Senior Solution Architect

Munich RE; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Munich Re in Manchester seeks a senior Enterprise Architect to lead design and governance for enterprise-scale applications, cloud migrations, and API-based architectures.

You will mentor teams, develop roadmaps, ensure alignment with EA standards, and drive Agile/DevSecOps across delivery and operations. The role requires TOGAF, 7+ years IT experience, strong stakeholder communication, and a track record in cloud-enabled architectures.

Qualifications

• 7+ years IT experience with architecture experience
• Bachelor's degree or above in computer science or related tech discipline
• TOGAF certification preferred

Responsibilities

• Develop application and system roadmaps associated with applications transformation and modernisation
• Develop flexible, adaptable, modular solution designs in collaboration with business stakeholders and IT development teams
• Support the definition of high-level operational models and prepare business cases aligned with IT security and quality guidelines
• Uphold solution architecture governance processes and ensure adherence to design patterns and standards
• Be the accountable individual for finalising and approving solutions with stakeholders
• Promote Agile and DevSecOps practices across product delivery and operations
• Explore, evaluate and promote technology innovation within the organisation
• Review high-level designs with technical leads, review code, enforce best practices and performance testing
• Identify technology risks and develop mitigation strategies
• Stay current on cutting-edge technologies and market trends
• Support requirements gathering to right-size initiatives and strategy
• Collaborate with development teams applying Agile and DevSecOps in architecture and design
• Create comprehensive solution architecture specification documents

Skills

Enterprise architecture

TOGAF

Cloud technologies

Agile / DevSecOps

Leadership

Stakeholder management

System design

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Service Bus

API mediation

Event bus architectures

Job description

Responsibilities:

• Develop application and system roadmaps associated with applications transformation and modernisation
• Develop flexible, adaptable, modular, and reusable solution designs in collaboration with business stakeholders and the IT development teams while ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture standards
• Support the definition of high-level operational models, and prepare business cases in alignment with the IT security and quality guidelines. Present business cases, for operational and tactical technical initiatives, for approval, funding and prioritisation
• Uphold appropriate solution architecture governance processes and tools while maintaining focus on design patterns and technology standards
• Be the accountable individual for the finalisation, acceptance and approval of solutions you architected, by relevant stakeholders
• Act as an enabler of Agile and DevSecOps practices in collaboration with product delivery and operation support teams
• Explore, evaluate and promote technology innovation within the organisation
• Review high-level designs with technical leads and developers, review code, enforce best practices, assist with debugging critical issues, and enforce performance testing to deliver efficient and performant applications
• Be the responsible individual to identify technology risk(s) of initiatives you are leading as an architect and develop corresponding mitigation strategies
• Stay current on, evaluate and recommend the use of cutting-edge technologies and methods, considering their technical pros and limitations. Leverage market and technology trends to identify the business benefits of alternative technical solutions
• Support the requirements gathering process to right-size initiatives and solution strategy.
• Collaborate with development teams and assist with the application of Agile and DevSecOps techniques within architecture and designs
• Create comprehensive solution architecture specification documents and other required documentation

Knowledge and Skills

• Exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills, with thorough attention to detail.
• Excellent planning, documentation and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of design and implementation of solutions and systems using custom built and CoTS / MoTS applications hosted in the cloud and on-prem.
• Experience designing solutions including policy administration systems, ERP and customer / agent-facing portals.
• Substantial knowledge of the system development life cycle and the scaled agile methodology. Certifications preferred.
• TOGAF certification is a significant plus.
• Demonstrate competence to work at the highest technical level of all phases of system architecture design, using state of the art rule/framework-based architecture, object-oriented component analysis and proficiency in web-based systems architecture, service-based architecture and enterprise application architecture.
• Ability to guide and mentor development teams on sound design and coding principles, best practices in API based, Micro Services and Cloud technologies.
• Experience in integration architectures from Service Bus to API mediation and event bus models.
• Strong knowledge of contemporary technologies and business trends that allows architecture to solve problems in a creative and cost-effective manner.
• Experience developing roadmaps outlining the evolution of the enterprise application portfolio from current to desired state
• Bachelor's degree or above in Computer science or related tech discipline or equivalent work experience
• Deep Knowledge and proven hands-on experience with cloud technologies
• 7+ years' of IT experience with 6+ years of architecture experience
• Demonstrated leadership skills