Solution Architect

Solution Architect 6 months initially Knutsford - hybrid £510 per day inside IR35 - Umbrella only

Job Description We are looking for an experienced Solution Architect or seasoned Engineering Lead to join our Insurance and Pack (I&P) architecture team.? This role is responsible for designing and maintaining scalable, secure, and compliant technology solutions that support I&P operations. You'll play a critical part in ensuring continuity of architectural knowledge, guiding delivery teams through implementation, and aligning technology design with strategic goals and regulatory standards.

Purpose of the role To design, develop, and implement solutions to complex business problems, collaborating with stakeholders to understand their needs and requirements, and design and implement solutions that meet those needs and create solutions that balance technology risks against business delivery, driving consistency.

Accountabilities

• Design and development of solutions as products that can evolve, meeting business requirements that align with modern software engineering practices and automated delivery tooling. This includes identification and implementation of the technologies and platforms.
• Targeted design activities that apply an appropriate workload placement strategy and maximise the benefit of cloud capabilities such as elasticity, serverless, containerisation etc.
• Best practice designs incorporating security principles (such as defence in depth and reduction of blast radius) that meet the Bank's resiliency expectations.
• Solutions that appropriately balance risks and controls to deliver the agreed business and technology value.
• Adoption of standardised solutions where they fit. If no standard solutions fit, feed into their ongoing evolution where appropriate.
• Fault finding and performance issues support to operational support teams, leveraging available tooling.
• Solution design impact assessment in terms of risk, capacity and cost impact, inc. estimation of project change and ongoing run costs.
• Development of the requisite architecture inputs required to comply with the banks governance processes, including design artefacts required for architecture, privacy, security and records management governance processes.

To be successful as a Solution Architect, you should have experience with:

• Excellent understanding of systems design and architectural fundamentals, including microservices, event-driven, and layered architecture.
• Excellent technical communication and documentation skills, able to explain complex concepts clearly and concisely.
• Solid grounding in software engineering principles and experience integrating systems via APIs, messaging queues, and cloud services.

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Cloud Platform Familiarity (eg Azure, AWS). Exposure to cloud-native services, deployment models, and cost optimisation strategies.
• Security & Compliance Awareness. Understanding of data protection, identity management, and regulatory requirements relevant to financial services.
• Stakeholder Collaboration & Agile Delivery.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams, contributing to agile ceremonies, and aligning architecture with business goals.

To be successful as a Solution Architect, you should have experience with:

• Excellent understanding of systems design and architectural fundamentals, including microservices, event-driven, and layered architecture.
• Excellent technical communication and documentation skills, able to explain complex concepts clearly and concisely.
• Solid grounding in software engineering principles and experience integrating systems via APIs, messaging queues, and cloud services.

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Cloud Platform Familiarity (eg Azure, AWS). Exposure to cloud-native services, deployment models, and cost optimisation strategies.
• Security & Compliance Awareness. Understanding of data protection, identity management, and regulatory requirements relevant to financial services.
• Stakeholder Collaboration & Agile Delivery.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams, contributing to agile ceremonies, and aligning architecture with business goals.