Location: Birmingham (other locations considered- Manchester, Cardiff or Leeds)
Working arrangements- Hybrid (2-3x a week)
Industry- Professional Services (Legal sector)
Overview
The organisation is hiring an experienced Solution Architect to join the Architecture & Design team. The role is responsible for designing and delivering secure, scalable, and robust technology solutions that support strategic objectives, including a Cloud First approach and ongoing digital transformation. Working closely with business stakeholders, IT delivery teams, and external partners, you will translate requirements into high-quality architectural designs.
Key Responsibilities
- Translate business requirements into clear, end-to-end solution architectures
- Define target architectures and create transition roadmaps
- Analyse current ("as-is") architecture to identify gaps and improvement opportunities
- Ensure solutions meet security, regulatory, and performance standards
- Design integrations with existing systems
- Align architectural designs with enterprise roadmaps and support future technology direction
Technical Leadership
- Provide technical oversight throughout solution delivery and resolve complex design issues
- Act as a liaison between delivery teams and IT technical functions
- Support policy-related decisions, including data residency
- Influence and contribute to enterprise architecture roadmaps
Stakeholder Engagement
- Communicate solution options clearly and support informed decision-making
- Build trusted relationships with business and IT stakeholders
- Drive consensus and influence key technical and strategic decisions
Innovation, Governance & Risk
- Stay informed on emerging technologies and identify opportunities for improvement
- Highlight architectural risks and propose mitigation strategiesMaintain the information asset register
- Ensure compliance with security, data handling, and regulatory policies
Skills & Experience
- Experience across one or more IT domains
- Proven background as a Solution Architect in complex enterprise environments
- Strong capability in Microsoft Azure (IaaS, PaaS) and cloud-native architectures
- Knowledge of enterprise integration patterns and API management
- Understanding of security, compliance, and data privacy best practices
- Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills
- Ability to take ownership of technical challenges and deliver solutions
- Knowledge of project delivery cycles and quality assurance
- Proactive learner with interest in emerging technologies
- Understanding of data governance and information security standards
- Experience within legal or professional services
- Familiarity with TOGAF or similar architecture frameworks
- Experience with DevOps tools and practices
- Exposure to business analysis and large-scale process change
- Experience working with third-party or offshore delivery teams
- Identity & Access Management
- Networking and infrastructure fundamentals
- Agile and modern delivery methodologies
Personal Attributes
- Strong strategic thinking, influencing, and diplomacy skills
- Excellent communication and leadership capability
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative environment
- Detail-oriented with excellent written and verbal communication
- Resilient, adaptable, and solution-focused
- Able to prioritise and work independently
- Positive, proactive, and committed to continuous development
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