Senior Solution Architect - Microsoft / Azure / Application Modernisation

We are looking for an experienced Senior Solution Architect to design and deliver complex, end-to-end technology solutions within a large-scale enterprise environment.

Working closely with Domain Architects, Enterprise Architects, Technical Leads, Application Owners, Engineering teams and Business stakeholders, you will take ownership of solution architecture from initial requirements and technical analysis through to implementation.

This is not purely an architecture governance role.

We are looking for someone with strong technical depth who can design modern application architectures, challenge engineering decisions and, where required, develop prototypes and Proofs of Concept (PoCs) to validate architectural approaches.

A strong background within the Microsoft technology ecosystem, particularly Microsoft Azure, .NET, APIs, integration and event-driven architecture, would be highly desirable., End-to-End Solution Architecture

• Own the definition and delivery of end-to-end solution architecture for complex technology initiatives.
• Translate business requirements into robust, scalable and technically achievable architecture designs.
• Work across multiple applications, platforms and architectural domains to ensure overall solution consistency.
• Produce architecture designs covering functional and non-functional requirements.
• Ensure solutions comply with Enterprise Architecture principles, technology standards and security requirements.
• Challenge business and technical requirements where appropriate and propose alternative solutions.
• Estimate the technical effort, complexity and dependencies associated with proposed solutions.

Microsoft & Azure Architecture

Design solutions using modern Microsoft technologies, ideally including experience across several of the following:

• Microsoft Azure
• Azure App Service
• Azure Functions
• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Azure API Management (APIM)
• Azure Service Bus
• Azure Event Grid / Event Hubs
• Microsoft Entra ID / Azure AD
• Azure SQL / SQL Server
• Azure Storage
• Azure Key Vault
• Azure Monitor / Application Insights
• Microsoft .NET / .NET Core / C#
• REST APIs and API-first architectures
• Microservices and distributed application architectures
• Messaging, asynchronous processing and event-driven architecture

Experience across the entire technology stack is not required; however, candidates should demonstrate strong Microsoft application architecture experience and an understanding of how these technologies can be combined to build enterprise-scale solutions.

Application Modernisation

• Architect the modernisation of legacy and monolithic applications.
• Define strategies for decomposing existing applications into more scalable, maintainable and modular architectures.
• Design API-led, microservices and event-driven architectures where appropriate.
• Support migration from legacy/on-premise environments towards cloud and hybrid-cloud architectures.
• Identify opportunities to improve software engineering, application delivery and technology architecture.
• Balance modernisation objectives against operational risk, technical debt, cost and business continuity.

Resilience, Availability & Non-Functional Requirements

A major part of the role will be ensuring solutions can operate reliably within a business-critical enterprise environment., Architecture Governance & Delivery

• Present proposed solution architectures to senior management, Architecture Boards and technical stakeholders.
• Produce clear architecture documentation, diagrams and design decisions.
• Ensure proposed solutions comply with Enterprise Architecture standards and technology roadmaps.
• Organise architecture walkthroughs with engineering and delivery teams.
• Maintain end-to-end architectural consistency across different platforms and teams.
• Work closely with delivery teams throughout implementation rather than handing over architecture at the design stage.
• Review implementation decisions and ensure the delivered solution remains aligned with the agreed architecture.
• Identify architectural risks, dependencies and technical constraints and drive them towards resolution.

Hands-on Technical Leadership

This role requires an architect who remains close to the technology.

You will:

• Establish Proofs of Concept (PoCs) and prototypes to validate key architectural decisions.
• Work directly with engineers and Technical Leads to evaluate technical approaches.
• Challenge proposed implementation patterns where necessary.
• Provide technical guidance throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Coach and mentor engineers, architects and other technology professionals.
• Introduce teams to new technologies, architecture patterns and engineering practices.

You should have previous experience architecting systems where availability, recovery and operational resilience are critical requirements., * Minimum 10 years’ overall IT experience.

• Minimum 4 years’ experience as a Solution Architect.
• Proven ownership of end-to-end solution architecture within large and complex enterprise environments.
• Strong experience within the Microsoft technology ecosystem.
• Good understanding of Microsoft Azure architecture and cloud services.
• Strong experience designing API-based and integration architectures.
• Experience with event-driven architecture, messaging and asynchronous integration patterns.
• Experience modernising legacy or monolithic enterprise applications.
• Experience designing solutions across multiple applications and technology platforms.
• Strong understanding of high availability, resilience, disaster recovery, performance and scalability.
• Experience taking architecture from initial requirements through to implementation.
• Ability to understand and challenge both business and technical requirements.
• Strong understanding of functional and non-functional requirements (NFRs).
• Experience working with Enterprise Architects, Domain Architects, Technical Leads and engineering teams.
• Ability to communicate complex technical architecture clearly to non-technical and senior stakeholders.

Highly Desirable

• Previous experience within Banking, Financial Services, Payments, Securities, Clearing or other highly regulated environments.
• Architecture experience with business-critical or high-volume transaction processing platforms.
• Experience with hybrid cloud architectures.
• Experience with Azure DevOps and CI/CD environments.
• Knowledge of containerisation and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes/AKS.
• Understanding of modern security architecture, identity, authentication and authorisation.
• Experience working within formal Architecture Governance / Design Authority processes.

The Ideal Candidate

We are particularly interested in candidates who combine strong architecture capability with genuine technical depth.

You should be comfortable moving between conversations with senior business stakeholders and detailed technical discussions with engineers.

You will be able to demonstrate examples where you have:

Understood a complex business requirement * designed the end-to-end architecture * selected the appropriate Microsoft/Azure technologies * addressed security, resilience and performance * gained architecture approval * supported engineering teams * and remained accountable through implementation.

This is therefore particularly suited to a hands-on Senior Solution Architect with strong Microsoft/Azure application architecture, integration, modernisation and resilience experience, rather than a purely governance-focused Enterprise Architect.