Lead Solution Architect

We are looking for a Lead Solution Architect to join our digital transformation consultancy building user-centered software and digital services for public sector clients.

Lead Solution Technical Architects work closely with clients and development teams to design software architecture and guide delivery teams to turn the design into reality. As a Solution Architect, you will:

• Design technology solutions that are scalable, secure and user-centred
• Guide and support clients to make technology choices
• Own documentation and drive governance on behalf of development teams

You will bring a technology-agnostic approach to solution design, ensuring that technology solutions meet the needs of users and stakeholders and help the client to deliver effective services. You'll operate as a trusted advisor, liaising with client stakeholders at all levels across business and technology functions. You will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across design, technology, data and delivery on time-bound delivery projects. You will lead smaller projects or play a senior role on larger ones. You will be the source of technical oversight and advice for the wider team and for the client. You will also support the development of junior colleagues and contribute to team culture and business development.

Responsibilities

• Technical architecture
  • Design technical solution architecture for software and digital services
  • Conduct technical assessments and provide actionable recommendations for clients
  • Produce high-quality artefacts and documentation including high level and low level designs, diagrams, architecture models, and written briefs
  • Support development teams to implement your designs
• Technical governance
  • Take your designs through architectural governance processes, proactively ensuring alignment with enterprise, data, and security standards
  • Support architecture quality by reviewing designs of colleagues and client teams and giving constructive feedback and advice
• Delivery
  • Lead project workstreams or small/medium client engagements in technology engagements
  • Create technical roadmaps and contribute to delivery planning to support agile product development
• Stakeholder management
  • Collaborate with client teams to align technical solutions with organisational strategies and user needs
  • Facilitate architecture decision-making with clients
  • Develop and maintain strong client relationships, building trust with senior stakeholders
  • Communicate complex technical information to non-technical stakeholders
• Internal responsibilities
  • Contribute to the continual development of our technology and data practice, mentor or line manage more junior consultants and contribute to internal learning
  • Contribute to bids, proposals and marketing
  • Maintain a strong understanding of emerging trends and technologies

About You

Professional knowledge and experience

Essential skills:

• Strong experience designing architectures for complex software and digital services
• Demonstrable knowledge of enterprise systems, APIs/integration, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and modern development best-practice
• Experience developing and reviewing architecture artefacts and applying architecture modelling standards (e.g. C4, ArchiMate, UML)
• Strong verbal and written skills and experience of communicating technical concepts and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven ability to work with stakeholders at multiple levels across organisations
• Experience taking your designs through architecture governance processes
• Experience working with agile product delivery teams, from solution design through to delivery
• Experience delivering projects in a consultancy environment
• Committed to personal and professional development, staying abreast of industry trends
• A technology and platform agnostic perspective
• Awareness of user needs and user centered design in the context of technology

Desirable:

• Experience working with public sector architecture standards and platforms (e.g. Technology Code of Practice, GDS Service Assessments, gov.uk PaaS, NHS Spine)
• Experience working in diverse, remote, and multi-disciplinary teams

Skills

• Communicating between the technical and non-technical: ability to interpret and negotiate between needs of technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Requirements definition and management: ability to advise on requirements management approaches and coordinate requirements prioritisation
• Strategic thinking: ability to contribute to the development of strategies and policies
• Technology systems analysis: ability to lead the analysis of IT system capabilities
• Governance and assurance: ability to assure services and support clients to define governance
• User focus: ability to champion user research and define approaches to understanding user needs
• Lifecycle perspective: ability to manage the delivery of products and services at different phases through the product lifecycle
• Sourcing technology assets and solutions: ability to lead supplier discussions as part of procurement processes
• Solution architecture: ability to lead development of solution architecture in line with standards

To Apply

If you would like to express interest in this role, please apply by submitting your CV and a cover letter max 2 pages highlighting your relevant experience against the essential requirements for the role.