Solution Architect

Solution Architect

Full-Time 70000 - 90000 £ / year (est.) No working from home possible
Willis Re (UK) Limited

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Design innovative cloud-native solutions and lead exciting projects in reinsurance technology.
  • Company: Join Willis Re, a forward-thinking tech company revolutionising the reinsurance industry.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, flexible work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Other info: Dynamic, inclusive environment with excellent career advancement opportunities.
  • Why this job: Be at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and make a real impact in the industry.
  • Qualifications: Experience in software engineering and solution architecture, with strong programming skills.

The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 £ per year.

Solution Architect Willis Re is building its global technology estate from the ground up, unencumbered by legacy and designed around data, analytics and modern cloud platforms.

We are looking for a Solution Architect to shape and deliver the solutions that power our reinsurance broking, analytics and client‑facing platforms.

Working closely with the Head of Architecture & Engineering, business stakeholders and strategic delivery partners, you will own end‑to‑end solution design across a portfolio of greenfield initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

  • Cloud Architecture: Design secure, scalable, cloud‑native solutions on Microsoft Azure, spanning infrastructure, Paa S services, networking, identity, security and observability.
  • Data

Engineering: Design solutions around our data lake platform, architecting performant pipelines, sound data models and strong governance for large volumes of reinsurance placement, exposure, claims and market data.

  • Hands‑on Prototyping: Take a hands‑on role in building proofs of concept and prototypes to validate designs and support key technical decisions.
  • Integration: Define and govern third‑party integrations with market platforms, carrier and client systems, and vendor Saa S products, using API‑first, event‑driven and secure data‑exchange patterns, with canonical data models and anti‑corruption layers to insulate the core platform.
  • Security & Compliance: Embed security and compliance into designs from the outset, covering zero‑trust principles, authentication and authorisation (Entra ID, OAuth 2.0), data protection, data residency and auditability, working with security and risk teams.
  • Engineering

Leadership: Work closely with in‑house and partner engineers, setting the engineering standards for a greenfield estate and guiding them through implementation, acting as lead engineer where needed to ensure solutions are built to the agreed designs.

  • Governance: Produce high‑quality solution designs, integration contracts and architecture artefacts, and play an active role in the Architecture Review Board (ARB), presenting your own designs and vetting solution designs from vendors and delivery partners.
  • AI Adoption: Promote the adoption of AI‑assisted engineering tools and practices across the delivery lifecycle.

About You

  • Experience: Extensive years of experience, grounded in hands‑on software engineering and progressing into solution architecture over the last 4+ years.

You have designed data‑intensive systems you also helped build, ideally in insurance, reinsurance or wider financial services.

  • Technical

Stack: Current, practical programming skills, ideally in C#/.

NET or Python, with strong SQL, working knowledge of modern UI frameworks such as React or Angular with Type Script, and hands‑on experience with infrastructure‑as‑code (Terraform) and Azure Devops.

You are comfortable writing production‑quality code for proofs of concept and pairing with engineers.

  • Azure

Expertise: Deep expertise in Azure infrastructure and platform services, including networking, security, identity, compute and integration services, along with hands‑on experience of CI/CD tooling such as Azure Dev Ops or Git Hub Actions.

  • Architectural

Patterns: Depth across architectural patterns such as microservices, event‑driven, API‑led, lakehouse/medallion and domain‑driven design, with good judgement on when to apply each.

  • Data

Platforms: A strong track record architecting data‑intensive solutions handling large data volumes, with experience across cloud data platforms, data pipelines and SQL‑based technologies.

  • Integration: Strong integration experience across external systems, including REST APIs, messaging and event‑driven architectures, and secure file and data exchange, with experience using canonical data models and anti‑corruption layers.
  • Security: Strong grounding in security architecture, including authentication and authorisation patterns (OAuth 2.0, OIDC, Microsoft Entra ID, RBAC), zero‑trust principles, and designing for compliance in regulated financial services (data privacy, cross‑border data residency and audit requirements).
  • AI Foundations: Experience designing agentic or AI‑enabled solutions, including patterns such as retrieval‑augmented generation, tool and API integration, evaluation and human‑in‑the‑loop design, would be a significant advantage, though it is not essential.

Familiarity with AI‑assisted engineering tools such as Claude Code or Claude Cowork is a plus.

  • Communication: Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex business requirements into pragmatic technical designs and to influence stakeholders at all levels.
  • About Willis Re

We combine specialist broking with analytics, modelling and research to help insurers optimise risk transfer, strengthen balance sheets and achieve sustainable growth.

Our approach is relationship‑driven, transparent and outcome‑focused.

At the heart of Willis Re is a focus on delivering the most cutting‑edge analytical solutions to enable more informed, better decision‑making for risk selection, portfolio optimisation and capital management.

The launch of Willis Re brings a strategic advantage of being unhindered by legacy, an ability to leverage data, statistical models and advanced technologies with the best knowledge and expertise to deliver more efficient and effective reinsurance outcomes.

This places Willis Re in a unique position to build a truly analytically driven business, focused on creating solutions for the reinsurance industry that are future‑led and forward thinking.

Willis Re will also leverage recognised technical expertise from WTW’s Insurance Consulting & Technology business including their advanced modelling and analytical capabilities.

Alongside this will be WTW’s Research Network, an award‑winning business supporting and influencing science to improve the understanding and quantification of risk.

Willis Re is committed to embracing a diverse, inclusive, and flexible work environment.

We provide equal opportunity to all qualified individuals regardless of race, colour, religion, age, gender, gender expression, national origin, veteran status, disability, orientation, or any other legally protected categories.

If you have a need that requires accommodation, please email us at talentacquisition@willisre. com.

We’re hiring people from all walks of life who are curious, collaborative and ambitious.

Explore our current open positions, apply and keep track of your progress all in one place, plus keep an eye out for new postings that might interest you.

We look forward to hearing from you!

If you’re curious, collaborative, and ambitious, you’ll find the opportunity at Willis Re to shape something extraordinary.

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Solution Architect employer: Willis Re (UK) Limited

Willis Re is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, where Capital Advisory Specialists can thrive. With a strong emphasis on professional development, employees are encouraged to enhance their skills through diverse projects and cross-functional teamwork, all while enjoying the dynamic environment of the insurance capital markets. The company's commitment to integrity and excellence ensures that team members are well-supported in delivering high-quality advisory solutions to clients.

Willis Re (UK) Limited

Contact Details:

Willis Re (UK) Limited Recruitment Team

We think you need these skills to ace Solution Architect

Cloud Architecture
Microsoft Azure
Data Engineering
API Integration
Security Architecture
C#/.NET
Python