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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Design Lead / Senior Solution Architect - **Company:** Gresham - **Location:** Manchester, UK - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** £80,698.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Artificial Intelligence, Amazon Web Services, Application Performance Management, Microsoft Azure, Bash Shell, Business Software, Cloud Computing, Cloud Computing Security, Cloud Engineering, Relational Databases, Software Design Patterns, DevOps, Disaster Recovery, Distributed Systems, Identity and Access Management, Python (Programming Language), Machine Learning, Microsoft SQL Server, MongoDB, NoSQL, Object-Oriented Software Development, Windows PowerShell, Productivity Software, Software Architecture, Software Tools, Software Engineering, Systems Integration, Web Platforms, Enterprise Application Integration, Enterprise Software Applications, Cloud Platform System, GitHub Copilot, Large Language Models, Prompt Engineering, Togaf, Event Driven Architecture, AI Platforms, AngularJS, Infrastructure Automation Frameworks, Information Technology, HuggingFace, Integration Frameworks, Cosmos DB, Front End Software Development, Restful APIs, Domain Driven Design, GPT, Microservices - **Published:** August 27, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.adzuna.co.uk/jobs/details/5856964439 ## About the Role * Deep understanding of software architecture principles, design patterns, domain-driven design, and object-oriented design concepts. * Proven expertise in microservices architecture, event-driven systems, distributed computing, and API-led integration. * Strong working knowledge of enterprise integration patterns and RESTful API design. * Experience designing modern web platforms utilising Angular and contemporary front-end architectures. * Expertise with relational databases such as SQL Server and NoSQL platforms including MongoDB and Cosmos DB. * Proven experience leveraging AI-enabled engineering tools such as GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Amazon CodeWhisperer, or equivalent solutions. * Experience designing and integrating AI services into enterprise applications. * Ability to evaluate and implement AI/ML-driven solutions that improve operational efficiency and business outcomes. * Familiarity with prompt engineering, LLM integration frameworks, RAG architectures, and AI-powered automation. * Excellent strategic thinking, problem-solving, and stakeholder management capabilities, with the ability to simplify complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences. * Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience. * Extensive years of experience in software engineering and solution delivery, including in solution architecture, technical design leadership, or enterprise architecture roles. * Demonstrated success delivering large-scale enterprise solutions in cloud and distributed environments, leading cross-functional teams. Desirable Skills * Experience architecting and optimising large-scale distributed systems in cloud environments. * Strong understanding of application performance engineering, observability, monitoring, and operational excellence. * Experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, Infrastructure as Code, and platform automation. * Knowledge of enterprise security architecture, identity management, and compliance frameworks. * Experience supporting web and enterprise platform operations in production environments. * Hands-on scripting and automation experience using PowerShell, Python, or Bash. * AWS Solutions Architect, TOGAF, Azure Architect, or similar industry certifications. ## Description As a Design Lead / Senior Solution Architect, you will shape end-to-end technology solutions that align with business objectives, enterprise architecture standards, and product strategy - providing architectural leadership across multiple initiatives, guiding engineering teams through complex design challenges, and driving innovation through modern cloud, AI, and distributed system architectures. You will collaborate closely with product managers, business stakeholders, UX teams, engineering leaders, and development teams to ensure scalable, secure, and maintainable solutions, blending strategic thinking, technical leadership, and hands-on architecture expertise to power our AI-driven technology transformation., * Own end-to-end solution architecture for enterprise-grade applications and platforms. * Define architecture blueprints, design standards, technology roadmaps, and implementation strategies. * Lead architecture reviews and establish best practices for development teams. * Create high-level and low-level solution designs addressing functional and non-functional requirements. * Drive architectural decisions around scalability, resilience, security, observability, and performance. * Ensure alignment of solutions with enterprise architecture guidelines and business objectives. * Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend strategic adoption opportunities. * Mentor and guide development teams on architecture patterns, design principles, and engineering practices. * Lead technical discussions with engineering, product, operations, and business stakeholders. * Support complex problem-solving initiatives and critical system design decisions. * Facilitate architecture governance and design review forums. * Partner with DevOps and Cloud Engineering teams to optimise deployment and operational models. * Design cloud-native solutions leveraging AWS and equivalent cloud platforms. * Architect microservices, event-driven systems, API ecosystems, and integration platforms. * Define cloud security, networking, and disaster recovery strategies. * Identify and implement opportunities for AI-powered solutions within business applications. * Architect integrations with AI services such as Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, Hugging Face, and similar platforms. * Champion AI-assisted engineering practices, productivity tools, and intelligent automation. * Guide teams on responsible adoption of generative AI capabilities and architecture patterns. * Lead architecture discussions with senior business and technology stakeholders, translating requirements into scalable solutions. * Present architecture strategies and technical recommendations to executive audiences. * Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. ## Related Videos - [The Software Engineer 2030: From Coder To AI Orchestrator? - Patrick Schnell](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1825-the-software-engineer-2030-from-coder-to-ai-orchestrator-patrick-schnell) - [Leveraging Real time data in FSIs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/806-leveraging-real-time-data-in-fsis) - [ Evaluating AI models for code comprehension](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1462-evaluating-ai-models-for-code-comprehension) - [Blueprints for Success: Steering a Global Data & AI Architecture](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1577-blueprints-for-success-steering-a-global-data-ai-architecture) - [Shipping Faster with Less: Render on Cloud Hosting, AI Workloads, and the Future of DevOps](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1894-shipping-faster-with-less-render-on-cloud-hosting-ai-workloads-and-the-future-of-devops) - [NoSQL Data Modeling for Front-end Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/297-nosql-data-modeling-for-front-end-developers) ## Related Articles - [What Are The Top Skills Required For Azure Developers?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/77-what-are-the-top-skills-required-for-azure-developers) - [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Why Upskilling And Reskilling is Important For Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/428-why-upskilling-and-reskilling-is-important-for-developers) - [The Best X (Twitter) Accounts for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/294-the-best-x-twitter-accounts-for-developers) - [Navigating the AI Shift](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/629-navigating-the-ai-shift)