At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead architectural design and guide engineering teams in a major transformation programme.
- Company: Established SaaS organisation focused on modernising digital products in regulated industries.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Join a transformative project and shape the future of technology in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Experience as a Kafka Architect/Solution Architect with strong engineering skills.
- Other info: Hands-on leadership role with excellent career advancement potential.
The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 ÂŁ per year.
About the Organisation
Our client is a well-established SaaS-led organisation operating within a highly regulated environment, delivering digital products used across financial and operational industries. The company is embarking on a major transformation programme to streamline and modernise its internal systems, enabling faster product delivery, improved scalability, and a more cohesive technology ecosystem. The programme aims to redesign the internal application landscape to ensure systems work together seamlessly—improving engineering velocity, reliability, and the organisation’s ability to bring new products to market.
The Role
We are seeking an experienced Kafka Architect/Solution Architect to join the transformation project with the full programme expected to run 12 months or longer. You will lead architectural thinking, define the technical blueprint, and guide engineering practices to support the creation of a unified system landscape that enables smoother product deployment and improved platform cohesion. This is a hands‑on leadership role working closely with engineering, product, architecture, and business stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
- Technical Leadership & Architecture
- Lead technical discovery to assess the current application, integration and infrastructure landscape.
- Own architectural decisions and produce technical specifications to enable a clear transformation roadmap.
- Define a cohesive system architecture across front‑end, middleware, APIs, and backend data services.
- Support the creation and prioritisation of backlogs for engineering teams to deliver against.
- Engineering Strategy & Delivery
- Mentor and guide a small group of engineers, promoting strong engineering and delivery discipline.
- Oversee and shape the end‑to‑end SDLC, ensuring consistency across development, testing, DevOps and release processes.
- Advocate for modern engineering practices including automation, containerisation, and continuous delivery.
- Identify opportunities to leverage AI and automation within the SDLC to improve engineering productivity.
- Platform & Infrastructure
- Work across both public cloud and on‑prem environments with an emphasis on containerised services (e.g., Kubernetes).
- Ensure infrastructure aligns to the new target architecture and supports scalable, reliable product delivery.
- Contribute to decisions on integration patterns, data flows, APIs, microservices and broader platform modernisation.
Skills & Experience
- Multiple years’ experience operating at Kafka Architect/Solution Architect level within SaaS organisations (ideally with exposure to financial services or regulated industries).
- Strong full‑stack engineering background, with the ability to design and evaluate front‑end, middleware, and backend architectures.
- Experience mentoring, coaching or managing small engineering teams.
- Proven ownership of architectural decisions, technical specifications and shaping of engineering backlogs.
- Hands‑on experience improving SDLC effectiveness, including:
- Experience across Kafka and Kubernetes CI/CD Release management.
- Strong understanding of infrastructure automation and containerisation (Kubernetes).
- Ability to work across cloud and on‑prem environments.
- Background in Java engineering (not essential).
- Experience with multi‑cloud or hybrid architectures.
- Exposure to AI adoption within engineering processes.
Software Technical Lead employer: Verse Consulting
Contact Detail:
Verse Consulting Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Software Technical Lead
✨Network Like a Pro
Get out there and connect with people in the industry! Attend meetups, webinars, or even just grab a coffee with someone who’s already in the role you want. Building relationships can open doors that job applications alone can't.
✨Show Off Your Skills
Don’t just talk about your experience—show it! Create a portfolio or GitHub repository showcasing your projects, especially those involving Kafka or Kubernetes. This gives potential employers a tangible sense of what you can do.
✨Ace the Interview
Prepare for interviews by practising common questions and scenarios related to architecture and engineering. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers and highlight your problem-solving skills.
✨Apply Through Us!
We’ve got some fantastic opportunities on our website, so don’t hesitate to apply directly through us. It’s a great way to get noticed and show your enthusiasm for joining our team!
We think you need these skills to ace Software Technical Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV reflects the skills and experiences that match the job description. Highlight your experience with Kafka, Kubernetes, and any relevant SaaS projects to show us you’re the right fit for the role.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Use your cover letter to tell us why you’re passionate about this position. Share specific examples of how you've led architectural decisions or improved SDLC effectiveness in past roles to grab our attention.
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: Since this is a hands-on leadership role, don’t forget to mention your mentoring and coaching experiences. We want to see how you’ve guided teams and promoted strong engineering practices in your previous positions.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it makes the process smoother for everyone!
How to prepare for a job interview at Verse Consulting
✨Know Your Kafka Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your Kafka knowledge before the interview. Be prepared to discuss its architecture, how it integrates with other systems, and any hands-on experience you've had. This role is all about leading architectural decisions, so showcasing your expertise will definitely impress.
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As a Software Technical Lead, you'll need to demonstrate your ability to mentor and guide engineers. Think of specific examples where you've led a team or influenced engineering practices. Highlighting your experience in shaping backlogs and overseeing the SDLC will show that you're ready for this hands-on leadership role.
✨Understand the Transformation Programme
Familiarise yourself with the company's transformation goals. Be ready to discuss how you can contribute to streamlining and modernising their internal systems. Showing that you understand their vision and can align your skills with their needs will set you apart from other candidates.
✨Prepare for Technical Questions
Expect to face technical questions related to system architecture, cloud environments, and containerisation. Brush up on your knowledge of Kubernetes and CI/CD processes, as well as any relevant experience with AI in engineering. Being able to articulate your thought process and problem-solving skills will be key.