Senior Solutions Architect

We are currently looking for a Solutions Architect to be based in Manchester on a full-time basis, reporting into the Head ofSubsection – Architecture Delivery.

We’re adding to our diverse team of experts and arel ooking to hire those who are committed to building a culture that enables thecreation of innovative solutions for our business units and clients. 

Responsibilities: 

• Develop application and system roadmaps associated with applications  transformation and modernisation
• Develop  flexible, adaptable, modular, and reusable solution designs in  collaboration with business stakeholders and the IT development teams while ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards
• Support  the definition of high-level operational models, and prepare business cases in alignment with the IT security and quality guidelines. Present business cases, for operational and tactical technical initiatives, for approval, funding and prioritisation
• Uphold  appropriate solution architecture governance processes and tools while maintaining focus on design patterns and technology standards
• Be the  accountable individual for the finalisation, acceptance and approval of solutions you architected, by relevant stakeholders
• Act as  an enabler of Agile and DevSecOps practices in collaboration with product  delivery and operation support teams
• Explore,  evaluate and promote technology innovation within the organisation
• Review  high-level designs with technical leads and developers, review code,  enforce best practices, assist with debugging critical issues, and enforce  performance testing to deliver efficient and performant applications
• Be the  responsible individual to identify technology risk(s) of initiatives you  are leading as an architect and develop corresponding mitigation strategies
• Stay  current on, evaluate and recommend the use of cutting-edge technologies  and methods, considering their technical pros and limitations. Leverage market and technology trends to identify the business benefits of alternative technical solutions
• Support  the requirements gathering process to right-size initiatives and solution  strategy.
• Collaborate with development teams and assist with the application of Agile and DevSecOps techniques within architecture and designs
• Create comprehensive solution architecture specification documents and other  required documentation

Knowledge and Skills

• Exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills, with thorough attention to detail.
• Excellent planning, documentation and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of design and implementation of solutions and systems using custom built and CoTS / MoTS applications hosted in the cloud and on-prem.
• Experience designing solutions including policy administration  systems, ERP and customer / agent-facing portals.
• Substantial knowledge of the system development life cycle and the  scaled agile methodology. Certifications preferred.
• TOGAF certification is a significant plus.
• Demonstrate competence to work at the highest technical level of  all phases of system architecture design, using state of the art  rule/framework-based architecture, object-oriented component analysis and proficiency in web-based systems architecture, service-based architecture  and enterprise application architecture.
• Ability to guide and mentor development teams on sound design and coding principles, best practices in API based, Micro Services and Cloud technologies.
• Experience in integration architectures from Service Bus to API mediation and event bus models.
• Strong knowledge of contemporary technologies and business trends that allows architecture to solve problems in a creative and     cost-effective manner.
• Experience developing roadmaps outlining the evolution of the enterprise application portfolio from current to desired state
• Bachelor's degree or above in Computer science or related tech discipline or equivalent work experience
• Deep Knowledge and proven hands-on experience with cloud  technologies
• 7+ years' of IT experience with 6+ years of architecture experience
• Demonstrated leadership skills

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