Head of Application & Architecture

Technology is at the heart of what our client do, as the digital expectations of our clients customers continue to increase.

Our client’s Technical Leads and Engineering teams drive the delivery of agreed roadmaps by leveraging their deep technical knowledge and expertise to select the right technologies, frameworks, and methodologies, ensuring that technical solutions are robust and scalable.

The Solution Architecture capability ensures IT systems and solutions align with overall business strategies, helping achieve business objectives efficiently and effectively.

The QA teams play a critical role in ensuring that developed products and services meet exacting quality standards before reaching internal or external customers.

We are seeking an experienced and innovative Head of Application Engineering and Architecture to lead and manage software engineering, solution architecture, and QA teams. This senior role reports to the IT Director and is accountable for designing and delivering scalable, high-performance applications and solutions to meet strategic business goals. The role involves close collaboration with the Business Systems and Change Delivery Manager to define and deliver digital product strategies and roadmaps through strong governance and ensuring business outcomes are achieved.

This is a hybrid role, based at our client’s London headquarters, offering the opportunity to shape and grow the structure and operations of this newly established team.

Responsibilities

Leadership & Management

• Lead, mentor, and manage teams of technical leads, software engineers, solution architects, and QA professionals.
• Develop and implement strategic plans for application engineering and architecture teams in alignment with organizational objectives.
• Oversee hiring, training, and professional development of team members.

Application Development

• Manage the end-to-end application development lifecycle, ensuring delivery of high-quality solutions on time and within budget.
• Implement best practices for coding standards, testing, and deployment processes.
• Encourage innovation by creating technically sustainable, scalable approaches and allowing teams to innovate based on customer needs.

System Architecture

• Develop and maintain the architectural vision and strategy for software systems, ensuring scalability, security, and maintainability.
• Translate business requirements into technical specifications and architecture designs.
• Conduct regular architecture reviews and define specific standards and guidelines.

Innovation & Technology

• Stay updated with emerging technologies and industry trends, evaluating their impact on the technology stack and architecture.
• Drive innovation by adopting modern engineering practices such as service-oriented architectures, API-first development, microservices, and secure coding.
• Lead the adoption of DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.

Project Management

• Coordinate with project managers and stakeholders to ensure successful project delivery.
• Develop detailed project plans, manage risks, and ensure timely resolution of issues.

Collaboration & Communication

• Work closely with IT and business leaders to align application development with business goals.
• Communicate effectively with senior leadership, providing updates on project status, technical challenges, and team performance.
• Foster strong cross-functional relationships to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Skills/Experience

Essential

• Bachelor\’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Proven leadership experience in architectural roles at solution and enterprise levels.
• Strong technical background with expertise in software development methodologies, architectural patterns, and modern technologies.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud) and containerization (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Demonstrated ability to roll out architectural frameworks and drive alignment.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Desirable

• Certification in project management (PMP, Agile) or architecture (TOGAF).
• Experience working with offshore development teams.

Technologies

You will work with several technologies, including but not limited to:

• Cloud Platforms: AWS (Lambdas, RDS, EC2, EKS), Azure Active Directory B2C
• Business Systems: Salesforce (Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud), Microsoft Dynamics
• Content Management Systems: WordPress, Drupal
• Data Tools: Google BigQuery, Looker, Tableau
• Languages & Frameworks: PHP, Node.js
• Integration Tools: Mulesoft