Solution Architect

La Fosse Associates; Raunds; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment consultancy is seeking a Solutions Architect to lead the delivery of high-quality digital solutions. This role involves collaboration with various stakeholders and a deep technical understanding of digital applications. The ideal candidate will have experience in e-commerce and retail, strong communication skills, and the ability to navigate complex business environments. Hybrid working is available, requiring 4 days onsite in Raunds or Croxley.

Qualifications

• Experience in Digital, Retail Store, and e-Commerce domains is preferred.
• Deep technical knowledge of online digital and store applications.
• Familiar with application development frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead the delivery of high-quality digital solutions.
• Conduct peer reviews of designs with engineering teams.
• Define baseline and target technology architectures.

Skills

Solution Architecture

Interpersonal Skills

Digital Applications

Security Standards

Cloud Hosting

Communication Skills

Analytical Thinking

Tools

Microservices

APIs

Content Management Systems

CAD

POS

CRM

Integration Standards

Job description

Overview

Role: Solutions Architect

Industry: Retail/Wholesale building materials (joinery)

Department: Digital & Trade

Type: Permanent

Working arrangements– Hybrid- 4 days onsite

Location: Raunds or Croxley

Salary: £90K – £110K + benefits

Purpose:

Reporting into the Head of Enterprise Architecture, the Solutions Architect will lead the delivery of high-quality digital solutions and detailed technical designs, ensuring alignment across Business, Data, Integration, Security, Application, and Technology layers. The role involves close collaboration with Product Owners, Business Analysts, developers, and stakeholders to deliver forward-looking, practical designs to development and delivery teams.

As a subject matter expert, the Solutions Architect will stay current with technological developments and assess how changes impact applications under their ownership.

This role plays a key part in shaping the Information Systems strategy, architecture vision, and technology roadmap, with a strong focus on understanding the impact of change across applications, people, and processes.

Responsibilities

• Proven experience in Solution Architecture within complex enterprise environments, covering omnichannel solutions for ecommerce, stores/depots, customer, and payment systems.
• Skilled in producing high-level and detailed designs, as well as conducting peer reviews of technical/application designs with development and engineering teams.
• Lead and drive the Design Authority for programmes and projects.
• Apply architecture standards, principles, viewpoints, and solution modelling effectively.
• Provide thought leadership in solution architecture and manage stakeholders with influence and credibility.
• Define baseline and target technology architectures, including current, future, and transition states.
• Ensure technology architecture models, patterns, and principles are well defined, high quality, and regularly maintained and evolved at the right pace.
• Lead the creation of business cases, RFIs/RFPs, and solution options, including contributing to technology selection and procurement processes.
• Budgetary responsibilities aligned to emerging technology, methods and tools.
• Contribute actively to establishing governance and processes across Architecture, DevOps, and Security.
• Communicate application changes clearly, ensuring solutions are sustainable, deliverable, and feasible within budget constraints.
• Stay up to date with technology and industry trends, including developments in relevant business domains and architecture best practice.
• Expert in using models and visualisations to articulate technology strategy, architecture, and design.
• Align solutions with IS policies on security, disaster recovery, business continuity, and governance, ensuring services linked to applications are robust, performant, resilient, and future-proof.
• Demonstrate innovation and creativity, with the ability to simplify complexity through logical and analytical thinking.

Required Experience

• Preferably experienced in Digital, Retail Store, and e-Commerce domains, with an understanding of how these align to business strategy, transformation initiatives, and technology direction to define the future state.
• Practical architecture experience with deep technical knowledge of online digital and store applications, including Microservices, APIs, Content Management Systems, CAD, POS, e-Commerce, CRM, mobile applications, and integration.
• Skilled in supporting business strategy, transformation, and technology direction to define future architecture states, covering data, security, and integration standards and patterns.
• Working knowledge of modern integration and cloud hosting platforms and the technical architecture required to build scalable systems.
• Familiarity with application development frameworks and assurance approaches across both front-end and back-end.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly through concise, compelling written and verbal communication and presentations.
• Skilled at engaging senior business stakeholders, product, and platform teams, with experience facilitating workshops to drive collaboration and alignment.
• Confident and engaging, with a strong work ethic and a passion for transformation and innovation.
• Flexible, delivery-focused, and able to perform under pressure, with a proven track record of achieving outstanding results.
• Solid understanding of the TOGAF architecture methodology and broad knowledge of enterprise architecture practices.
• Awareness of emerging technologies and architectural trends, with the ability to apply insights to future strategies.