Chief Architect - NGET

National Grid; Warwick; Hybrid; GBP 78,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary £78k–£110k per annum

Annual bonus up to 40%

Private Medical Insurance

Fully electric company car

Pension plan

Flexible benefits

Job summary

National Grid is seeking a Chief Architect for National Grid Electricity Transmission in Warwick. This leadership role shapes future-state architecture, governance, and investment steering across a complex, regulated energy portfolio within a hybrid working model.

The Chief Architect leads senior architecture direction, mentors architects, and partners with business and technology leaders to deliver strategic outcomes and sustained enterprise value.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent
• Strong background in architecture disciplines
• Experience in technology strategy or senior leadership
• Proven track record leading architecture functions

Responsibilities

• Define the future-state architecture vision and roadmaps
• Act as architecture decision-maker and design authority
• Bridge strategy and execution with stakeholders across the business
• Lead major investment initiatives ensuring security, scalability and cost-effectiveness
• Establish governance, standards, patterns and assurance processes
• Coach Product Line and Solution Architects for reusable decisions
• Represent National Grid in industry forums and networks
• Lead architecture reviews and design assurance activities

Skills

Master's degree

Architecture leadership

Strategic technology planning

Stakeholder management

Commercial/financial acumen

Communication skills

Matrix organisation experience

People development

Innovation and governance

Education

Master's degree

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

About Us

At National Grid, we keep people connected and society moving. As the energy transition accelerates, our role has never been more important. We are building the networks, digital capabilities, and technology foundations needed to deliver a cleaner, more secure, and more resilient energy future.

About Us

At National Grid, we keep people connected and society moving. As the energy transition accelerates, our role has never been more important. We are building the networks, digital capabilities, and technology foundations needed to deliver a cleaner, more secure, and more resilient energy future.

This is an opportunity to play a pivotal leadership role in one of the UK’s most significant infrastructure transformations. National Grid Electricity Transmission is at the heart of delivering the grid of tomorrow, supported by a record level of capital investment of more than £30 billion for the 2026–2031 regulatory period.

We are looking for an innovative, delivery-focused, and commercially minded Chief Architect to help shape and govern the technology strategy, future-state blueprint, and architecture roadmap that will enable this transformation. So, join us as a Chief Architect, and find your superpower.

This role is based in Warwick and operates under a hybrid working model.

About The Role

As Chief Architect for National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), you will be accountable for the quality, integrity, and strategic alignment of architecture decisions across these United Kingdom business units. You will provide senior architecture leadership across a complex and high-impact portfolio, ensuring that business strategy, technology strategy, investment priorities, and delivery plans are connected through clear architectural direction.

In service of achieving targeted strategic business outcomes, you will lead the development of future-state blueprints and roadmaps, establish architecture standards and governance, and guide solution delivery across major transformation initiatives. Working closely with senior business, digital, technology, product, and delivery leaders, you will ensure that architecture enables business outcomes, supports regulatory commitments, and creates long‑term enterprise value.

The role reports directly to the Vice President of Enterprise Architecture and Technology Strategy, with a dotted-line relationship to the Chief Information and Digital Officer for National Grid Electricity Transmission. Product Line and Solution Architects within NGET will have a dotted-line relationship into this role, and the position includes direct management responsibility for a small team of Business Unit Architects.

What You’ll Do

You’ll be responsible for defining the future-state architecture vision and ensuring technology investments deliver long‑term value, resilience, and competitive advantage. Working closely with senior leaders across the business, you’ll help shape the systems, platforms, and capabilities that will support National Grid's future. In this role, you will:

• Define and champion the architecture vision, target-state blueprint, and strategic technology roadmap for the business unit, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy and business objectives.
• Act as the key architecture decision-maker and design authority, providing leadership and assurance for critical technology and architectural decisions across National Grid Electricity Transmission.
• Partner with senior business and technology stakeholders to bridge the gap between strategy and execution, ensuring technology enables and accelerates business outcomes.
• Lead architectural direction across major investment initiatives and transformation programmes, ensuring solutions are secure, scalable, resilient, sustainable, and cost‑effective.
• Establish and continuously evolve architecture governance, standards, principles, patterns, and assurance processes that drive consistency, quality, and innovation.
• Oversee solution architecture practices, ensuring the right tools, frameworks, and governance are in place to deliver high‑quality, strategically aligned solutions.
• Coach and guide Product Line and Solution Architects, fostering collaboration and ensuring architectural decisions are reusable, future‑focused, and aligned to enterprise goals.
• Partner with stakeholders across the organisation to understand business challenges, translate requirements into architectural strategies, and enable successful delivery.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, market trends, and industry innovations, identifying opportunities to enhance capabilities, improve performance, reduce risk, and unlock new business value.
• Champion the adoption of modern technology solutions—including AI, data, platforms, applications, and infrastructure to improve efficiency, interoperability, agility, and user experience.
• Ensure technology investments support National Grid's long‑term ambitions while reducing complexity, minimising technical debt, and promoting sustainable architectural practices.
• Lead architecture reviews and design assurance activities, balancing risk, value, and delivery needs while ensuring adherence to established standards and principles.
• Build and strengthen architecture capability across the organisation through mentoring, coaching, and developing architects across both direct and matrix teams.
• Represent National Grid within industry forums and professional networks, bringing external insights, emerging trends, and best practices back into the organisation.
• Set a clear leadership agenda that inspires high performance, develops talent, and delivers meaningful outcomes for the business, customers, and wider organisation.

About You

You’re a visionary architecture leader who thrives on shaping technology strategy, driving transformation, and delivering meaningful business outcomes. With the credibility to influence at the most senior levels and the practical expertise to turn strategy into action, you bring a unique blend of commercial insight, technical leadership, and stakeholder engagement.

You excel in complex, fast‑paced, and highly regulated environments, bringing clarity to ambiguity and aligning technology decisions with business priorities. A natural collaborator and trusted advisor, you’re skilled at building consensus, influencing across organisational boundaries, and leading teams through change to achieve ambitious goals.

You’ll Bring

• A master's degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience. A bachelor's degree or higher in a technical discipline is also highly valued.
• Extensive experience across architecture disciplines, including enterprise, solution, application, data, integration, business, or information architecture.
• Experience in architecture, technology strategy, or senior technology leadership positions.
• A proven track record of leading architecture functions across complex portfolios, major transformation programmes, and large‑scale technology environments.
• Deep expertise in strategic technology planning, IT infrastructure, applications, data and analytics, integration, outsourcing, and delivery governance.
• The ability to connect business strategy with technology execution, translating complex challenges into clear architectural direction and practical solutions.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, with experience influencing technology investment decisions and maximising business value from technology spend.
• Outstanding communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills, with the ability to engage and inspire both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Experience working successfully within matrix organisations, building alignment and driving outcomes through collaboration and influence.
• A strong track record of developing trusted partnerships with business, technology, digital, product, and delivery leaders.
• Inclusive leadership capabilities, with a passion for developing diverse, high‑performing teams across functions, geographies, and organisational boundaries.
• A commitment to building architecture excellence, improving ways of working, and fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Most importantly, you'll be someone who is passionate about using technology to solve complex business challenges, inspire those around you, and help shape the future of the organisation through strategic architectural leadership.

What You’ll Get

• Competitive Salary: circa £78,000 – £110,000 per annum (based on capability, and experience)
• Annual performance incentive: Earn up to 40% of eligible earnings through our performance‑related bonus scheme
• Fully electric company car or cash alternative
• Private Medical Insurance for you, with the option to purchase cover for your partner or family through MyBenefits

Additional Benefits

• 28 days’ holiday plus 8 statutory bank holidays, with the option to buy additional leave and swap up to 3 bank holidays to better fit your personal needs.
• A generous pension scheme with double matching up to 6% of your salary each month. For every £1 you contribute, we’ll contribute £2 — meaning a 6% personal contribution becomes an 18% total pension contribution.
• Life insurance cover of 10x your basic salary
• Flexible benefits such as a cycle scheme, share incentive plan, technology schemes
• Access to apps such as digital GP service for round the clock access to GP video consultations and NHS repeat prescriptions, wellbeing app to support your health and fitness
• Access to Work + Family Space, providing support and resources for work and family life, including paid emergency childcare and eldercare

More Information

• This role is offered on a full time basis.
• Based in Warwick, with hybrid working. You’ll primarily work from the Warwick office, with occasional travel to other offices as needed to collaborate with wider teams and stakeholders.
• This role closes on 3rd August, however we strongly encourage candidates to submit their application as early as possible.

We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for all. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates – we make appointments purely on merit, assessed against objective selection criteria.

We support flexible working and will make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process should you have any physical or mental impairment which may affect your ability to participate in the process.

Please note that in most cases, National Grid is unable to offer sponsorship for employment under the UK points‑based immigration system. As such, applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship now or in the future under the UK points‑based immigration system. However, in exceptional circumstances where there is a clear and demonstrable need for specialist skills that cannot be sourced from the local labour market, National Grid may consider offering sponsorship. All applications are welcome from candidates who meet these requirements, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnic origin.