Role Summary

Division, Business or Function

Corporate Services Engineering (CSE)  Architecture

Career Stage &

Global Grade

N/A

N/A

Role Title

Solution Architect

Role Purpose

Accountable for defining end-to-end solutions on assigned projects, documenting the solution in a Solution Architecture Document, and taking the solution through the client Governance processes.  The role will also provide ongoing architectural guidance to the project through its lifecycle.

Most projects will be focused around:

·         Onboarding and Implementing new (SaaS and Multi-Cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) solutions with range of simple to complex integrations

Projects will involve:

·         Working with Infrastructure and Cloud Architects to understand how new users will access the application (e.g. route through Internet, use VDI solution, On Prem Servers etc).   

·         Analysing and documenting the data flows, including impacts to downstream systems and changes required for onboarding new users.

·         Follow through Engineering Goverance including updating Solutions Architect Designs, obtaining approvals on Architect Governance

Reports to

Principle CSE Enterprise Architect

Direct reports

No direct reports, individual contributor.

Key relationships & committees

Strong relationships with broader Corporate Engineering team, other Technology teams covering security, networking, End User Compute and Cloud and business stakeholders in corporate business functions e.g. HR, Finance, Facilities, Risk & Compliance

Location / flexible working

India, Bangalore and 3 Days a week in office and flexible covering UK Hours

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities

·         Work with Business Stakeholders, Product Owners, Business / Systems Analysts to understand functional and non-functional requirements and interact with other cross-functional teams.

·         Lead the definition of end-to-end architecture covering systems, data, integrations, security and Non Functional Requirements (NFR).

·         Identify architecture exceptions and deviations during target and transitional architecture development.

·         Follow Corporate Engineering governance processes and adhere to defined principles, policies, and standards.

·         Produce and maintain architecture artefacts such as Solution Architecture Document, Data Flow Diagram, Integrated Architecture diagram.

·         Review solution with InfoSec, Privacy and other key NFR stakeholders.

·         Present solution in various forums such as Design Integrity Forum, Architecture Committee and Architecture Review Board.

·         Support project team in sizing, estimating, and defining required capabilities for implementation.

·         Ensure solutions align with intended business outcomes and Enterprise Architecture statndards.

Leadership responsibilities

Individual Contributor

Critical deliverables

·         A comprehensive Solution Architecture Document covering:

·         Conceptual, logical, and physical architecture.

·         Security controls and settings

·         Systems integration design

·         DR/BCP

·         Risks and mitigations.

·         Driving solutions through client Governance and obtaining all required approvals.

Impact

This role sets the technology direction of the overall project and therefore can influence cost and timelines to the assigned projects.

Key KPIs

·         On-time completion of Solution Architecture Artifacts.

·         Successful ‘sign off’ from stakeholders and review boards.

·         Reduction of redundant corporate applications wherever possible.

Technical/job functional knowledge

·         Experienced in architecting and supporting integrated software systems across diverse infrastructures. Knowledge of:

o    Architecting for NFRs such as performance, scalability, observability, security, and network capacity

o    Databases concepts

o    SaaS solutions and onboarding practices

o    Infrastructure concepts supporting continuity and performance (DR, HA, geo redundancy)

o    Networking and security fundamentals

·         Familiarity with all three major cloud providers (AWS, Azure and GCP) and Hands-on experience with at least one major cloud provider.

·         Ability to design secure, scalable, cost-efficient cloud architectures involving:

o    IAM and identify federation (OAuth2, OIDC, SAML, SSO).

o    Virtual networks, routing, firewalls, segmentation.

o    Resilience, High Availabilty/DR strategies.

o    Monitoring, logging, and observability.

o    Cloud cost estimation and optimisation.

o    Compute, storage, and network offerings.

o    Serverless functions

o    API Gateways and integration services.

·         Understanding of architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman)

·         Knowledge of architecture patterns: microservices, event-driven, layered, serverless.

·         Experience with integration technologies: REST, GraphQL, event streaming, ETL, iPaaS.

·         Awareness of GenAI, RAG, Agents, automation, and emerging technologies.

·         Experience in On-premise to Cloud migration projects.

Business and sector expertise

·         Experience engaging business stakeholders within HR, Finance, Facilities, Project & Portfolio Management.

·         Understanding of business processes influencing corporate operations.

·         Experience presenting to senior leadership (“Head of” level and above).

Leadership and management experience

·         Experience providing Technical leadership as a Solution Architect on programs and projects

Personal skills and capabilities

·         Strong verbal and written communication with ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical stakeholders.

·         Ability to influence across business and technical functions.

·         Ability to work under pressure and manage ambiguity.

·         Fast learner with the ability to onboard new applications and technologies.

·         Flexible and adaptable to changing priorities.

·         Proactive problem solver with strong business and technology intuition.