Solution Architect

The Solution Architect owns the end-to-end design integrity of solutions within their assigned platform vertical. Operating within the governance framework established by the Enterprise Architect, they translate business and product requirements into coherent, scalable, and standards-compliant architectures - bridging strategic intent and engineering execution. They are a key participant in the Architecture Review Board, accountable for ensuring their vertical's solutions align with the organisation's technology strategy, security posture, and target platform model.

Role responsibilities

Architecture Design and Solution Ownership

• Develop high-level blueprints and detailed architecture specifications that address business requirements, technical constraints, and platform interoperability - including integration patterns, data flows, and system boundaries
• Evaluate and recommend technologies, frameworks, and platforms appropriate to the solution context, ensuring alignment with EA-approved standards and the organisation's target architecture. Document all material trade-offs.
• Produce and keep current comprehensive documentation - including architecture decision records (ADRs), C4 model diagrams, integration guides, and design specifications - as the authoritative source of truth for the vertical.

Governance, Standards and Risk Management

• Apply and advocate for architecture standards, patterns, and guardrails defined by the Enterprise Architect. Escalate deviations, exceptions, and cross-vertical dependencies to the ARB for resolution.
• Ensure all solution designs incorporate relevant regulatory, data governance, and security requirements from inception. Proactively identify and remediate architectural risk, technical debt, and compliance gaps.
• Present designs, review peer submissions, and contribute to binding technology decisions. Co-own the evolution of organisation-wide architecture standards within the ARB forum.

Engineering Enablement and Implementation Oversight

• Provide architectural direction and hands-on guidance to engineering squads throughout the delivery lifecycle - from design review and sprint planning through to production readiness - ensuring implementation fidelity to the approved design.
• Lead structured design reviews at key delivery milestones, validating adherence to standards, identifying risks, and ensuring non-functional requirements (performance, scalability, reliability) are addressed before release.
• Assess live solutions against performance benchmarks and reliability targets. Identify and prioritise optimisation opportunities, technical debt reduction, and platform evolution - feeding findings back into the architecture roadmap.

Stakeholder Engagement and Architecture Knowledge

• Translate complex architectural decisions and trade-offs clearly for both technical and non-technical stakeholders - including product, engineering, and executive levels - ensuring shared understanding and informed decision-making.
• Work closely with peer Solution Architects, the Enterprise Architect, and third-party vendors to ensure cross-cutting concerns (integrations, shared services, security) are resolved cohesively and without duplication.
• Champion a knowledge-sharing culture within the engineering organisation through brown-bag sessions, architecture playbooks, and mentoring. Contribute to elevating architectural thinking and standards across teams.

Role requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related discipline (or equivalent experience)
• Industry certification relevant to vertical (e.g. AWS/Azure/GCP Solutions Architect, TOGAF, or equivalent) - preferred
• 5+ years experience in a solutions architect or equivalent senior technical design role
• 10+ years experience in leadership of complex software designs
• Demonstrated experience designing and delivering complex, enterprise-scale solutions
• Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and cloud-native architectures
• Experience in communicating across technical and non-technical audiences including executive stakeholder levels