Principle Architect - New Architect Practice

Nixor Resource Consulting Ltd; Manchester; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading consulting firm is seeking a Lead/Principal Architect to guide the transition from legacy systems to modern cloud-native architectures. This hands-on leadership role involves not only managing a team of architects but also making critical technical decisions and shaping strategy. Candidates should have proven experience in solutions architecture within heavily regulated industries and a strong track record in modernising scalable platforms. Join this ambitious architecture transformation and make a significant impact with your expertise.

Benefits

Opportunity to build a new team

No third-party constraints

Strong alignment from board to tech team

Minimal politics

User-centric approach

Qualifications

• Proven experience in solutions architecture within a heavily regulated industry.
• Strong track record of modernising legacy systems into scalable, microservices-based platforms.
• Ability to still dig into the technical detail of P1 incidents.

Responsibilities

• End-to-end ownership of the domain architecture including technical decisions.
• Hands-on engagement, decisions on infrastructure and scaling.
• Building relationships with stakeholders for independent interfaces.
• Guidance on solution direction ensuring scalability.
• Prioritisation of tactical vs. strategic work.

Skills

Solutions architecture experience

Experience in regulated industries

Managing team of Architects

Knowledge of design patterns

Cloud-native practices

Job description

Nixor are proud to be supporting a Leading Financial Services provider at the very start of building out a brand new Architecture practice. They are removing reliance on 3rd parties & bringing all capability in-house, so this is therefore an opportunity to be a senior member of a whole new growing division.

This is a domain specific role, so Financial Services experience is required, but this can be from either Industry side or Consultancy.

About the Role

As a Lead / Principal Architect, you'll take technical ownership of a critical business domain. You’ll guide the transition from legacy systems to a modern, cloud-native, microservices architecture, with a specific focus on solutions that serve the business unit you are aligned too.

The Principle Architect is responsible for owning the architecture roadmap end-to-end within their domain — from strategy to implementation. Unlike in some organisations where architects may focus more on governance or high-level oversight, my client expects their architects to be technically involved and closely aligned with delivery teams.

However, this is a Leadership role. You will be managing a team, bringing stakeholders on a journey and owning strategic direction.

Key responsibilities include :

• End-to-end ownership of the domain architecture, including technical decisions, roadmap definition, and implementation oversight.
• Hands-on engagement , including decisions on infrastructure, patterns, configuration, observability, and cost scaling.
• Stakeholder engagement , building relationships that allow delivery teams to interface independently while maintaining architectural integrity.
• Guidance and leadership , steering solution direction, ensuring scalability, and aligning designs with strategic goals.
• Prioritisation of tactical vs. strategic work , ideally by evaluating trade-offs and alignment with the target state — though not all candidates demonstrated this understanding.

Why Join?

• Be in at the beginning of building a brand new team.
• Huge Impact as you will own the technical landscape for your domain.
• Clear direction, no third-party constraints, and full in-house ownership
• Minimal politics, strong alignment from board to tech team
• Tech-first and user-centric approach from day one

We’re looking for experienced Senior Architects with :

• Proven experience in solutions architecture within a heavily regulated industry.
• A strong track record of modernising legacy systems into scalable, microservices-based platforms
• Deep knowledge of design patterns, cloud-native practices, and architectural governance
• Experience of managing and running a team of Architects.
• Ability to still dig into the technical detail of P1 incidents.

This is a hands-on leadership role — ideal for someone who wants to shape strategy but also stay close to the technology.

Interested?

This is your chance to join one of the UK’s most ambitious architecture transformations — with the scale of a large enterprise and the agility of a start‑up team.