Job Description
As a Solution Architect, you'll partner with government, financial services, and private sector clients to design solutions that solve their most complex digital challenges. You'll bring together technical capabilities, user needs, and business objectives through critical thinking that breaks down problems and identifies practical approaches, considering non-functional requirements from the outset. Working closely with delivery teams, you'll tackle diverse solution challenges across the full lifecycle - from conducting options analysis for major system modernisation programmes and helping clients understand complex problems, through to facilitating design sessions with multi-disciplinary teams, creating solutions that balance user needs with business constraints, and presenting your recommendations to architectural review boards and senior stakeholders. Whether that's evaluating options for a government department's citizen portal, designing integration approaches for a bank's digital transformation, or guiding development teams through implementation decisions, you'll bring both solution design expertise and practical problem-solving skills to every situation.
Your background designing and implementing enterprise-scale digital solutions means you can credibly advise clients on what architectural approaches work in practice, understanding the technical complexities and implications of different options. You'll bring systems thinking that connects architectural decisions across broader service and business contexts, combined with proven experience collaborating with diverse teams including user researchers, product managers, software engineers, and senior business stakeholders. Your approach balances strategic architectural thinking with hands-on implementation experience, taking a user-centred perspective that considers different viewpoints while meeting technical requirements and supporting business objectives.
As part of our central architecture team, you'll work alongside experienced Technology Principals and other Solution Architects who share your passion for solving complex challenges. This gives you a strong support network to collaborate with, learn from different perspectives, and tackle problems together. We recognise that architecture is as much about continuous learning as it is about applying existing knowledge - you'll bring your proven experience while staying current with industry trends, modern practices, and emerging technologies. Your architectural expertise helps our clients deliver digital services that create meaningful outcomes for the people who use them.
Qualifications
Essential Requirements
Solution architecture experience - you have experience designing and validating solutions for enterprise-scale challenges, with involvement in successful implementations across multiple domains including cloud platforms, application architecture, data architecture, and system integration. You can show evidence of taking responsibility for complex solution design with successful outcomes, whether through traditional career progression or other professional development paths.
Design and implementation experience - you have designed and delivered enterprise-scale digital solutions using modern approaches including microservices architectures, APIs, cloud platforms (particularly AWS and Azure), and application modernisation strategies. You understand how to apply architectural patterns and design principles to real-world challenges, with sufficient technical depth to make informed decisions about technology choices, DevOps practices, and monitoring approaches while working with agile delivery teams.
Stakeholder engagement and problem-solving - you have experience working directly with clients and senior stakeholders to understand complex problems, facilitate discussions, and build consensus around solution approaches. You can translate business requirements into solution designs and communicate complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences with strong written and verbal communication skills.
Highly Desirable
Large organisation delivery experience - you have delivered solutions for government departments, major financial institutions, or large private sector organisations, understanding the complexities of enterprise environments including governance requirements, security constraints, integration challenges, and working effectively within multi-supplier delivery contexts.
Technology background experience - hands-on modern software development background that informs your solution design approach, or previous experience working with GOV.UK digital standards and practices, AWS or Azure cloud architectures, or GenAI/AI solution implementation and integration approaches.
Architecture community involvement - active participation in technical communities, staying current with technology trends, and contributing to professional development through knowledge sharing, presentations, or thought leadership.
Client sector expertise - specific experience in government digital services, financial services transformation, or large-scale private sector modernisation programmes with understanding of sector-specific requirements and constraints.
Additional Information
At Version 1, we believe in providing our employees with a comprehensive benefits package that prioritises their well-being, professional growth, and financial stability.
One of our standout advantages is the ability to work with a hybrid schedule along with business travel, allowing our employees to strike a balance between work and life. We also offer a range of tech-related benefits, including an innovative Tech Scheme to help keep our team members up-to-date with the latest technology.
We prioritise the health and safety of our employees, providing private medical and life insurance coverage, as well as free eye tests and contributions towards glasses. Our team members can also stay ahead of the curve with incentivized certifications and accreditations, including AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Red Hat.
Our employee-designed Profit Share scheme divides a portion of our company's profits each quarter amongst employees. We are dedicated to helping our employees reach their full potential, offering Pathways Career Development Quarterly, a programme designed to support professional growth.
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