Principal Architect in Southampton

We’re looking for a Principal Architect with Platforms experience to provide senior technical leadership and shape the future of our client’s shared technology foundations. Working in the Maritime and Defence Industry, this is a high‐impact role for an architect who combines strategic vision with hands‐on technical depth, guiding the evolution of hybrid cloud platforms, core services, integration frameworks, and operational enablement systems.

You’ll operate as a senior technical authority, actively contributing to the design and validation of critical platform capabilities while ensuring platforms are scalable, secure, resilient, and built for long‐term operational success. Working closely with engineering, infrastructure, security, and application teams, you’ll ensure platforms accelerate delivery rather than constrain it.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading platform architecture across hybrid cloud infrastructure, shared services, integration frameworks, and foundational technology capabilities.
• Setting architectural standards, governance, and guiding the development of platform architects.
• Translating business and operational needs into platform strategies, principles, and multi‐year roadmaps.
• Remaining hands‐on in the design and review of complex or high‐risk platform components.
• Advising architecture forums on platform constraints, integration patterns, and operational trade‐offs.
• Partnering with engineering, infrastructure, application, and cybersecurity teams to deliver scalable, resilient platforms.
• Establishing reference architectures, design patterns, standards, and decision records.
• Leading architecture reviews to validate scalability, security, reliability, operability, and cost effectiveness.
• Defining and governing integration patterns (APIs, messaging, event streaming, data movement).
• Ensuring platforms are designed for operability and observability (monitoring, logging, alerting, performance).
• Influencing DevOps and platform engineering practices including automation, CI/CD, and IaC.
• Embedding security‐by‐design principles across all platform architectures.
• Managing platform technical debt and long‐term architectural evolution.
• Evaluating emerging technologies and leading targeted proof‐of‐concepts.
• Mentoring senior engineers and architects to raise architectural maturity across the organisation.

Who you are:

A senior, delivery‐focused architect who leads through technical credibility and sound judgment. You’re comfortable owning shared platforms at scale, balancing strategic thinking with practical execution, and making confident architectural decisions in complex environments.

What you’ll bring:

• 10+ years in senior platform engineering, software engineering, or architecture roles.
• Proven experience owning and evolving shared platforms at scale.
• Strong hands‐on background with cloud or hybrid platforms in production.
• Deep experience with DevOps and platform engineering (automation, CI/CD, IaC).
• Strong understanding of reliability engineering, observability, and operational excellence.
• Security‐minded with experience embedding controls into platform designs.
• Ability to influence senior stakeholders and collaborate across technical and business teams.
• Pragmatic, outcome‐driven, and comfortable operating in complex environments.

Desirable:

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Relevant architecture certifications.

Note: Candidates must be eligible for SC Clearance. We can only accept UK Citizens for this vacancy.

If you would like to know more about this role, please apply now!

Key Requirements:

10+ years of experience