Role: Solutions Architect
Location: Leeds (Hybrid)
Salary: £75,000
Take ownership of Application Architecture Modernisation and Cloud Adoption for a leading Financial Services Organisation.
We're supporting a leading Financial Services organisation on a multi-year evolution of its core platforms and technology landscape. This role offers a rare opportunity to step in as the Architect, taking full ownership of architectural direction, governance, and process across the business.
You'll operate across both technical depth and enterprise-level thinking, helping the organisation move from a predominantly on-prem Microsoft estate towards a more modern, API-led and cloud-ready architecture, at a pace that aligns with business risk and regulatory requirements.
What You'll Be Doing
This is a broad, high-impact role where you'll combine hands-on technical decision-making with strategic architectural leadership:
- Own the Architecture Function
Act as the organisation's primary Architect, establishing architecture practices, governance, and processes, including involvement in and shaping of Technical Design Authority (TDA). - Technical Leadership & Decision-Making
Work closely with Engineers and senior stakeholders to drive key decisions across areas such as APIs, authentication, integration patterns, and application design. - Application & Platform Architecture
Lead the evolution of a core Microsoft-based platform, currently on-prem, introducing scalable, modern architectural patterns. - API & Integration Strategy
Play a key role in shaping a more API-led ecosystem, including the potential introduction of an API Gateway and improved service-to-service communication. - Cloud Readiness & Transformation
Support early-stage cloud adoption, helping define a pragmatic, low-risk path to Azure, balancing innovation with regulatory and operational considerations. - Collaboration Across Technology
Partner closely with an established Infrastructure SME, ensuring a clear separation and alignment between infrastructure and application architecture. - Governance & Standards
Introduce structure, best practices, and architectural governance across the technology landscape, ensuring consistency, scalability, and security.
What You'll Bring
- Strong Engineering Background
Previous hands-on development experience (ideally within the Microsoft stack), with the credibility to engage deeply with engineering teams. - Architectural Experience (Solution or Enterprise)
Able to operate both tactically and strategically, with a clear understanding of how solutions fit within a wider enterprise context. - Microsoft-Centric Expertise
Strong knowledge of .NET, C#, SQL Server, and designing within Microsoft-based environments. - API & Integration Knowledge
Experience designing or working with API-driven architectures, authentication models, and modern integration patterns. - Cloud Awareness (Azure Preferred)
Exposure to cloud architecture and migration concepts, even if the majority of experience to date is within on-prem environments. - Governance & Stakeholder Engagement
Comfortable setting up architectural processes, contributing to design authorities, and influencing both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Why Apply
- Be THE Architect
Take true ownership of architecture within the organisation, with the autonomy to define standards and direction. - Make a Visible Impact
Play a central role in shaping how technology evolves across a key, business-critical platform. - Blend Strategy and Hands-On Influence
Stay close to engineering while influencing enterprise-wide decisions. - Transformation Without Chaos
Join a business that is committed to modernisation, but taking a considered, pragmatic approach to cloud and change.
This role is ideal for an experienced Solutions Architect who wants to step into a lead, high-ownership position, balancing hands-on technical influence with the opportunity to build and mature an architecture function from the ground up.
