Join to apply for the Solution Architect role at National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
About the Role
NPL has an ever-evolving IT and technical landscape. You will be joining our small Solution Architecture (SA) team near the start of our journey, to lead on Solution Architectures across a range of individual projects, developing ideas and solutions to meet the needs of the business: Pure SaaS, COTS, low code, custom coded software and database-only projects, through to full spectrum software, hardware and connectivity solutions (people, process, software and hardware). We run a mixture of on-premises and cloud services. This is a generalist SA role, where we aim to match projects to strengths when practical.
Key Responsibilities
1. Proactively engage, build relationships, and work with a wide range of stakeholders to provide SA services.
2. Lead the architecture of solution options and designs, considering project & business needs, Enterprise Architecture (EA), technology constraints, and evolving strategies.
3. Ensure solutions are fully costed, with pros, cons, risks, benefits, and recommendations, enabling effective stakeholder decision-making.
4. Ensure compliance with internal and external governance including quality, information security, health & safety, and environmental legislation.
5. Ensure clear handover and provide ongoing architectural support during delivery to ensure solutions align with the design.
6. Build knowledge of current systems and capabilities, reusing or adapting existing solutions to avoid reinventing the wheel.
7. Perform continuous research on emerging and alternative technologies to stay updated and improve architectures.
8. Contribute to improvement projects within SA, EA practices, Digital Delivery team, and CIO Department.
9. Collaborate with stakeholders including project managers, business analysts, EA team, technical staff, SMEs, vendors, and internal customers.
About You
Essential Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
* Background in, or clear career pathway to, Solutions Architecture.
* Ability to lead business and technical analysis, driving clarity.
* Research existing and new solution components and blueprints.
* Excellent communication skills, with an ability to build trusted relationships and inform effectively (active listening, influencing, diagrams, written and verbal communication).
* Extensive experience in diagramming and visual representation tools (Draw.IO, MS Visio).
* Ability to quickly sketch/draw technical architectures, processes, graphs, and charts for meetings.
* Capability to coordinate and shape solutions relying on technical expertise of others.
* Flexibility to tailor approaches to specific projects, business areas, and vendors.
Highly Desired Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
* Experience working on a broad range of projects.
* Knowledge of information security and system supply chain assurance.
* Experience in Science R&D organizations at enterprise and local solution levels.
* Understanding of SDLCs and software engineering principles.
* Knowledge of data storage, processing, governance, and scientific solutions/services.
* Experience with scientific data pipelines, transfer, storage, transformation, and archiving.
* Experience with hybrid cloud and on-premises environments.
Beneficial Experience, Knowledge, and Skills
* UML / SysML / MBSE.
* MS Azure architecture frameworks and design patterns.
* Networking protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/REST), APIs, data transfer mechanisms (SSH, SFTP, VPN).
* Project management methodologies (APM, PMI, DSDM Agile, Scrum).
* Knowledge of CSVLOD, TOGAF frameworks.
Additional Information
Applicants must be eligible for BPSS security clearance. We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds and are committed to equality and inclusion. We offer flexible working conditions, health and well-being support, and a positive work environment. For any questions, please contact us.
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