution Engineers, Solution Architects, and Partner Architects. Represent Atlassian externally through conference talks, reference architectures, and Developer Community contributions.

Your background: Deep experience in forward deployed, customer engineering, professional services, or consulting roles - owning end-to-end platform transformations at Fortune 1000, large regulated, or public sector customers (at a SaaS vendor, major SI, or Atlassian Solution Partner). Experience designing on Forge, the Atlassian Marketplace ecosystem, or leading large Atlassian Cloud migrations. Executive presence and exceptional written communication; able to produce memos, ADRs, or design docs that stand up to executive review. Strong workflow and systems thinking - ability to map complex processes and design scalable ways of working across business functions. Comfort with enterprise architecture concepts: cloud-native design, integration patterns, identity, security, and data. Ability to prototype, debug, and read code in at least one of: Java/Kotlin, TypeScript/Node, Python. Cross-functional credibility with IT, PMO, HR, Finance, and senior business stakeholders. Willingness to travel 25–50% and operate across customer time zones.

What will set you apart: AI/LLM architecture experience - RAG, knowledge graphs, agent design, AI governance. Domain depth in one or more of: DevOps / Platform Engineering, ITSM/ESM, Agile-at-Scale, FSI, Public Sector, Healthcare.

Atlassian offers a wide range of perks and benefits designed to support you, your family and to help you engage with your local community. Our offerings include health and wellbeing resources, paid volunteer days, and so much more. To learn more, visit go.atlassian.com/perksandbenefits.

At Atlassian, we're motivated by a common goal: to unleash the potential of every team. Our software products help teams all over the planet and our solutions are designed for all types of work. Team collaboration through our tools makes what may be impossible alone, possible together. We believe that the unique contributions of all Atlassians create our success. To ensure that our products and culture continue to incorporate everyone's perspectives and experience, we never discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. To provide you the best experience, we can support with accommodations or adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Simply inform our Recruitment team during your conversation with them. To learn more about our culture and hiring process, visit go.atlassian.com/crh.

Principal Forward Deployed Architect in London employer: Atlassian

Atlassian is an exceptional employer that empowers its employees with the flexibility to choose their work environment, whether in-office, remote, or a hybrid model. With a strong focus on employee wellbeing, professional growth, and community engagement, Atlassian offers a wealth of benefits including health resources and paid volunteer days, fostering a collaborative and inclusive culture where every voice is valued. This role as a Principal Forward Deployed Architect not only allows you to lead transformative projects but also provides opportunities for mentorship and influence across various business functions, making it a truly rewarding career path.

Atlassian

Contact Details:

Atlassian Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Principal Forward Deployed Architect in London

Join Local Tech Meetups

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Contribute to Open Source Projects

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Tap into Online Developer Communities

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We think you need these skills to ace Principal Forward Deployed Architect in London

Enterprise Architecture
Technical Design
Business Transformation
Workflow Transformation
AI Adoption
Cross-Functional Collaboration
SaaS Design

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show off your coding skills:When applying for a software engineering role, it's super important to showcase your coding skills. Make sure your CV includes your tech stack, any relevant programming languages you’re comfortable with, and examples of projects you've worked on. If you have a GitHub profile, link it up! We love to see code in action.

Tailor your portfolio:For a full-time role, we’d expect to see some solid examples of your work in your portfolio. Make sure to include at least two or three projects that highlight your problem-solving skills and your ability to work with different technologies. Focus on the projects that are most relevant to the position at Atlassian.

Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at Atlassian and how your skills align with the role. Show us your passion for software development. We dig enthusiastic candidates who understand the value of collaboration and continuous learning!

Be clear and concise:When it comes to writing your CV and cover letter, clarity is key. Avoid jargon that could confuse us and stick to simple, direct language. Highlight your achievements with quantifiable results where possible, and keep everything easy to read. A well-organised application goes a long way!

How to prepare for a job interview at Atlassian

Brush Up on Your Coding Skills

For a full-time software engineering role, it's crucial that we stay sharp with our coding abilities. Expect technical questions that might involve solving problems on the spot or discussing algorithms. Practise on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to get comfortable with the types of questions that often come up.

Know Your Tools and Frameworks

Make sure we’re well-acquainted with the tools and technologies listed in the job description. Familiarise ourselves with any specific frameworks or programming languages mentioned. If Atlassian uses React or Node.js, for instance, be ready to discuss how we’ve used them in previous projects or coursework.

Showcase Your Projects

Bring along a portfolio that highlights our best work. This could be code samples, GitHub repositories, or any side projects we’ve built. Make sure we can talk through our thought process for each project, especially the challenges we faced and how we solved them—this shows our problem-solving skills in action.

Prepare for Behavioural Questions

While technical skills are key, full-time positions also require cultural fit. Be ready to discuss our previous experiences and how we handle teamwork, conflict, and deadlines. Brush up on the STAR method—Situation, Task, Action, Result—to clearly articulate our past experiences when discussing how we've contributed to a team.