Global Head, Architecture
Global Head, Architecture

Global Head, Architecture

Full-Time 72000 - 108000 £ / year (est.) No home office possible
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At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead technology strategy and architecture for complex financial services platforms.
  • Company: Join S&P Global, a leader in market intelligence and data solutions.
  • Benefits: Enjoy health coverage, flexible time off, and continuous learning opportunities.
  • Why this job: Shape the future of technology in finance and make a real impact.
  • Qualifications: 20+ years in tech leadership with strong banking and financial services experience.
  • Other info: Collaborative culture focused on integrity, discovery, and partnership.

The predicted salary is between 72000 - 108000 £ per year.

Overview

The Enterprise Solutions Technology division includes workflow solutions across Lending, Reg & Compliance, Global Markets and Software business. Enterprise Solutions provides an industry-leading set of integrated tools, solutions and data services that help our clients make efficient investment decisions, operate with greater efficiency, and provide transparency across their business and to their key stakeholders.

About The Role

We are seeking a senior technology leader (Senior Principal Engineer / Chief Architect & Technology Strategy) to partner closely with the Head of Technology for Enterprise Solutions in shaping the technology direction of a complex, regulated financial-services estate. This is a hands-on principal engineer and architect role, not a pure governance or advisory architecture function. The role exists to ensure technology strategy is grounded in engineering reality, deep domain understanding, and operational outcomes.

You will work directly with the Head of Technology to shape and refine strategy, stress-testing ideas against engineering, regulatory, and operational constraints. You will engage closely with senior engineering leaders, platform teams, and product partners to turn strategy into real designs that can be built and run. You will get involved early in complex or high-risk initiatives and step in when it matters most, including during major incidents and recovery efforts. A key part of the role is knowing when to push forward, when to simplify, and when to slow down or stop.

You will act as the engineering authority across Enterprise Solutions, leading primarily through influence rather than line management and the role carries broad responsibility for shaping architecture, design, and delivery decisions across multiple teams and domains. You will balance long-term strategy with near-term delivery constraints, operational resilience, and regulatory expectations, and represent the technology direction with clients and senior stakeholders, explaining design choices and trade-offs clearly and credibly. Overall, this role strengthens the technology function by making strategy buildable, operable, and defensible.

Responsibilities

  • Experienced in setting technology strategy and architecture for complex, regulated, data-driven platforms, with strong experience in banking and financial services (public and private markets, syndicated lending, securities processing, counterparty and client lifecycle, regulatory reporting, or similar domains).
  • Experienced in defining and owning multi-year technology strategies and roadmaps, setting clear priorities and sequencing change based on business outcomes, regulatory needs, and engineering reality.
  • Sets and governs reference architectures, design standards, and architectural guardrails, ensuring teams build in a consistent, scalable, and sustainable way.
  • Strong understanding of how financial products, operational workflows, data, and controls work end-to-end, and uses that understanding to make sound system and platform design decisions.
  • Has demonstrated strong judgment designing distributed, event-driven, and data-intensive systems, including how they scale, fail, recover, and isolate risk.
  • Experienced with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and the trade-offs around managed services, multi-region and multi-tenant designs, data residency, cost, performance, and resilience.
  • Knowledge of advanced and new architectures and design paradigms e.g. agent-based systems, service abstractions, semantic data models, knowledge graphs, and where to apply or not.
  • Experienced in ensuring AI-enabled systems are explainable, auditable, and operationally safe, with clear judgment on when AI is appropriate versus deterministic or rules-based approaches.
  • Strong understanding of analytics and AI in production (e.g. data quality, anomaly detection, fraud/AML, workflow automation) and understands what it takes to run these reliably in regulated environments.
  • Designs with security and controls built in, with a strong understanding of identity, data protection, failure containment, and regulatory risk.

What Are We Looking For

  • 20+ years building and operating systems in tier-1 banks, capital markets infrastructure, or similarly regulated, high-availability environments. Has owned or deeply influenced production systems under real load, is comfortable reading and writing code, and works effectively alongside senior engineers.
  • Acts as a coach and multiplier for senior engineers and architects, raising the bar through hands-on problem solving, design reviews, and practical guidance rather than formal line management.
  • Pragmatic, direct, and outcome focused. Leads through earned credibility and influence, is comfortable shaping decisions without authority, and communicates complex technical topics clearly to business, client, and regulatory audiences.
  • Measures success by outcomes and evidence, not intent or presentation: technology strategy that translates into systems that work in production, reduce late-stage surprises and repeat incidents, scale and recover as designed, and stand up to real operational and regulatory scrutiny.

About S&P Global Market Intelligence

At S&P Global Market Intelligence, a division of S&P Global we understand the importance of accurate, deep and insightful information. Our team of experts delivers unrivaled insights and leading data and technology solutions, partnering with customers to expand their perspective, operate with confidence, and make decisions with conviction.

What’s In It For You?

Our Mission
Advancing Essential Intelligence.

Our People
We’re more than 35,000 strong worldwide—so we’re able to understand nuances while having a broad perspective. Our team is driven by curiosity and a shared belief that Essential Intelligence can help build a more prosperous future for us all. From finding new ways to measure sustainability to analyzing energy transition across the supply chain to building workflow solutions that make it easy to tap into insight and apply it. We are changing the way people see things and empowering them to make an impact on the world we live in. We’re committed to a more equitable future and to helping our customers find new, sustainable ways of doing business. Join us and help create the critical insights that truly make a difference.

Our Values
Integrity, Discovery, Partnership. Throughout our history, the world’s leading organizations have relied on us for the Essential Intelligence they need to make confident decisions about the road ahead. We start with a foundation of integrity in all we do, bring a spirit of discovery to our work, and collaborate in close partnership with each other and our customers to achieve shared goals.

Benefits
We take care of you, so you can take care of business. We care about our people. That’s why we provide everything you—and your career—need to thrive at S&P Global.

  • Health & Wellness: Health care coverage designed for the mind and body.
  • Flexible Downtime: Generous time off helps keep you energized for your time on.
  • Continuous Learning: Access a wealth of resources to grow your career and learn valuable new skills.
  • Invest in Your Future: Secure your financial future through competitive pay, retirement planning, a continuing education program with a company-matched student loan contribution, and financial wellness programs.
  • Family Friendly Perks: It’s not just about you. S&P Global has perks for your partners and little ones, too, with some best-in-class benefits for families.
  • Beyond the Basics: From retail discounts to referral incentive awards—small perks can make a big difference.

For more information on benefits by country visit: https://spgbenefits.com/benefit-summaries

Global Hiring And Opportunity At S&P Global
At S&P Global, we are committed to fostering a connected and engaged workplace where all individuals have access to opportunities based on their skills, experience, and contributions. Our hiring practices emphasize fairness, transparency, and merit, ensuring that we attract and retain top talent. By valuing different perspectives and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration, we drive innovation and power global markets.

Equal Opportunity Employer
S&P Global is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race/ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, marital status, military veteran status, unemployment status, or any other status protected by law. Only electronic job submissions will be considered for employment.

If you need an accommodation during the application process due to a disability, please send an email to: EEO.Compliance@spglobal.com and your request will be forwarded to the appropriate person.

Global Head, Architecture employer: S&P Global

At S&P Global Market Intelligence, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic work culture that fosters innovation and collaboration. Our commitment to employee growth is evident through continuous learning opportunities and a comprehensive benefits package that prioritises health, wellness, and family-friendly perks. Located in London, our team thrives in a vibrant city known for its financial services, providing a unique environment where you can make a meaningful impact while advancing your career.
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Contact Detail:

S&P Global Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Global Head, Architecture

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend relevant events, and don’t be shy about asking for introductions. The more people you know, the better your chances of landing that dream job.

✨Tip Number 2

Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their products and services, especially in the financial sector. This will help you tailor your answers and show that you're genuinely interested in the role.

✨Tip Number 3

Practice makes perfect! Conduct mock interviews with friends or mentors to refine your responses. Focus on articulating your experience in technology strategy and architecture clearly and confidently.

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining our team and contributing to our mission.

We think you need these skills to ace Global Head, Architecture

Technology Strategy Development
Architecture Design
Regulated Financial Services Knowledge
Data-Driven Platform Expertise
Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
Distributed Systems Design
Event-Driven Architecture
AI and Analytics in Production
Operational Resilience
Risk Management
Communication Skills
Stakeholder Engagement
Coaching and Mentoring
Problem-Solving Skills
Judgment in System Design

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Global Head, Architecture role. Highlight your experience in technology strategy and architecture, especially in regulated environments like banking and financial services. We want to see how your background aligns with our needs!

Showcase Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on showcasing your technical expertise! Mention specific technologies, platforms, and methodologies you’ve worked with, especially around cloud services and data-driven systems. This is your chance to impress us with your hands-on experience.

Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, clarity is key. Use straightforward language to explain your achievements and how they relate to the role. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the point without unnecessary fluff.

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands. Plus, it shows us you’re serious about joining our team at StudySmarter!

How to prepare for a job interview at S&P Global

✨Know Your Tech Inside Out

Make sure you have a solid grasp of the technology stack relevant to the role. Brush up on cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP, and be ready to discuss how you've applied these in past projects. This will show that you're not just familiar with the theory but can also translate it into practical solutions.

✨Demonstrate Strategic Thinking

Prepare to talk about how you've shaped technology strategies in previous roles. Think about specific examples where you balanced long-term goals with immediate operational needs. This will highlight your ability to think critically and strategically, which is crucial for a senior position.

✨Showcase Your Leadership Style

Since this role involves leading through influence rather than authority, be ready to share examples of how you've successfully guided teams without direct management. Discuss your coaching methods and how you've raised the bar for engineering practices in your previous positions.

✨Prepare for Real-World Scenarios

Expect to be asked about high-risk initiatives or major incidents you've handled. Prepare detailed accounts of how you approached these situations, what decisions you made, and the outcomes. This will demonstrate your hands-on experience and ability to manage complex challenges effectively.

Global Head, Architecture
S&P Global

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