Senior Solution Architect

Future of London; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Final salary pension scheme

Free travel on the TfL network

Rail travel reimbursement (75%)

Hybrid working

30 days annual leave

Job summary

Transport for London is seeking a Solution Architect to design high-level and low-level architectures for in-house and partner-delivered systems. You will build consensus with business and technical stakeholders and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture principles.

The role requires 50% office presence at North Greenwich, with strong experience in event-driven architectures, Kubernetes, Azure, and multi-domain delivery in the public sector.

Qualifications

• Proven experience operating as a Solution or Technical Architect on large-scale, revenue-generating systems.
• Strong experience designing event-driven architectures, including the use of enterprise messaging and integration patterns.
• Demonstrated expertise in architecting solutions across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment models.
• Able to define and apply solution design patterns.
• Able to produce designs using UML, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architecture, Visio and Office 365.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end solution architecture for projects involving high-volume revenue-generating systems.
• Define project vision, scope and outcomes aligned with business needs.
• Develop costs and delivery estimates with technical teams.
• Manage risks, decisions and assumptions transparently.
• Design high-level and low-level designs aligned with enterprise principles and governance.
• Communicate and collaborate with stakeholders to build consensus.

Skills

Solution Architect

Technical Architecture

Event-driven design

Cloud & on-perm

UML / EA tools

Education

TOGAF (desirable)

Relevant degree

Tools

UML

Sparx EA

Visio

Office 365

Azure

Job description

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* Hybrid working within this role enables a balance of 50 per cent of time split between the office and home over a 4-week period.Hybrid working arrangements can evolve subject to business requirements.

*All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory right-to-work checks. Candidates must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK. At the present time TfL is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role.

Overview

TfL exists to move London forward safely, inclusively, and sustainably. London's success depends on colleagues continuously improving and innovating to make moving around our city more safe, inclusive, and sustainable. We have the opportunity to improve people’s lives and help our city navigate the future more than almost any other transport body in the world.

To do this we have to navigate an ever-changing environment. Technology is evolving at breakneck speed. When and how customers use our network is shifting. The climate emergency is accelerating. TfL needs Solution Architects to work on projects that cover all of its responsibilities: public transport, roads, walking, cycling, real estate, asset management, regulation, and enforcement.

We are looking for solution architects who are passionate about working for TfL, have the business and technical skills to help deliver complex solutions across multiple technologies, business units and technical teams. Interpersonal skills are as important as your technical capabilities. You must be a critical thinker, with the ability to research and provide summarised results. You must be comfortable presenting your recommendations to all role levels within impacted business and technical teams. You must be able to prioritise your work, meet deadlines, anticipate, and resolve problems.

The role requires you to be in the office 50% of your time. The technology and development teams are based in North Greenwich.

Overview of project/role

You will be responsible for the creation of project level architecture designs for solutions that are built in-house or are delivered by partners. In creating the solution architecture, you will build consensus and gain approval from impacted business and technical teams. You will support project teams through delivery to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved and design changes are fully considered, agreed, and approved.

Key Accountabilities

• You will ensure that the project vision, scope, and desired outcomes are properly defined and will meet the needs of the business.
• Understand organisational objectives and external drivers. For example, legislation or industry compliance.
• Lead the end-to-end solution architecture for projects involving high-volume mission critical revenue generating systems.
• Work within business and technical constraints.
• Work with colleagues in other technical teams to ensure principles and best practice are applied.
• Ensure that functional and non-functional requirements are fit for purpose. Ensure they align with project scope, vision, and criticality of the service.
• Stay up to date with technology trends and approaches.
• Analyse and present solution options to business and technical stakeholders. For example, develop build verses buy options.
• Work with technical teams to build costs and delivery estimates.
• Manage risks, decisions, and assumptions in a transparent way.
• Design and document high-level and low-level designs aligned with TfL enterprise architecture principles. Ensure their approval through formal governance.
• Communicate and work collaboratively with business and technical stakeholders. Help teams to understand technical and business perspectives in order to build consensus.
• Support project teams through delivery to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved and design changes are fully considered, agreed, and approved.

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Proven experience operating as a Solution or Technical Architect on large-scale, revenue-generating systems.
• Strong experience designing event-driven architectures, including the use of enterprise messaging and integration patterns.
• Demonstrated expertise in architecting solutions across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid deployment models.
• Able to define and apply solution design patterns.
• Able to produce designs using UML, Sparx Systems Enterprise Architecture, Visio and Office 365.
• Experience of working on medium and large-scale public sector IT procurement projects.
• Qualification in a relevant subject area is desirable (e.g., Solution Architecture, TOGAF).
• Design for high availability, disaster recovery, and regional resilience.
• Industry knowledge of Information technology trends, particularly those within public transport operations and payments.
• Design scalable microservices architectures using Kubernetes-based platforms.
• Design and govern solutions using Microsoft Azure services including:

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to represent the city we serve, which will help us become a more innovative and efficient organisation. Our goal is to make our recruitment as inclusive as possible. We are a disability confident employer who guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets all of the essential criteria.

In return for your commitment and expertise, you will enjoy excellent benefits and scope to grow. Rewards vary according to the level of role but mostly include the below:

• Final salary pension scheme
• Free travel for you on the TfL network
• Reimbursement of 75% of the cost of a standard class Ticket for National Rail travel from home or 75% reimbursement on a 28-day flexi ticket
• 30 days annual leave plus public and bank holidays
• TfL is committed to work-life balance, operating a hybrid working approach where business and role requirements allow
• Private healthcare discounted scheme (optional)
• Tax-efficient cycle-to-work programme
• Retail, health, leisure and travel offers
• Discounted Eurostar travel

We will make every effort to give you as much notice as possible, however some interviews/assessments could be organised at short notice.

Vetting Process

At Transport for London, safety, trust and fairness sit at the heart of how we recruit. Our Vetting Charter ( https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/careers/our-vetting-process ) explains the checks we carry out before you join us, helping ensure we create a safe, inclusive and reliable network for everyone who depends on our services. We simply ask that the information you provide is honest and accurate so we can progress your application smoothly. If something doesn’t match or can’t be verified, we may not be able to move forward with your application, but we’ll always treat you with transparency, respect, and clear communication throughout.