Contract Principal Software Architect

Spectrum IT Recruitment; Uxbridge; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Part time

Job summary

Spectrum IT Recruitment are working with an enterprise digital platform to recruit a Contract Principal Software Architect to support their widely used, real-world consumer technology platform. This is an OUTSIDE IR35 role, for an initial 6 months contract and will be hybrid working: 2 days onsite in Uxbridge per week.

This is a brownfield architecture environment. The successful architect will not be designing a new platform from scratch.

Qualifications

• Strong commercial experience as Software/Principal Architect in complex software environments.
• Proven experience designing distributed systems and modern software platforms.
• Strong understanding of architecture patterns, APIs, integrations and cloud-based systems.
• Experience in Microsoft Azure or another major cloud environment.
• Experience defining service boundaries, ownership models and integration patterns.
• Strong SQL and NoSQL data store knowledge and architectural considerations.
• Experience with transactional systems prioritizing data integrity and resilience.
• Non-functional architecture including security, scalability, observability and performance.
• Experience modernising existing platforms incrementally, handling legacy debt.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain architectural principles across the technology landscape.
• Provide leadership for complex initiatives and cross-platform changes.
• Define service boundaries, ownership models and integration patterns.
• Support engineering teams to deliver scalable, maintainable solutions.
• Assess systems and identify opportunities to simplify and modernise.
• Guide evolution of legacy systems toward target-state architectures.
• Make decisions around distributed systems, APIs, data and cloud.
• Ensure security, resilience, observability and performance are baked in.
• Mentor senior engineers and embed architectural thinking in delivery teams.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product leadership on roadmaps.
• Promote architectural standards and technical decision-making.
• Act as trusted advisor across cross-functional tech initiatives.

Skills

Software Architecture

Distributed systems

Cloud architectures

Azure

Service boundaries

SQL/NoSQL

Non-functional architecture

Legacy modernization

Tools

.NET / C#

Microsoft Azure

Python

Node

Job description

Spectrum IT are working with an enterprise digital platform to recruit a Contract Principal Software Architect to support their widely used, real-world consumer technology platform. This is an OUTSIDE IR35 role, for an initial 6 months contract and will be hybrid working: 2 days onsite in Uxbridge per week.

This is a brownfield architecture environment. The successful architect will not be designing a new platform from scratch. Instead, they will be working within a live production estate, balancing existing technology, legacy decisions, technical debt, team structures and commercial priorities against the need to improve scalability, resilience, maintainability and customer experience.

The role therefore requires a pragmatic, delivery-focused architect who can understand where the platform is today, identify the areas that genuinely need to change, and work with engineering teams to make those improvements incrementally.

The Role

You will play a key role in defining and guiding the technical architecture underpinning the organisation's products and whole platform.

The focus will be on creating a coherent, scalable and maintainable technology landscape, while supporting the incremental evolution of existing systems. You will work closely with Engineering, Product, Platform and Technical Operations teams to make pragmatic architectural decisions that support both immediate delivery and longer-term platform strategy.

This is not a purely strategic architecture role. The successful contractor will need to be comfortable getting into the detail of system design, service boundaries, integrations, data ownership, cloud architecture and non-functional requirements, while providing technical direction across multiple engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and maintain architectural principles, standards and target-state designs across the technology landscape.
• Provide architectural leadership for complex initiatives, system changes and cross-platform integrations.
• Define clear service boundaries, ownership models and integration patterns.
• Support engineering teams in delivering scalable, maintainable and well-structured solutions.
• Assess existing systems and identify opportunities to simplify, consolidate and modernise platform capabilities.
• Support the evolution of legacy systems towards agreed target-state architectures through pragmatic, incremental change.
• Make and guide technical decisions around distributed systems, APIs, integrations, data and cloud architecture.
• Ensure security, resilience, observability, performance and scalability are incorporated into solution designs.
• Identify architectural risks, technical debt and platform constraints, and establish appropriate mitigation strategies.
• Provide technical review and architectural guide for significant changes across multiple engineering teams.
• Work closely with Engineering and Product leadership on major technical decisions and platform roadmaps.
• Promote consistent architectural standards, engineering quality and technical decision-making.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor across complex, cross-functional technology initiatives.
• Support and mentor senior engineers and technical leads, helping embed architectural thinking within delivery teams.

Required Skills & Experience

• Strong commercial experience working as a Software Architect / Principal Architect within complex software environments.
• Proven experience designing distributed systems and modern software platforms.
• Strong understanding of software architecture patterns, APIs, integrations and cloud-based systems.
• Experience operating within Microsoft Azure or another major cloud environment.
• Demonstrable experience defining service boundaries, ownership models and integration patterns.
• Strong understanding of SQL and NoSQL data technologies and the architectural considerations involved in selecting appropriate data stores.
• Experience working with transactional systems where data integrity, consistency, resilience and reliability are critical.
• Strong understanding of non-functional architecture, including security, scalability, performance, observability and resilience.
• Experience modernising or evolving existing platforms incrementally, including working with legacy systems and technical debt.

Technical Environment

• .NET / C#
• Microsoft Azure
• Python
• Node
• Distributed and service-based architectures
• REST APIs and integrations
• SQL and NoSQL data technologies
• Cloud infrastructure and platform services
• Modern DevOps and CI/CD practices
• GitHub
• Jira
• Confluence

What We're Looking For

This role would suit a software focused architect who is comfortable operating between high-level architecture and hands-on technical detail. You'll be able to look at a complex existing platform, understand where the architectural problems and constraints sit, and then work with engineering teams to determine what should change, why it should change, and how to get there pragmatically.

Candidates for this role must be within a commutable distance of Uxbridge due to the hybrid working requirement.