Senior Solution Architect - Multi-Platform & Cloud Strategy in Oxford

OUP’s application portfolio includes digital customer-facing systems, content and data platforms, ecommerce services, learning and assessment solutions, online journals, and research tools. Within this broader portfolio, the Academic Division depends on a focused set of platforms supporting journals and research publishing, content production, Higher Education learning, interoperability services, dictionary products, and language data applications. Together, these platforms form the Academic Product Technology portfolio and provide the core capabilities required to operate and evolve Academic’s publishing products.

The Solution Architect is the senior architectural lead within Academic Product Technology, responsible for defining, owning, and evolving end-to-end solution architecture across this complex portfolio of platforms and services. This is a senior solution leadership role, responsible for end-to-end solution architecture, making clear trade-offs, and influencing decisions across teams and stakeholders.

You will provide solution leadership across multiple platforms, systems, integration layers, and data flows, ensuring that technology solutions are cohesive, scalable, secure, and aligned with enterprise architecture strategy and Academic product priorities, while working closely with Enterprise Architecture to ensure solutions are fit for purpose and meet agreed standards and patterns.

Operating across a landscape that includes legacy technologies, third-party platforms, and modern cloud-based services, you will apply balanced and pragmatic judgment to determine when to evolve existing systems, integrate new capabilities, design new solutions, or pursue targeted rebuilds where there is a clear rationale. Acting as a trusted architectural partner to senior non-technical stakeholders, you will translate complex technical decisions into clear business implications, risks, and options, shaping product direction and influencing priorities.

You will work closely with Application Architects, Engineering, and Delivery teams to provide architectural direction and technical leadership, while retaining accountability for overall solution integrity and outcomes across the domain and ensuring solutions are delivered and operated with long-term sustainability.

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will ideally have/be:

• Experience operating as a Solution Architect, Lead Architect, or equivalent senior architecture role within a complex, multi system environment.
• Strong system level architecture expertise and proven experience designing and evolving solutions that span multiple platforms, services, integration layers, and data flows, with ownership retained over time rather than one off designs.
• Direct experience working across legacy and modern technology landscapes, including system evolution, integration, new solution design, and targeted rebuilds.
• Experience providing architectural governance and technical oversight across in house engineering teams and third-party delivery partners, without assuming primary delivery or line management responsibility.
• Deep understanding of nonfunctional requirements including security, scalability, performance, resilience, and operational quality.
• Ability to shape and communicate clear architecture designs, trade-offs, and decisions for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture principles, standards, and governance practices.
• Knowledge of cloud-based technologies, i.e. AWS, Azure.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with Product Managers, Product Directors, or equivalent senior stakeholders to shape priorities, manage risk, and support decision making.

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts. This role comes with the added benefit of private medical insurance and a management bonus.

We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.