At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead architectural strategy and simplify complex technology landscapes for innovative internal products.
- Company: Join the Financial Times, a globally recognised leader in news and information.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, diverse culture, and opportunities for career growth.
- Other info: Collaborative team focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Why this job: Shape the future of technology in a dynamic environment with real impact.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in technical architecture and strong leadership skills.
The predicted salary is between 75600 - 92400 £ per year.
About Us
The Financial Times is one of the world's leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Together, we help audiences stay better informed and deepen their understanding of the world around them. Our Product & Tech teams drive us forward in an ever-evolving digital landscape, delivering cutting-edge products to over one million digital subscribers daily. Our growth relies on a diverse, dedicated and dynamic group of product, tech, delivery and data specialists. With a supportive culture, entrepreneurial spirit and opportunities at every turn, there are no limits to where your FT career can take you.
Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups.
About you
You are an experienced technical architect with a track record of shaping architecture and technical strategy across complex technology environments. You are comfortable working across multiple products, platforms and engineering teams, bringing clarity and direction to complex technical decisions while balancing strategic goals with pragmatic delivery. You are an excellent communicator and collaborator who can build trusted relationships with engineers, product leaders, business stakeholders and technology partners. You are able to influence at a senior level, bringing teams together around common architectural principles and helping them make decisions that support both immediate delivery and the long-term health of our technology landscape. You are also an experienced technical leader who enjoys developing and supporting other senior technologists. You can provide clear direction while creating the autonomy for experienced technical leaders to succeed, and you are comfortable combining hands‑on architectural leadership with people management responsibilities. Our ideal candidate brings fresh perspectives, strong technical judgement and a collaborative approach to architecture. You are curious about technology, comfortable navigating ambiguity and passionate about simplifying complex technology landscapes and helping engineering teams build secure, scalable and sustainable solutions.
About the team
Internal Products Technology is responsible for the platforms, products and services that support many of the Financial Times' critical internal business capabilities. Our teams work across a broad technology landscape spanning Commercial Technology, Finance, People, Digital Print Services and other corporate capabilities. This includes enterprise SaaS platforms, cloud‑native applications, integrations, data flows and internally developed software. As our technology landscape continues to evolve, we are strengthening our approach to architecture to ensure that decisions made across individual products and platforms contribute to a coherent, scalable and sustainable technology ecosystem. The Principal Technical Architect will play a key role in establishing this capability, working across Internal Products and with architecture and engineering colleagues throughout the FT.
What you'll work on
As the Principal Technical Architect for Internal Products, you will provide architectural leadership across our portfolio of enterprise platforms and internally developed applications. To date, architecture and technical design have largely been owned within individual product, platform and engineering teams. As our technology landscape grows in complexity, and as we undertake significant transformation across our enterprise platforms, we need to strengthen our approach to architecture across Internal Products. You will define architectural principles, technology standards and reusable patterns that enable teams to make consistent and sustainable technology decisions. You will identify opportunities to simplify our technology landscape, improve interoperability, reduce duplication and ensure our platforms can evolve effectively as our business needs change. You will also provide architectural leadership for major strategic initiatives, with a particular focus on the Commercial Technology Programme, helping teams translate business strategy and requirements into scalable technology architectures and ensuring programme‑level decisions align with our longer‑term technology direction. This is a senior 'Principal' role, combining organisation‑wide architectural leadership with people leadership. You will lead architecture across Internal Products, driving consistency, clarity and best practices.
Principal Architect employer: financialtimes33
The Financial Times is an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture that fosters curiosity and rewards ambitious thinking. As a Principal Architect, you will thrive in a supportive environment that values diversity and inclusion, while having the opportunity to lead architectural initiatives across a complex technology landscape. With a commitment to employee growth and a dynamic team of specialists, your career at the FT can evolve without limits, making it a truly rewarding place to work.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Architect
✨Join Local Tech Meetups
Get out there and mingle with fellow developers by joining local tech meetups. It’s a fantastic way to meet people who might be working at financialtimes33 or know someone who does. Plus, you can pick up some trendy tech skills and trends while you're at it!
✨Contribute to Open Source Projects
Show off your coding chops by jumping into open-source projects. Not only does this give you practical experience, but it also gets you noticed in the dev community. You'll create a killer portfolio that speaks volumes about your skills to financialtimes33.
✨Tap into Online Developer Communities
Don’t underestimate the power of online developer communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and even Reddit. Participate in discussions, share your projects, and build your visibility. We can often find opportunities through these channels that can lead to a full-time gig at companies like financialtimes33.
✨Explore Job Boards Specifically for Tech Roles
Keep your eyes peeled on job boards that focus on tech roles. Sites like TechCareers or Stack Overflow Jobs can often have listings for companies like financialtimes33 that might not show up on broader job sites. Make it a habit to check these regularly, and don’t hesitate to apply directly through our website!
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Architect
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 financialtimes33.
Craft a killer cover letter:Your cover letter is your chance to stand out—make it personal! Explain why you want to work at financialtimes33 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 financialtimes33
✨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 financialtimes33 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.
