Senior Manager, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Architect, TC FS

We are seeking a Senior Manager - DLT Architect to lead the technical architecture, design, and implementation of distributed ledger and digital asset platforms across complex financial services environments. This role is suited to a deep technologist and hands-on architect, with strong experience designing DLT based platforms, who can translate business and regulatory requirements into secure, scalable production-grade architectures and guide engineering teams through delivery.

Responsibilities

• DLT & Platform Architecture
  • Own the end-to-end technical architecture for DLT-based platforms (e.g. tokenised deposits, on-chain settlement, custody, registry, and orchestration layers).
  • Design logical, physical, and deployment architectures covering on-chain and off-chain components, integration patterns, data flows, and non-functional requirements.
  • Make architecture choices across DLT protocols (e.g. Corda, Ethereum-based platforms, Hyperledger), consensus models, privacy models, and interoperability approaches.
  • Define reference architectures and reusable architectural patterns for digital asset and DLT use cases.
• Smart Contracts & On-chain Design
  • Lead the design and review of smart contracts and on-chain workflows, ensuring correctness, security, auditability, and upgrade mechanisms.
  • Define patterns for token models, lifecycle management, permissions, and role-based access on-chain.
  • Ensure smart contract and ledger design aligns with legal, regulatory, and operational requirements.
• Integration & Enterprise Architecture
  • Design integration between DLT platforms and core banking systems, payments rails, custody platforms, trade processing, and market infrastructure.
  • Architect API-first and event-driven integration patterns, including middleware, messaging, and orchestration layers.
  • Ensure interoperability across multiple DLTs and external ecosystems where required.
• Security, Privacy & Resilience
  • Own the security architecture of DLT platforms, including key management, identity, wallet design, signing models, and secure transaction flows.
  • Design solutions that meet enterprise security, data privacy, resilience, and regulatory standards.
  • Lead threat modelling and support security reviews, audits, and penetration testing.
• Cloud, Infrastructure & DevOps
  • Define deployment architectures across cloud and hybrid environments, including containerisation, Kubernetes, and infrastructure-as-code.
  • Design CI/CD pipelines for both on-chain and off-chain components, including smart contract build, test, and deployment.
  • Ensure solutions are production-ready, scalable, observable, and operable.
• Technical Leadership & Governance
  • Act as technical authority on DLT architecture decisions across programmes and client engagements.
  • Lead architecture forums, design reviews, and technical governance processes.
  • Mentor architects, engineers, and senior consultants, raising overall DLT engineering capability.
• Client & Stakeholder Engagement
  • Work directly with senior technology, architecture, and product stakeholders at banks, market infrastructure providers, and regulators.
  • Translate complex technical concepts into clear, structured discussions for non-technical audiences.
  • Support pre-sales activity through architecture proposals, RFP responses, and technical deep dives.
• Product & Solution Strategy (Client Advisory + Market POV)
  • Define and lead client-facing strategies and roadmaps for digital asset payments, including stablecoin settlement, tokenised deposits, and cross-border/tokenised cash rails.
  • Design scalable and sustainable technology architecture.
  • Bring thought-provoking perspectives and EY points of view to challenge client thinking and shape investment decisions, especially where technology, regulation, and operating model trade-offs are involved.
  • Track market trends and regulatory developments, converting them into clear client implications, decisions, and execution plans.

You will bring a passion for delivering an exceptional client service experience. You have a collaborative mind-set, are outcome-focused, intellectually curious, and have a creative approach to problem solving. You have excellent written, listening, and verbal communication skills and a track record of building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders. You bring strong analytical skills and are confident in tackling new topics.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on experience as a solution/platform/technical architect in complex distributed systems.
• Deep expertise in DLT and blockchain architectures, ideally within financial services.
• Experience with smart contract (e.g. Solidity based chains) and secure on-chain design.
• Strong understanding of payments, settlement, custody, capital markets, or banking platforms.
• Proven experience designing secure, high availability, low latency systems.
• Solid cloud and infrastructure knowledge (e.g. AWS/Azure, containers, IaC, CI/CD).
• Strong grasp of non-functional requirements: security, performance, resilience, scalability, and compliance.
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, or GCP) in regulated environments.
• Familiarity with messaging and eventing (Kafka, service buses, async workflows).
• Exposure to cryptography concepts relevant to digital assets (keys, signatures, hashing, MPC, HSMs).
• Strong communication skills – able to explain complex technical topics to non-technical stakeholders.
• Intellectual curiosity and comfort operating in fast-evolving problem spaces.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in the financial services industry.
• A good range of influencing skills.
• A constructive and action-oriented approach.
• A self-starting attitude with the ability to think and act quickly.
• Experience working in a client-facing professional services environment.
• An ability to guide and coach team members to help them develop their EY careers.
• Experience of operating in a project-based environment.

Benefits

• We offer an attractive remuneration package with support for flexible working and career development, including the flexibility to select benefits (holidays, health and well-being, insurance, savings, discounts, and promotions).
• Continuous learning – develop the mindset and skills to navigate whatever comes next.
• Success as defined by you – tools and flexibility to make a meaningful impact your way.
• Transformative leadership – insights, coaching and confidence to lead.
• Diverse and inclusive culture – embraced for who you are and empowered to use your voice.