Solution Architect

ZILO; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading FinTech company in London is seeking an Architecture Lead to design and implement robust solutions for their microservices platform. The ideal candidate has proven experience in large-scale distributed systems and expertise in technologies such as Kafka. This role offers a dynamic work environment with a focus on innovation and impact, alongside benefits like private healthcare and enhanced leave.

Benefits

Private Healthcare Plan

Enhanced leave - 38 days

Life Assurance – 5x salary

Flexible working

Employee Assistance Program

Company Pension

Training and development access

Buy and Sell holiday scheme

Global mobility opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven experience designing and delivering architectures for large-scale, distributed microservices systems.
• Deep understanding of microservice patterns, event-driven architecture, and domain-driven design.
• Hands-on expertise with Kafka (or similar event streaming platforms).
• Ability to communicate complex architectural concepts effectively.
• Collaborative mindset with a strong sense of ownership.

Responsibilities

• Design end-to-end solutions for new features and platform enhancements.
• Lead architecture reviews and propose scalable, secure designs.
• Document architecture decisions and communicate them to teams.
• Support operational excellence and promote best engineering practices.

Skills

Microservice architecture design

Event-driven architecture

Kafka expertise

API design

Communication of complex concepts

Collaborative mindset

Tools

Kafka

AWS

Kubernetes

Job description

Join the Future of Technology with ZILO

At ZILO, we're redefining what’s possible in technology. ZILO is the UK-based FinTech specialising in global asset and wealth management software, designed to scale and transform businesses of all types using our own developed AI Technology. Our mission is to digitalise the future of the global asset management industry.

We are a team of experts with decades of combined experience at leading firms globally, who thrive in fast-paced environments and want to shape the future of technology. Every individual plays a key role in driving progress and making a real impact. We continuously strive to innovate and improve.

Why work with us? At ZILO, you'll be part of a dynamic and inclusive environment where creativity thrives. We offer the opportunity to work on cutting-edge technology, collaborate with talented individuals, and contribute to projects that have a real-world impact. We value continuous learning, personal growth, and providing our team with the resources they need to succeed.

Ready to shape the future? Let’s talk.

Role overview Design and own the architecture for new features and services on our core microservices platform. Champion robust, scalable solutions leveraging microservice patterns, event-driven architectures, and best-in-class technology to deliver customer and business value.

This role will require attendance at our London office 2-3 days per week

Key Responsibilities

Architectural Leadership

• Design end-to-end solutions for new features and platform enhancements on our microservices stack.
• Lead architecture reviews and propose designs that are scalable, secure, and aligned with business requirements.
• Document architecture decisions and communicate them clearly across engineering and product teams.
• Act as a technical authority, providing architectural direction and mentoring to engineers and technical leads.

Platform & Delivery

• Deeply understand our existing microservices platform and guide the integration of new features.
• Identify, evaluate, and recommend technology choices, ensuring long-term extensibility and maintainability.
• Partner with engineering, product, and delivery teams to translate high-level requirements into actionable technical designs.
• Contribute to defining API contracts, data flows, and integration patterns.

Technical Stewardship

• Apply microservice and event-driven architectural patterns, leveraging technologies such as Kafka for asynchronous communication and decoupling.
• Champion operational excellence, supporting observability, testing, deployment, and incident response practices.
• Embed and advocate engineering best practices: scalable design, high availability, resilience, and continuous improvement.

Skills & Experience

Must-have

• Proven experience designing and delivering architectures for large-scale, distributed microservices systems.
• Deep understanding of microservice patterns, event-driven architecture, and domain-driven design.
• Hands-on expertise with Kafka (or similar event streaming platforms), asynchronous messaging, and API design.
• Ability to communicate complex architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Collaborative, pragmatic mindset with a strong sense of ownership.

Nice-to-have

• Prior experience in fintech or highly regulated environments.
• Knowledge of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes).
• Exposure to compliance, risk, or secure data architectures.
• Familiarity with modern DevOps, CI/CD, and infrastructure-as-code practices.

Our Technical Principles

• Design for change: modular, extensible, and resilient architectures.
• Prefer event-driven, decoupled systems for scale and flexibility.
• Prioritize clear contracts and documentation.
• Own the full lifecycle—from design to deployment and operation.

Benefits

• Private Healthcare Plan
• Enhanced leave - 38 days inclusive of 8 UK Public Holidays
• Private Health Care including family cover
• Life Assurance – 5x salary
• Flexible working - work from home and/or in our London Office
• Employee Assistance Program
• Company Pension (Salary Sacrifice options available)
• Access to training and development
• Buy and Sell holiday scheme
• The opportunity for “work from anywhere/global mobility”