Software Architect

As a global market leader, iPipeline combines technology, innovation, and expertise to deliver ground-breaking, award-winning software solutions that transform the life insurance, financial services, and protection industries. With one of the industry’s largest data sets, we help advisors/advisers and agents to transform paper and manual operations into a secure, seamless digital experience – from proposal to commission – so they can help better secure the financial futures of their clients.

At iPipeline, you’ll play a major role in helping us to provide best-in-class, transformative solutions. We’re passionate, creative, and innovative, and together as a team, we continually strive to advance, accelerate, and expand the reach of our technology. We value different perspectives and are committed to creating an environment that embraces diverse backgrounds and fosters inclusion. We’re proud that we’ve been recognized as a repeat winner of various industry awards, demonstrating our excellence and highlighting us as a top workplace in both the US and the UK.

This is a hybrid position.

Responsibilities

• The Expert Software Architect leads the design of complex, high-impact software systems, creating scalable, secure architectures that align with business strategy and technology roadmaps.
• This role shapes architectural decisions across multiple teams and systems, ensuring technical consistency and long-term platform sustainability.
• Serving as a senior technical authority, the Expert Software Architect drives the adoption of proven architectural patterns, evaluates emerging technologies, and provides deep technical guidance for mission-critical platforms within the insurance and wealth management domain.
• This role combines deep technical expertise with enterprise-level architectural influence, leading initiatives such as SaaS transformation, cloud modernisation, AI enablement, and cost-of-ownership optimisation.
• The Expert Software Architect translates business strategy into actionable architectural frameworks, guiding teams through complex design decisions and trade-offs across performance, security, scalability, maintainability, and compliance.

Architecture Leadership

• Lead the design of scalable, high-performing architectures across complex systems or multiple products.
• Define enterprise-aligned architectural patterns, models, and integration standards.
• Ensure architecture aligns with strategic business objectives and modernisation goals.
• Translate business and functional requirements into structured, scalable software solutions.
• Define application workflows, integration approaches, and technical standards.

Technical Strategy & Execution

• Translate technical strategy into actionable architectural frameworks and delivery roadmaps.
• Guide teams through architectural decision-making and complex design trade-offs.
• Balance performance, security, scalability, and maintainability across platforms.
• Establish and advocate for software design patterns, coding standards, and integration best practices.
• Work closely with development teams to support implementation, validate architectural alignment and review solution implementation.

System Integration & Interoperability

• Architect robust and secure integrations across cloud-native and legacy environments.
• Apply domain-driven and event-based design approaches as appropriate.
• Ensure systems interoperate effectively across domains and services.

Governance, Risk & Quality

• Participate in or lead architecture governance and review processes.
• Identify architectural risks and guide mitigation strategies.
• Ensure systems meet regulatory, security, and compliance requirements.

Mentorship & Technical Leadership

• Mentor developers and early-career architects on architectural principles and best practices.
• Promote consistency, reuse, and engineering excellence across teams.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to product, engineering, and delivery leaders.

Scope, Impact, and Influence

• Scope: Leads architecture for complex systems integrating multiple domains and technologies.
• Scale: Operates across platforms and teams, often bridging legacy and cloud-native environments.
• Impact: Shapes technical direction and architectural consistency across releases and initiatives.
• Influence: Influences architectural decisions across departments and contributes to internal standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or related field (or international equivalent).
• Clear evidence of progressively responsible experience in software architecture or engineering roles.
• Professional certifications (e.g., Azure/AWS Architect, TOGAF, SAFe Architect) preferred.