Solution Architect

Independent Vetcare Limited; Bagstone; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus scheme

Healthcare Cash Plan

Cycle to Work scheme

Green Cars salary sacrifice scheme

Voluntary benefits

Discounted staff pet care

Access to discounts/cashback with many

Job summary

Pet Drugs Online is seeking a hands-on Head of Architecture to own the architecture and translate the vision into an actionable plan. You’ll collaborate with engineers and suppliers, turning strategy into a practical roadmap and driving decisions across data, integration, and systems ownership.

You’ll balance cost, speed and risk while guiding senior leaders, with a focus on improving the ecommerce platform, order management, and data governance across our hybrid IT environment.

Qualifications

• Solutions architecture experience in ecommerce, ideally in retail or logistics.
• Experience with Adobe Commerce, Magento, SAP Hybris or a similar ecommerce platform.
• Strong integration and middleware experience, including how systems share data and what happens when it fails.
• Experience with ERP or order management systems, and with modernising legacy platforms gradually rather than replacing them in one go.
• The commercial sense to balance cost, speed and risk, and prioritise accordingly.
• A clear way of explaining technical choices to people who aren't technical.
• Desirable: TOGAF or a similar architecture certification.
• A commitment to supporting our purpose and values.

Responsibilities

• Turn technology strategy into a phased roadmap tied to commercial priorities.
• Review solution proposals from internal teams and suppliers, and challenge them where they fall short.
• Weigh up build, buy and hybrid options on cost, supplier risk and time to value, then give senior leaders a clear recommendation.
• Support the PMO on feasibility, sizing complexity, risk and sequencing for new work.
• Agree with our Data Lead which system owns pet, prescription, customer, product, order and stock data.

Skills

Solutions architecture

Adobe Commerce

Integration & middleware

ERP / order management

TOGAF (desirable)

Job description

How You'll Make a Difference

we create environments where our teams can grow in confidence, capability, and fulfilment, at every stage of their career.

We've grown quickly on a mix of core platforms, third party applications and integrations. They all work, but growth has added complexity and customisation, and technology is starting to slow the business down. Our Head of Technology has a clear view of where it needs to go. We now need someone to own the architecture and turn that view into a plan our teams can build.

In this newly created role you'll report to the Head of Technology and work across his team of around 20 people in PMO, back office systems and web technology. You'll have regular time with the senior leadership team and a real say in our technical direction.

Your first priorities:

• Order management: plan how we modernise our Khaos order management system step by step, without disrupting daily trading.
• Ecommerce: support our Adobe Commerce platform while making it simpler to change and better for customers.
• Integrations: design patterns that scale across our mix of cloud (PaaS) and on premises systems, covering APIs, events, batch jobs and middleware, with proper monitoring and recovery.
• Design governance: introduce proportionate design reviews, standards and decision records that teams actually use.

Alongside that, you'll:

• Turn technology strategy into a phased roadmap tied to commercial priorities.
• Review solution proposals from internal teams and suppliers, and challenge them where they fall short.
• Weigh up build, buy and hybrid options on cost, supplier risk and time to value, then give senior leaders a clear recommendation.
• Support the PMO on feasibility, sizing complexity, risk and sequencing for new work.
• Agree with our Data Lead which system owns pet, prescription, customer, product, order and stock data.

You Might Be a Great Fit If...

The focus is designing solutions and seeing them built, not setting strategy from a distance. You'll need to be hands on enough to get into the detail with engineers and suppliers, and confident enough to hold your ground with leadership. It won't always be comfortable, and we don't want someone who says yes to everything.

We're looking for a driven, capable professional who brings:

• Solutions architecture experience in ecommerce, ideally in retail or logistics, in a business that trades every day.
• Experience with Adobe Commerce, Magento, SAP Hybris or a similar ecommerce platform.
• Strong integration and middleware experience, including how systems share data and what happens when it fails.
• Experience with ERP or order management systems, and with modernising legacy platforms gradually rather than replacing them in one go.
• The commercial sense to balance cost, speed and risk, and prioritise accordingly.
• A clear way of explaining technical choices to people who aren't technical.
• Desirable: TOGAF or a similar architecture certification.
• A commitment to supporting our purpose and values.

We'll Support You

At Pet Drugs Online, we're committed to supporting your development and wellbeing. When you join us, you'll benefit from:

• A role with real business impact supporting teams across the organisation.
• Clear career pathways with progression opportunities within Central Functions and beyond.
• Ongoing learning and development supported by tailored programmes and resources.
• A collaborative, values-led culture focused on care, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• A newly created role with genuine autonomy and influence over how architecture works at Pet Drugs Online.
• Hybrid working, with three days a week at our Keynsham office.

What We Offer Our Team

We offer:

• Annual bonus scheme
• Healthcare Cash Plan
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Green Cars salary sacrifice scheme
• Voluntary benefits: choose from a range of benefits to suit you
• Discounted staff pet care
• Access to discounts/cashback with hundreds of participating retailers

Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging

At I we are committed to Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging, we are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

Recruitment Process

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgement. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

About Us

Pet Drugs Online is one of the UK's largest online pet pharmacies. We started in 2015 in a small Bath vet surgery with a simple aim: to make pet healthcare more affordable. Today we supply veterinary medicines, prescriptions, pet food and everyday essentials to owners across the country. We're part of IVC Evidensia, which gives us the backing of a major veterinary group while we keep the pace of an ecommerce business that trades every day. IVC Evidensia is the UK and Europe's leading veterinary care group, made up of over 900 practices and referral hospitals, united by a shared purpose of happier animals, happier owners.

Job Location

Central Functions - IT & Digital /Pet Drugs Online (#####) /Hybrid

Keynsham, Bristol, England

Hybrid