Lead Technology Architect in Durrington

The Lead Technology Architect is a pivotal role within the Digital Architecture team, responsible for shaping strategy and providing architectural leadership across Southern Water’s IT and OT technology domains. Technology Architecture is responsible for shaping and governing Southern Water’s core technology landscape across infrastructure, cloud, networking, security, operational technology and data. The Lead Technology plays a strategic leadership role in defining technology direction, guiding platform evolution, and ensuring architectural alignment with business goals and digital ambitions.

The role provides architectural oversight across foundational platforms and infrastructure services, collaborates with cross-functional teams to deliver secure, scalable, and cost-effective solutions, and influences strategic decisions through governance forums and design authority. It acts as a key advisor on technology matters, enabling business outcomes while managing complexity and risk across IT and OT environments.

This role is accountable for delivering architectural leadership across Southern Water’s core technology domains, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and enabling secure, scalable, and cost-effective solutions. Working within the Digital Architecture team and in collaboration with the wider Digital Directorate and business stakeholders, the role contributes to the following key outputs:

• Technology Strategy & Planning – Translating business and digital objectives into actionable architecture strategies and roadmaps for infrastructure, cloud, security, and operational technology.
• Solution Architecture – Shaping and guiding solution designs that meet business needs while ensuring technical integrity, scalability, and supportability.
• Infrastructure Design – Defining and evolving infrastructure patterns and domain roadmaps, including hybrid cloud, identity management, endpoint management, and virtualisation.
• Enterprise IT Governance – Participating in architecture forums and design authorities to provide governance and assurance across technology domains.
• Technology Research – Monitoring emerging technologies and evaluating their relevance and impact on Southern Water’s digital landscape.
• Consultancy – Acting as a senior advisor to solution architects and platform teams, influencing key decisions and supporting programme delivery.
• Stakeholder Relationship Management – Engaging with technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure architectural alignment and shared understanding of technology direction.

The role will have direct reports, which will require line management and appropriate support for performance, development and retention.

Skills and Competencies

The candidate must have significant skills & competency in IT Architecture which include the following:

• Solution Architecture – Leads the design of technology solutions across infrastructure and cloud domains, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.
• Infrastructure Design – Defines and evolves infrastructure patterns and services to support scalable and resilient platforms.
• Technology Strategy and Planning – Develops and maintains strategic technology roadmaps aligned to business and digital objectives.
• Enterprise IT Governance – Applies governance to architecture decisions, ensuring consistency, compliance, and reuse.
• Systems Design – Reviews and assures system designs for quality, scalability, and supportability.
• Technology Research – Evaluates emerging technologies and trends to inform strategic direction and innovation.
• Leadership – Provides technical leadership across architecture domains, setting direction and priorities.
• People Management – Manages and develops a team of architects, supporting performance, growth, and retention.

Knowledge

• Technical IT Architecture
• Windows Server, Active Directory, DNS, DHCP
• Cloud Platforms – Azure, hybrid cloud models
• Identity & Access – Entra ID, Azure AD, SSO, MFA
• Collaboration Tools – Microsoft 365, Teams, SharePoint
• Endpoint Management – Intune, SCCM
• Virtualisation & Load Balancing – VMware ESXi/NSX, F5, VMware ALB
• Linux Environments – Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Operational Technology Integration – IT/OT interfacing, secure-by-design awareness
• Software design (Utilities, regulated industries)
• Data & Analytics
• Integration & service orientated design
• Software delivery (Waterfall, Agile)
• Knowledge of solutions used within the Utilities / Water sector

Qualifications - Desirable

• TOGAF
• Relevant BCS qualifications

Onsite a minimum of 2 days per week in Durrington office.

Our Benefits

• Company and performance-related bonus
• Generous pension
• Life assurance payment equal to four times your annual salary
• Health benefits through a Cash Plan
• Two paid community volunteering days a year
• 28 days annual holiday
• Occupational health service
• Retail discount app
• We offer competitive maternity leave, and flexible return to work options

Everybody Welcome

We value diversity and are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to facilitate your participation in the recruitment process, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Need flexibility in your work?

Does this opportunity excite you but you’re not 100% sure if you meet all the requirements for the role? Or are you concerned that ‘normal’ office hours aren’t possible given your personal circumstances? Whilst we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we’ll try to find a practical solution. So why not engage with us and find out more about this role?