Senior Solutions Architect

Royal London; Alderley Edge; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mutual life and pensions company in the UK is seeking a Senior Solutions Architect to define architectural designs and lead solution strategies. This hybrid role requires significant experience in regulated environments, a deep understanding of modern patterns, and strong technical skills in technologies including .NET and Azure. The ideal candidate should also demonstrate excellent communication abilities and a passion for mentoring. The position offers a competitive benefits package including generous leave and pension matching.

Benefits

28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Employer matching pension scheme of up to 14%

Private medical insurance

Qualifications

• Significant experience in solution architecture within financial services or insurance sectors.
• Deep understanding of modern architecture patterns such as MACH and event-driven design.
• Ability to translate business goals into scalable architectural designs.

Responsibilities

• Interpret business and technical requirements into architectural designs.
• Evaluate current systems and guide improvements.
• Lead solution design across platforms ensuring alignment with standards.
• Drive modernization and integration of platforms.
• Mentor other architects and engineers.

Skills

Solution architecture experience

Modern architecture patterns

Hands-on experience with C4 and ArchiMate

.NET background

Java skills

Python proficiency

Azure familiarity

CI/CD knowledge

API integration

Data platforms knowledge

Tools

Ardoq

LeanIX

Orbus

Job description

Job Title: Snr Solutions Architect

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Alderley Edge / Edinburgh

Working style: Hybrid 50% home/office based

Closing date: 28th Dec 2025

At Royal London Group, we're evolving the technology that underpins our most critical services- delivering innovative, secure, and scalable solutions that support millions of customers across pensions, protection, savings, and investments.

We're seeking Senior Solutions Architects to join our teams across multiple domains, including Protection, Digital Platforms, Long Term Savings, Legacy Savings & Closed, and Data, Integration Platforms & Shared Services.

Reporting to Lead or Principal Domain Architects and aligned to our core business value streams, you'll play a strategic and hands‑on role, shaping the architectural backbone that enables innovation and long‑term growth.

Responsibilities

• Interpret business and technical requirements into clear architectural designs that support long‑term product evolution and strategic goals.
• Evaluate current systems for gaps and opportunities, guide end‑of‑life decisions, and recommend improvements to reduce technical debt and enhance efficiency.
• Lead solution design across platforms, ensuring alignment with enterprise standards, security, and performance.
• Drive simplification, integration, and modernisation of platforms, supporting large‑scale migrations and shaping enterprise‑wide architecture strategies.
• Mentor and support other architects and engineers, fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment.
• Influence senior stakeholders and contribute to the strategic direction of technology across the business.

What You'll Bring

• Significant experience in solution architecture within complex, regulated environments (financial services, insurance, pensions, assurance, savings, or annuities).
• Deep understanding of modern architecture patterns (MACH, event‑driven, DDD, Strangler Fig).
• Advanced hands‑on experience with C4, ArchiMate, and tools like Ardoq, LeanIX, or Orbus.
• Strong technical background in .NET, Java, Python, Azure, CI/CD, APIs, and data platforms (SQL, NoSQL, Snowflake, Databricks, Power BI).
• Experience with integration architecture (APIs, event‑driven design, CQRS), platform engineering, and shared services enablement.
• Familiarity with Microsoft technologies, especially Azure and .NET, and with mobile/web frameworks, serverless, and edge computing.
• Experience with pensions or policy platforms (e.g., Bravura Sonata, TCS BaNCS, FNZ) and cloud migration frameworks is desirable.
• Ability to translate business goals into executable, scalable, and traceable designs.
• Passion for mentoring, continuous learning, and inclusive collaboration.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build consensus across diverse teams.
• A curious mindset and a passion for applying emerging tech to real‑world challenges.

About Royal London

We're the UK's largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, offering protection, long‑term savings and asset management products and services.

Our People Promise is that we will all work somewhere inclusive, responsible, enjoyable and fulfilling. This is underpinned by our Spirit of Royal London values: Empowered, Trustworthy, Collaborate, Achieve.

We're proud to reward employees with great workplace benefits such as 28 days annual leave (plus bank holidays), up to 14% employer matching pension scheme, and private medical insurance.

Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging: We celebrate and value different backgrounds and cultures across Royal London.