Lead Software Architect

Data Science Festival; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare package

Hybrid working

Life assurance

Holiday trading scheme

Retail discounts

Gym and fitness benefits

Learning and development opportunities

Influence on engineering direction

Job summary

Data Science Festival is seeking a Lead Software Architect to guide the technical direction of a growing SaaS platform. You will lead architecture design, set engineering standards, and mentor engineers across Product and Engineering teams in a collaborative, hybrid environment in Milton Keynes.

Reporting to the CTO, you will balance strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, ensure secure, scalable cloud-native solutions, and explore AI-powered tooling to boost development productivity.

Qualifications

• Experience designing scalable, secure software architectures.
• Strong background in cloud-native SaaS platforms.
• Proven ability to mentor engineers and shape technical direction.

Responsibilities

• Designing and delivering scalable, secure software solutions.
• Lead architectural decisions balancing innovation and sustainability.
• Drive engineering best practices, coding standards and quality.
• Translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Mentor and coach engineers to grow technical capability.
• Champion modern engineering practices and automation.
• Explore AI-powered tools to improve productivity.
• Ensure cloud-native SaaS products are secure and scalable.

Skills

Architectural design

Technical leadership

Mentoring

Communication

Stakeholder management

Tools

C#

ASP.NET

Azure

React

REST APIs

Job description

Lead Software Architect

Salary: £80,000 – £85,000 + Benefits

Location: Hybrid 1 day every other week – Milton Keynes

We are currently looking for a Lead Software Architect to join a growing, technology-led SaaS organisation that is investing heavily in its engineering capability and modern cloud platform. This is an opportunity to join a collaborative, forward‑thinking engineering team where you’ll have genuine influence over technical direction rather than simply delivering features.

Reporting into the CTO, the Lead Software Architect will play a pivotal role in shaping software architecture, establishing engineering best practice, and mentoring other engineers across the business. This is a hands‑on technical leadership position where you’ll work closely with Product, Engineering and business stakeholders to solve complex technical challenges whilst ensuring the platform remains scalable, secure and fit for future growth.

If you enjoy balancing strategic thinking with hands‑on engineering, influencing technical decisions and helping teams deliver high‑quality software, this Principal Software Engineer opportunity offers the chance to make a significant impact within a business where technology is central to its success.

The Opportunity

As the Lead Software Architect, you’ll provide technical leadership across multiple projects while helping to shape the future direction of the engineering function.

Key responsibilities include:

• Designing and delivering scalable, secure and maintainable software solutions.
• Leading architectural decisions that balance innovation, performance and long‑term sustainability.
• Driving engineering best practice, coding standards and software quality across development teams.
• Working closely with Product Managers and stakeholders to translate business requirements into robust technical solutions.
• Mentoring and coaching engineers, helping to raise technical capability across the wider team.
• Championing modern software engineering practices, automation and continuous improvement.
• Exploring and adopting AI‑powered development tools where they add measurable value.
• Supporting the delivery of reliable, cloud‑native SaaS products within a security‑focused environment.

This role offers the opportunity to influence both technology strategy and engineering culture while remaining technically hands‑on.

What’s in it for you?

• £80,000 – £85,000 salary depending on experience.
• Hybrid working.
• Comprehensive healthcare and wellbeing package.
• Life assurance.
• Holiday trading scheme.
• Retail discounts.
• Gym and fitness benefits.
• Ongoing learning and professional development.
• The opportunity to influence architecture, technology direction and engineering standards.
• A collaborative engineering culture where technical excellence is genuinely valued.

Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience designing and delivering high‑quality software within modern engineering environments.
• Strong commercial experience with C#, ASP.NET, Azure, React and REST APIs.
• Experience designing scalable, secure and maintainable software architectures.
• Strong understanding of cloud‑native application development and Azure services.
• Experience influencing technical strategy and architectural decision making.
• Knowledge of secure software development practices within SaaS or regulated environments.
• Experience mentoring engineers and promoting engineering best practice.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• An interest in using AI tools to improve software engineering productivity and delivery.