Senior Solution Architect

Lloyds Banking Group; Gildersome; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 107,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading financial institution based in the UK is seeking a Senior Solution Architect to shape complex solution designs and lead cross-functional collaboration. This hybrid role offers a salary of £90,440 - £106,400 and includes a generous benefits package such as a 15% pension contribution and 30 days of holiday. Ideal candidates will have strong backgrounds in software engineering and cloud-native architectures.

Benefits

Generous pension contribution

Annual bonus awards

30 days' holiday plus bank holidays

Wellbeing initiatives

Flexible benefits tailored to your lifestyle

Qualifications

• Proven experience across the full solution development lifecycle.
• Experience in delivering digital transformation solutions.
• Excellent communication across technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design of complex, end-to-end solution architectures.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in solution design.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to engineering teams.

Skills

Strong software engineering background

Experience in designing complex, cross-platform solutions

Cloud-native architectures

Collaboration skills

Understanding of data architecture

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Google Cloud Platform

Job description

SALARY: £90,440 - £106,400

LOCATION: Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds or Halifax
HOURS: Full time - 35 hours per week
WORKING PATTERN: Hybrid, 40% (or two days) in an office site

ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY

We're looking for a Senior Solution Architect to join our dynamic architecture community across multiple platforms in the bank. This is a pivotal leadership role where you'll shape complex, cross-platform solution designs that deliver real value to our customers. You'll work at the heart of our agile delivery model, collaborating with product owners, engineers, and enterprise architects to ensure our solutions are resilient, scalable, and aligned with our technology strategy.

ABOUT US

We're transforming to meet the evolving needs of over 26 million customers. With billions invested in our people, data, and technology, we're building a modern, inclusive, and forward-thinking organisation. Join us and be part of something extraordinary.

ABOUT WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead the design of complex, end-to-end solution architectures across teams, labs, and platforms.
• Shape the solution architecture forward look to inform product roadmaps and technical planning.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and architecture teams to align designs with strategic goals.
• Ensure solutions meet non-functional requirements including resilience, security, and scalability.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement in solution design and delivery.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to engineering teams.
• Participate in agile ceremonies and deliver iteratively, ensuring continuous feedback and value.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Architecture & Software Development:

• Strong software engineering and architecture background, with experience across the full solution development lifecycle-from inception through to production.
• Proven experience designing complex, cross-platform solutions in a large-scale agile environment.
• Strong understanding of modern cloud-native architectures, microservices, and API design.
• Experience with architectural governance, risk management, and technical debt mitigation.

Cloud solutions:

• Experience with Public and Private Cloud Solutions, ideally including Google Cloud Platform and OpenShift Container Platform.
• Strong understanding of modern cloud-native architectures, microservices, and secure, scalable solution design.

Collaboration & leadership:

• Excellent partner collaboration skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences.

Digital transformation & Delivery:

• Experience delivering Digital Transformation Solutions, with a deep understanding of system design decisions and their impact on scalability, resilience, and supportability.

IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU ALSO HAD…

• Experience with data modelling and understanding of Data Architecture.
• Exposure to mainframe systems and integration.
• Familiarity with Docker and container orchestration tools such as Kubernetes.
• Understanding of authentication and authorisation concepts, including experience designing and implementing zero trust models.
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks and resilience-by-design principles.

ABOUT WORKING FOR US

Our ambition is to be the leading UK business for diversity, equity and inclusion supporting our customers, colleagues and communities and we're committed to creating an environment in which everyone can thrive, learn and develop.

We were one of the first major organisations to set goals on diversity in senior roles, create a menopause health package, and a dedicated Working with Cancer Initiative.

We offer reasonable workplace adjustments for colleagues with disabilities, including flexibility in office attendance, location and working patterns. And, as a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee interviews for a fair and proportionate number of applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role with a disability, long-term health or neurodivergent condition through the Disability Confident Scheme.

We provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process to reduce or remove barriers. Just let us know what you need.

We also offer a wide-ranging benefits package, including:

• A generous pension contribution of up to 15%.
• Annual bonus award, subject to Group performance.
• Share schemes including free shares.
• 30 days' holiday, plus bank holidays.
• Flexible benefits tailored to your lifestyle.
• Wellbeing initiatives and generous parental leave policies.

If you're excited by the opportunity to shape the future of technology and deliver impactful solutions, we'd love to hear from you!