At a Glance
- Tasks: Collaborate to design tech solutions that enhance customer and partner experiences.
- Company: Join the John Lewis Partnership, a leader in retail innovation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for personal growth.
- Other info: Embrace a culture of continuous improvement and agile working.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on technology strategies in a dynamic retail environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in solution architecture and strong collaboration skills required.
The predicted salary is between 75000 - 85000 € per year.
About the role
As a Partner in our business your number one focus is to work collaboratively to create more value for our customers and our business. As a key function in the Technology & Change operating model, the purpose of Architecture is to identify the technical capabilities and changes that will enable the Partnership to successfully operate, adapt, and transform through technology. This role focuses on solutions to support our In‑Store Customer and Partner experiences.
In this role you will:
- Collaborate with cross‑functional teams and business stakeholders to design end‑to‑end technology solutions that are effective, efficient, sustainable, and make a tangible difference to the business.
- Collaborate directly with product and engineering teams to translate architectural designs into actionable backlogs, ensuring clarity on non‑functional requirements such as performance and reliability.
- Ensure architectural & engineering best practice is brought to bear during solution design to increase value, reduce delivery risk, and control technical debt.
- Help to inform the thinking of senior stakeholders to meet key business and technology challenges.
- You’ll drive technology options and choices, influence the product backlog and determine how the technology strategy will be achieved for our selling channels.
- Help ensure JLP delivers on its strategic aims and enables the Partnership to adapt and grow in a competitive and changing market.
- Develop personally and professionally to achieve your potential.
Salary: Up to £85,000 depending on experience
Contract type: Permanent
Working pattern/flexible working: Based at our Bracknell Head Office with a flexible hybrid model (typically 1 day per week in the office, primarily Thursdays, with ad‑hoc visits as required by business needs), we support a healthy work‑life balance.
Key Responsibilities
- As a co‑owner, actively share the responsibilities of ownership and support Partners and colleagues to have a voice in our business.
- Invest in your personal and professional development, utilising the opportunities available to you to develop your skills and capabilities.
- Engage with your function, supporting your teams to continuously develop and improve it.
- Embrace Agile working principles by demonstrating a flexible approach to working, joining missions as needed and/or supporting colleagues to secure the success of the mission.
- Leverage insight and internal and external networks, as appropriate, to keep abreast of key customer requirements, market conditions and trends, including technological advancements, and feed these into strategic thinking.
- Design and maintain an accurate logical overview of the entire system throughout product lifecycle/delivery, including the end users needing consideration in the customer experience design.
- Ensure the solution design accounts for realistic capacity and capability demands and constraints, and that design integrity and consistency across different project or agile streams is maintained.
- Design and deliver in accordance with architectural design parameters, that rationale for key technology solution decisions (including vendor/tech selection) are recorded and within relevant standards/guardrails, and that strategy & design governance is engaged appropriately.
- Ensure that data flows and data governance for each solution are specified and recorded.
- Identify technical debt to be repaid by the sprint/solution, or debt proposed to be incurred.
- Provide support to engineering teams in the root cause identification and resolution of issues.
- Advise on phasing of delivery of a project.
Essential skills/experience you’ll need
- Customer centricity - Understands the end to end customer journey and puts every customer, both internal and external, at the heart of everything we do.
- Critical thinking - Uses data and evidence to develop thinking and form reasoned judgements.
- Empathy - Demonstrates the ability to understand, relate to and be sensitive to your team, peers, colleagues and customers and is in the habit of seeing the world through the eyes of others.
- Enterprise thinking - Breaks down silos and works with a one Partnership mindset, making links and connections across functions and divisions where necessary to drive efficiencies. Cuts through competing agendas to drive activity and outcomes.
- Influencing decisions and stakeholders - Works collaboratively through active listening and assertive communication to reach win‑win outcomes. Adapts style to influence stakeholders and keeps Partnership interest as the forefront of decision making.
- Experience of working across a wide range of solutions and change approaches appropriate for the Product / Business Area.
- Experience of influencing stakeholders at Leadership and Working Group levels on a major transformation or in an area with a high level of change.
- Experience working across the IT lifecycle with the ability to balance long and short term outcomes given commercial drivers and available levers in uncertain environments.
- Experience adopting solution architecture methodology that proves demonstrable improvements in value, exploiting component re-use and/or reduced delivery risk.
- Good understanding of current software architecture techniques and tooling including: Domain driven design, Microservices, API‑first design, Cloud Native, Continuous Delivery & DevOps, Containerisation and PaaS on GCP or AWS and other data and integration technologies (Event streaming, data lakes etc).
Desirable skills/experience you may have
- Software engineering background.
Solution Architect – Waitrose In Store Selling in Binfield employer: John Lewis Partnership
At John Lewis Partnership, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that values collaboration and innovation. Our flexible hybrid working model, combined with a strong commitment to personal and professional development, ensures that our Partners thrive in a supportive environment. Located at our Bracknell Head Office, you will be part of a culture that prioritises work-life balance while driving meaningful change in customer experiences through technology.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Solution Architect – Waitrose In Store Selling in Binfield
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, or even reach out to folks on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can put in a good word for you.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews! Research the company, understand their values, and be ready to discuss how your skills align with their needs. Practise common interview questions and think of examples that showcase your experience in solution architecture.
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your projects! Whether it's through a portfolio or a presentation, highlight your past work and how it relates to the role. This is your chance to demonstrate your problem-solving skills and technical expertise in action.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in being part of the John Lewis Partnership family.
We think you need these skills to ace Solution Architect – Waitrose In Store Selling in Binfield
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Solution Architect role. Highlight your experience with technology solutions and how you've collaborated with teams to create value, just like we do at StudySmarter!
Showcase Your Skills:Don’t forget to emphasise your customer-centric approach and critical thinking skills. We love seeing candidates who can put themselves in the shoes of both customers and colleagues, so make that clear in your application!
Be Clear and Concise:When writing your application, keep it straightforward and to the point. Use bullet points where possible to make it easy for us to see your key achievements and experiences. We appreciate clarity!
Apply Through Our Website:Remember to submit your application through the official JLP Jobs website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets to us directly, and we can’t wait to see what you bring to the table!
How to prepare for a job interview at John Lewis Partnership
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you’re well-versed in the latest software architecture techniques mentioned in the job description, like microservices and cloud-native solutions. Brush up on your knowledge of API-first design and DevOps practices, as these will likely come up during technical discussions.
✨Showcase Your Collaborative Spirit
Since this role emphasises collaboration with cross-functional teams, prepare examples that highlight your teamwork skills. Think of specific instances where you’ve worked with product and engineering teams to deliver successful projects, and be ready to discuss how you can bring that collaborative mindset to Waitrose.
✨Demonstrate Customer Centricity
Be prepared to talk about how you put customers at the heart of your solutions. Share experiences where you’ve designed technology solutions that improved customer experiences, and explain how you gather insights to inform your architectural decisions.
✨Prepare for Stakeholder Engagement
This role involves influencing senior stakeholders, so think about how you can demonstrate your communication skills. Prepare to discuss how you’ve navigated competing agendas in the past and reached win-win outcomes, showcasing your ability to adapt your style to different audiences.
