Job Title: Solution Architect – Financial Services (6-Month Initial Contract, Inside IR35)
Location: Sheffield (Hybrid – 3 days on-site per week)
Contract: 6 months (extensions likely)
IR35: Inside IR35
About the Role
Our leading financial services client is seeking an experienced Solution Architect to join a key technology transformation programme. This role sits at the intersection of architecture, engineering, and security, supporting the development of enterprise-wide roadmaps and ensuring alignment with business strategy and future-state architecture.
You will work closely with business and functional stakeholders to shape robust, scalable solutions and represent Protective Security (PS) in relevant governance forums.
Key Responsibilities
In this role, you will:
* Collaborate with business and functional stakeholders to understand strategy and target operating models, translating these into clear architecture roadmaps.
* Deliver engineering designs and solution architectures, from logical frameworks through to detailed physical infrastructure designs.
* Ensure alignment between the Protective Security Book of Work and architecture/functional roadmaps.
* Participate in Architectural Governance processes to ensure solutions align with strategic direction and the Group’s future-state architecture.
* Represent Protective Security within the PGC & GCOO Technologies Technical Design Authority for Corporate Services.
* Ensure all proposed solutions use approved technologies and comply with technology and infrastructure design patterns.
* Oversee hosting decisions (Internal, External, Cloud, PaaS, SaaS) and ensure correct governance and approvals are followed.
* Stay informed on industry trends and emerging technologies, identifying opportunities for innovation.
Skills & Experience Required
To succeed in this role, you should bring:
Technical Expertise
In-depth technical, functional, and non-functional knowledge across:
* Networking
* IoT / Edge technologies
* Protective Security technologies (EACS, SVS, Biometrics, Video Analytics)
* Server infrastructure & virtualisation
* Cloud infrastructure (especially Azure)
* Middleware
* Databases
Architecture & Engineering
* Excellent understanding of Enterprise Architecture, business strategy alignment, TOMs, and roadmap creation.
* Strong grounding in architectural principles, governance, and best practice.
* Familiarity with technologies used by major strategic partners: AWS, Google GCP, Azure, MuleSoft.
* Robust systems engineering background with the ability to evaluate, compare, and contrast multiple solution options.
* Ability to provide technical thought leadership and influence key stakeholders regarding new technologies and design choices.
Other Key Requirements
* Proven vendor management experience.
* Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
How to Apply
If you’re an experienced Solution Architect with a passion for shaping secure, scalable enterprise solutions and you’re available for a Sheffield-based hybrid contract, we’d love to hear from you. Please submit your CV or get in touch for more details.