Solution Architect

NHS; Reading; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in England seeks a Solution Architect to enhance digital solutions in the Trust. The successful candidate will design technology solutions that align with business goals, ensure compliance with healthcare data standards, and manage integration across systems. This role requires a client-focused approach, strong communication skills, and proven experience in enterprise solutions. Join the commitment to delivering outstanding care while promoting innovation and inclusion.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in designing and delivering enterprise-level digital solutions in healthcare.
• Familiarity with agile delivery and DevOps tooling.
• Strong understanding of healthcare data standards like FHIR and HL7.

Responsibilities

• Define high-level architecture and design solutions for business outcomes.
• Collaborate with stakeholders and translate business requirements into specifications.
• Lead integration of third-party systems and ensure data exchange across platforms.

Skills

Client focus

Integration development

Agile delivery

Strong communication

Data consistency

Tools

Azure

AWS

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

The Solution Architect is a pivotal member of the Digital Data & Technology (DDaT) team, dedicated to enhancing value for patients by improving and developing digital solutions across the Trust and the broader health and care system. The post holder will ensure that the Trust's clinical applications and wider systems are integral to the DDaT Target Operating Model (TOM), working collaboratively with colleagues to drive continuous improvement.

The Solution Architect is responsible for defining high-level architecture and designing solutions that deliver outstanding business outcomes, aligned with the Trust's long-term strategy. The post holder will influence and foster collaboration across platform and domain teams during solution design. By partnering with these teams, the Solution Architect will elaborate on solutions and their interfaces, validate technology assumptions, evaluate implementation options, and contribute to the Trust's End User Computing (EUC) and enabling strategies.

This role requires a strong client focus, the ability to manage complex and sensitive information, and effective liaison and communication with both clinical and non-clinical staff, as well as external suppliers, to ensure quality standards are maintained for all deployed changes. The Solution Architect will play a leading role in team operations, supporting the organisation (and the ICs), enabling innovation, and contributing to the delivery of local, regional, and national strategies.

Main duties of the job

• Design and oversee the implementation of technology solutions that align with business goals, ensuring they are scalable, secure, and integrated across systems.
• Architect digital platforms that span clinical, operational, and administrative domains.
• Ensure alignment with NHS and healthcare data standards (e.g., FHIR, HL7, SNOMED CT, GP Connect).
• Lead integration of third‑party systems and internal applications.
• Ensure seamless data exchange across platforms and organisations.
• Design solutions that may span multiple workstreams, whilst identifying downstream application dependencies. This role not only owns the solution through to delivery but is also responsible for understanding the wider Trust application estate.
• Develop an evolving and balanced solution architecture for projects, addressing business function needs and achieving alignment with known business function priorities and roadmaps, Enterprise Architecture principles, standards and governance process agreeing design changes and pragmatic trade‑offs.
• Cloud‑Native Design & Delivery: Lead the design of scalable, resilient digital solutions by leveraging cloud‑native technologies and platforms like Azure or AWS, using modern cloud services and frameworks - such as microservices, containers (e.g. Docker/Kubernetes), and serverless computing.
• Create solution views and architecture diagrams for technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Champion clear communication of complex systems.

About us

Diversity makes us interesting... Inclusion is what will make us outstanding.

Inequality exists and the journey to eliminate it is not easy. Every step we take will be a purposeful step forward to deliver a truly inclusive culture where all our people are enabled to deliver outstanding care, where background is no barrier, and where everyone can be their authentic self and we truly represent our patient community.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where possible. All applicants who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post can opt for a guaranteed interview.

If you need additional help with your application please get in touch by calling the recruitment team on 0118 322 6997 or 0118 322 5342.

Our primary method of communication will be via email. However, if you would prefer to be contacted through a different method, please inform the recruitment team.

Job responsibilities

Collaborate with stakeholders to define problems, desired outcomes, and constraints. Translate business requirements into technical specifications. Design solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing systems and data flows. Promote interoperability and data consistency across platforms. Develop the solution acceptance criteria to ensure the integrity of any proposed solutions across our technology estate and enable communication to relevant stakeholders. Collaborate with technical teams, business stakeholders, and partners to deliver solutions that balance user experience, security, and cost. Proven experience as a Solution Architect in enterprise environments. Identify and exploit the re-use of any components, patterns and techniques and document these for re-use by other projects. Establish and direct proof‑of‑concepts in innovation and make recommendations on technology adoption Work with the Security and Information Risk functions to ensure any solution meets the needs of NHS security standards and principles such as DSPT and CAF. Manage logical to physical design, collaborating with both internal and external delivery partners.

Person Specification

• Proven experience in designing and delivering enterprise‑level digital solutions in healthcare or similarly complex environments.
• Familiarity with agile delivery, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps tooling.

Track record of leading architecture design in largescale transformation programmes

• Understanding of healthcare data standards such FHIR, HL7, SNOMED CT and GP Connect
• Strong integration/interoperability development experience

Experience of agile delivery, CI/CD pipelines, and DevOps tooling

• Experience in defining architecture and roadmaps for complex solutions, covering all layers of the architecture
• Advanced knowledge and competent use of EPR systems and other healthcare IT systems

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.