Design Lead / Senior Solution Architect (7905C34)

Referment; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Referment is seeking an accomplished Solution Architect to own end-to-end architecture for enterprise-grade platforms. You will define blueprints, standards and roadmaps, and lead architecture reviews spanning product, business, UX and engineering.

The role focuses on cloud-native design on AWS, microservices and API-led integrations, with emphasis on AI-enabled engineering and governance. You will mentor teams and present strategies to executives, shaping deployment and operating models.

Qualifications

• Experience designing enterprise-scale solutions with .NET, .NET Core, C# and modern frameworks.
• Knowledge of solution architecture principles, design patterns and domain-driven design.
• Expertise in microservices, event-driven and distributed systems and API-led integration.
• Experience with RESTful API design and enterprise integration patterns.
• Modern web platform design using Angular.
• Experience with relational and NoSQL data platforms (SQL Server, MongoDB, Cosmos DB).
• Hands-on use of AI-enabled engineering tools (GitHub Copilot) and AI service integration.
• Familiarity with prompt engineering and LLM integration.
• Strong strategic thinking and stakeholder management; able to explain technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Degree in computer science or related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end solution architecture for enterprise-grade applications and platforms.
• Define blueprints, design standards and technology roadmaps.
• Lead architecture reviews and drive scalability, resilience, security, and performance decisions.
• Produce high-level and low-level designs addressing functional and non-functional needs.
• Collaborate with product, business, UX and engineering leaders; partner with DevOps and cloud teams.
• Design cloud-native solutions on AWS and architect microservices, event-driven systems and API-led integrations.
• Define cloud security, networking and disaster-recovery approaches.
• Mentor development teams and present architecture strategies to executives.

Skills

Enterprise architecture

.NET/.NET Core/C#

Microservices

Event-driven architecture

API-led integration

REST API design

Angular

SQL Server

MongoDB

Cosmos DB

AI-enabled engineering tools

LLM integration

Prompt engineering

Stakeholder management

Cloud architecture

Education

Degree in computer science or related field

Tools

GitHub Copilot

Azure OpenAI

AWS Bedrock

Hugging Face

Job description

Referment is working with a financial services technology company that builds enterprise data management and automation platforms for banks and asset managers. Engineering is organised around product and platform teams, and architecture is central to how new cloud, distributed and AI capabilities are introduced.

The Role

You'll own end-to-end solution architecture for enterprise-grade applications and platforms, defining blueprints, design standards and technology roadmaps, and leading architecture reviews that set the standard for engineering teams. You'll produce high-level and low-level designs that address functional and non-functional needs, and drive decisions on scalability, resilience, security, observability and performance. Day to day you'll work across product, business stakeholders, UX and engineering leaders, and partner with DevOps and cloud teams to shape deployment and operating models. You'll design cloud-native solutions on AWS, architect microservices, event-driven systems and API-led integrations, and define cloud security, networking and disaster-recovery approaches. A significant part of the mandate is responsible use of AI: integrating services such as Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock and Hugging Face, and championing AI-assisted engineering and intelligent automation. You'll also mentor development teams and present architecture strategies to executive audiences.

What We’re Looking For

• Strong experience designing enterprise-scale solutions with .NET, .NET Core, C# and modern frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of solution architecture principles, design patterns, domain-driven design and object-oriented design.
• Proven expertise in microservices, event-driven and distributed systems, and API-led integration.
• Experience with RESTful API design and enterprise integration patterns.
• Modern web platform design using Angular.
• Relational and NoSQL data platforms such as SQL Server, MongoDB and Cosmos DB.
• Hands-on use of AI-enabled engineering tools such as GitHub Copilot or equivalents, plus experience integrating AI services and evaluating AI/ML-driven solutions.
• Familiarity with prompt engineering, LLM integration, RAG architectures and AI-powered automation.
• Strategic thinking and stakeholder management, with the ability to make complex technical concepts clear to non-technical audiences.
• A degree in computer science or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Desirable

• Architecting and optimising large-scale distributed cloud systems.
• Performance engineering, observability, monitoring and operational excellence.
• DevOps, CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code and platform automation.
• Enterprise security architecture, identity management and compliance frameworks.
• Scripting with PowerShell, Python or Bash.
• AWS Solutions Architect, TOGAF or equivalent certifications.

This could suit a solution architect or technical design lead already operating across enterprise systems who wants broader architectural ownership, or an experienced engineer ready to step into a lead architecture role.