Lead Retail Solution Architect - IBM i-series (AS400) to Cloud

Adecco; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 75,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment agency requires a Lead Retail Solution Architect in West London to drive architectural transformation in technology solutions. You will define architectural vision and strategies, lead integrations with IBM i-series environments, and mentor teams through organizational changes. The ideal candidate has extensive experience in enterprise integration and cloud platforms, with strong leadership and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience as a Lead Solution Architect or similar.
• Proven track record of driving architectural transformation.
• Deep expertise in enterprise integration and hybrid architecture.
• Strong understanding of modern architectural paradigms.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the enterprise-wide architecture strategy.
• Establish an architectural vision aligned with objectives.
• Design integration patterns between cloud platforms and legacy systems.
• Mentor and coach solution architects and senior engineers.

Skills

Architectural transformation

Enterprise integration

IBM i-series (AS400)

Microservices

API-first design

Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

Leadership

Communication

Job description

Lead Retail Solution Architect - IBM i-series (AS400) to Cloud
Location: West London - 5 days on-site

Salary: 75-80,000 per annum

My client is looking to recruit an accomplished Lead Solution Architect to drive a pivotal transformation in their technology organisation. This is a strategic and highly influential role, where you will define the architectural vision, enable product teams, and bridge modern cloud-native platforms with core enterprise systems—including deep integration with IBM i-series (AS400) environments and distributed operations.

The Role:

As Lead Solution Architect, you will shape the organisation's technical strategy, mentor architects and engineers, and influence decision‑making across technology and business domains. You will lead the transition from a technology stack‑oriented delivery model to a product‑centric, outcome‑driven architecture, ensuring scalability, resilience, and alignment with business objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and drive the enterprise‑wide architecture strategy supporting the transition from stack‑centric IT to product‑led, outcome‑focused delivery.
• Establish an architectural vision aligned with commercial objectives, customer experience goals, and operational scalability.
• Design and govern integration patterns between modern cloud platforms, distributed retail/wholesale sites, and IBM i‑series (AS400) systems.
• Champion modernisation of Legacy environments, enabling core enterprise capabilities (pricing, inventory, fulfilment) to be consumed via APIs and event‑driven interfaces.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior technology and business leaders, shaping product strategy through architecture.
• Define and embed architecture principles, standards, and guardrails to support autonomous product teams.
• Lead initiatives to transition delivery teams to product‑aligned operating models, creating scalable architectural patterns and platforms that accelerate delivery.
• Ensure non‑functional requirements—including security, observability, resilience, and performance—are embedded in product and platform design.
• Oversee architectural governance in a way that enables delivery rather than constrains it.
• Mentor and coach solution architects and senior engineers, raising the overall architectural maturity.
• Play a leading role in architecture forums, communities of practice, and design reviews.

Candidate Profile:

• Extensive experience as a Lead Solution Architect, Principal Architect, or similar senior architecture leadership role.
• Proven track record of driving architectural transformation, ideally moving from stack‑ or project‑centric models to product‑ and outcome‑driven architectures.
• Deep expertise in enterprise integration and hybrid architecture, including hands‑on experience with IBM i‑series (AS400) and distributed retail/wholesale site operations.
• Strong understanding of modern architectural paradigms: domain‑driven design, event‑driven architecture, microservices, API‑first.
• Experience shaping and scaling architectures on AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills with C‑level, business stakeholders, and engineering teams.
• Strong leadership experience guiding teams through large‑scale technical and organisational change.
• Exposure to platform engineering, DevOps, or data architecture.