Senior Solutions Architect

Full-time 35 hour permanent opportunity to join our team of experienced Architects.

What’s in it for you?

• An excellent salary up to £70,000
• Company Car scheme with a car worth up to £50,700
• Discretionary annual bonus
• 27 days holiday in addition to statutory bank holidays
• Healthcare
• On-site health and wellbeing services
• Pension plus much more!

Team working:

Our team enjoy a healthy balance of Hybrid working within our modern offices in Milton Keynes and working from home, optimising face to face office collaboration and strengthening stakeholder relationships whilst building your network. Once established in the role, the team typically spend 2 to 3 days a week in the office so please do ensure this is feasible both in terms of distance and commute time before considering whether to apply for this exciting role with us.

You will report directly to the Lead Enterprise Architect, providing architectural design ownership at a domain level for key strategic initiatives and transformation programmes within VWFS UK which will include our New Contract Management Transformation, Fleet Programmes & Projects, and our Digital Programme.

Your purpose is to ensure continual improvement of our Solution Architecture capability, embracing agile and design thinking frameworks to support our business strategy and the Minimal Viable Product and Minimal Viable Architecture approach to delivery.

You will define and develop new solution architecture technology components, patterns and integrations and make opportunity and solution recommendations to the Head of Architecture, Technology & Enterprise Data, Lead Enterprise Architect, Architecture Review Board and Enterprise Architects, as well as the product and business teams. You’ll also work in close collaboration with the global architecture team in our headquarters in Germany.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead architecture development working with cross-functional technology and architecture teams and business stakeholders for complex systems and IT services.
• In-depth knowledge and experience of Solution Architecture in at least one IT Architecture domain, e.g., Business, Application, Data, Technology, Security.
• Expertise in enterprise integration patterns, interface design, messaging models, Agile architectural thinking, and Lean delivery of architectural work.
• Lead documentation of large, complex IT proposals linked to objectives, costs, and financial benefits.
• Use and manage EA tools such as LeanIX, Alfabet, Bizzdesign, and Sparx Enterprise Architect.
• Strong experience of cloud platforms such as AWS and Microsoft Azure; designing APIs, Integrations, Event-Based Architectures, and Micro-services Architectures.
• Great architectural instinct – knowledge of what a good or bad architecture looks like.
• Understanding of both SOAP and REST, and the pros and cons of each.
• Experience building high-level and low-level technical designs for consumption by product, system, development teams, and technology partners.
• Experience in a wider architecture community of practice, both locally and globally.
• Omni-channel and B2C front-end integration experience, with a passion for digital transformation.
• Design systems and solutions within a hybrid cloud model and a good working knowledge of Canonical messaging and Corporate Information modelling.
• Experience of Technology components and BI and Data Solution components to deliver Solution Architecture.
• TOGAF Architecture Qualification or similar.
• Previous experience in Financial Services, Automotive Finance, or Retail Consumer Finance would be advantageous.

What you will be doing:

• Responsible for activities that span both Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS UK) and VW Bank GmbH (UK Branch).
• Lead the Solution Architecture and design for a specific business area.
• Define and develop high-level architecture and designs in line with published Architecture roadmaps, technology standards, patterns, principles, guardrails, and guidelines.
• Work in partnership with other areas of IT to realise the end-to-end solution architecture vision.
• Convert complex requirements into architecture and design to create blueprints for relevant solutions.
• Provide full-stack Solution Architecture services to various IT Development teams.
• Advise on functional, non-functional requirements and service impacts in relation to IT architecture.
• Support the Lead Enterprise Architect and other architects in developing principles, standards, and technology strategy.
• Provide subject matter Solution Architecture expertise within the Architecture community of practice.
• Support the optimisation and automation of architecture artefacts and processes.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with key stakeholders throughout the organisation.

About Volkswagen Financial Services:

Our mission is straightforward, we want to be 'The Key to Mobility'. We aim to make getting from A-to-B as easy and simple for as many people as possible. To meet the mobility needs of people in a changing world, our offering goes beyond traditional vehicle financing. Volkswagen Financial Services is committed to being an inclusive employer and we welcome applications from everyone. Diversity and Inclusion is not just a statement for us, and we are nurturing an environment where everyone can be their 100% self. If there is anything we can do to support you during our recruitment process, please let us know.