Solution Architect Lead Location: Hybrid 60% office-40% remote - Knutsford Duration: 30/10/2026 Rate £706 MUST BE PAYE THROUGH UMBRELLA Role Description: The Solution Architect Lead provides end?to?end ownership of programme architecture, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable, integrated, and aligned with enterprise standards. This role serves as the design authority across all technical domains, guiding engineering teams and validating architectural decisions. Key Responsibilities: Own the end?to?end technical architecture across all solution components, ensuring coherence, alignment, and technical viability. Lead architectural design sessions, blueprint creation, and technical governance. Define solution patterns, integration approaches, and technical standards across the programme. Ensure security-by-design principles are embedded, including IAM, data protection, encryption standards, and threat modelling. Oversee integration architectures across APIs, data pipelines, cloud platforms, microservices, and third-party systems. Act as final approver for technical design decisions, architectural reviews, and engineering escalations. Work with security, infrastructure, DevOps, and engineering teams to ensure compatibility and compliance. Participate in vendor assessments, technology evaluations, and tooling strategy. Manage architectural risks, technical debt, and system interdependencies. Ensure technical documentatio...